Unto This Last

 

I last stood at this spot in John Ruskin's house in 1981.

I was 15 and on a camping trip with my school's Writers' Club.

We had visited many literary sites that didn't really connect with a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Manchester.

But John Ruskin's house was a place where I felt inspired.

I stood at that spot and decided I would become a writer.

The following year I won a short story competition run by Salford City Council and went on to study Ruskin at university during my English Literature (Literature of Ideas) degree.

10 years later I was employed as a journalist at The Liverpool Echo where I met a very good friend, Peter Grant who had studied at Ruskin College in Oxford.

Ruskin was born and lived in London and later, Oxford but moved to Brantwood by Coniston Water in 1871.

During his life he had been an artist, painter, writer, poet, political theorist and social reformer.

He took on Brantwood when it was a wreck and rebuilt the home and gardens.

He lived there until his death in 1900.

Unto This Last is a series of political essays which warns of the dangers of industrialization on nature.

Ruskin often enjoyed boating trips on the lake from here.

The gardens are amazing with a variety of areas which have been developed since Ruskin's death using his ideas.

I loved the ferns in The Professor's Garden.

If you ever get the chance to visit it is such an inspiring place and I am sure the spirit of the man lives on in the fabric of the building.

I wore:

Sandals: Birkenstock

Skort: Trespass

Top: Next

Glasses: Prada

Swallows, Amazons & Yogis

 

Everyone enjoys a Lake District adventure don't they?

Fed up of a January lockdown I booked myself on a Yoga & Walking Holiday in the Lake District.

After no alone time for what seemed like aeons I made sure I knew no-one else and could travel solo and decide how much time I wanted to spend with other people.

And last Monday that impulse summer booking finally arrived - at the same time as a heatwave.

Of course my adventure began in a charity shop - the Scope shop in Windermere which I had dicovered during our trip in May. 

This time I found a lovely Monsoon dress which I'm wearing in the grounds of the hotel where our yoga retreat took place.

I had come to Winderemer because I was picking up two fellow solo yogis from the train station.

 A Whatsapp group had been created for all attendees a couple of days before and as I knew the area well and was driving through Windermere to get to the retreat I offered to give lifts.

 It was also a useful way to get to know a couple of peopel first. 

Luckily, both Alison and Janie proved to be great company.

After unpacking and arranging my yoga vests in order we enjoyed our first yoga class in the studio.

It was Monday and the July heatwave hadn't quite reached its peak.

We were staying at Yewfield, a vegetarian country house hotel and after a lovely meak I retired to my room for an early night as the morning yoga started at 6.45am.

As the weather was warming up our group opted for the outdoor yoga classes on the lawn in front of the hotel. 

Imagine lying on the lawn in savasana, staring at the clouds and watching swallows swoop overhead while in the distance you can hear the rustling of wild deer.

It was fabulous and the time just flew.

After breakfast three walking guides came to lead our 20-strong group on a hike in the fells which included several stops at lakes for a cooling swim.

Around 4pm we returned to the hotel to prepare for our two hour evening yoga session and dinner.

The days took on this familiar rhythm.

Yoga, hike/swim, yoga, dinner, bed. Repeat.

It was a magical time and perfect timing with the weather.

The retreat ended on the Friday and we said our farewells before making our way home.

However, on the way home I made a detour to visit a special place near Coniston Water which I will post about next.

If you ever fancy a yoga retreat I would wholeheartedly recommend Michelle and her team at  Adventure Yogi who made this trip such a lovely, grown up adventure.