Lakes MicroAdventure

About a month ago now, Joe (the 'anonymous' expedition buddy from previous microadventures) and I arranged a Lakes microadventure. We set our sights for Scafell Pike, England's highest peak, close to Wasdale, Lake District. To both of us it was another adventure to tick off the list, another expedition conquered. I use expedition lightly here, as we are starting small! For me personally, it was another thing to show to the 'doubters' that I have determination, and that a neck fracture would not hinder me.

the beginnings of a spring, en route through the dales.

We planned the trip for the weekend beginning the 2nd, with me taking a short train journey up to Northallerton, North Yorkshire, early Friday morning. We headed out at 10am from there, basically west, across the country. I'd like to say we walked or biked, but am slightly ashamed to say it was by car, having only the weekend to complete the walk. To break up the days driving, we decided to take a detour to White Scar Caves, one of the first explored caves in England. This was an interesting experience, something I have wanted to try my hand at for years, yet was let down by the touristy feel of it. When it was mentioned to me by my mate as something we could do, I imagined quite a hands on approach, ropes and carabiners, hard hats and harnesses.

From a Geological point of view it was very interesting, first explored by Christopher Long, August 1923, in shorts and Jumper, with four candles as his headlight. I can't quite work out whether this man is a nutter, or a hero! We descended 93 metres underground, and travel in about 150 metres having to 'Duck March' for 20 metres or so, but that is as hard as it got I'm afraid. The tunnel had be carved out quite well, with scaffolding used as a platform in some areas. A very Info-tourism outing.

Image from the website, whitescarcave.co.uk

Some of the stalactites and stalecmites where incredible, don't get me wrong. You got to see first hand, how water running through minerals, causing it to become slightly acidic, can alter rock faces within as little as 50 years. Complete with under ground lake, and waterfalls, this was something I would recommend to those 'tourists'. Steer clear semi pros!

Nearly Back Again

Having not posted in a while, due If I'm honest to not a lot happening in my life worth writing about! so instead of boring all, about the little things, I thought I'd compact It into one concise post!

With the job front very bleak currently all over the country, finding a job, after being discharged with a clean (ish) bill of health, was very difficult. I think give or take a few days, I applied to 3 or 4 positions a day, and non were successful. I had some success, but the job entailed cold calling, something, I will not do! That annoys me as it is, why would I do it to others. having little experience within customer service sectors certainly didn't do me any favours, as these were the positions that were coming up.

What I did find however, is plenty of volunteer opportunities. Volunteering is something I would advise anyone to consider. If your struggling to find work, giving up your time for a few hours a week, keeps your sense of self worth, which we can all admit to craving. Most schemes are just happy to have your time, aren't strict and you can commit to as much or as little as possible.

With my passion for sport and development, I was incredibly lucky to find Kickz, an opportunity that is quite possibly, perfect for me. I was in contact with the council enquiring about volunteer opportunities, and got in touch with Mike, one of the programme managers with Coaching for Hope, for a reference. He mentioned the Scheme he now works within, Tigers Trust (Hull City) and the partner organisation Kickz.

Kickz is all about giving the youth a healthy and active opportunity on a night, based around sport. They are free sessions aimed at 'Hard to Reach' kids, providing a great alternative to hanging round the street and being tempted by crime or mischief. It also begins to give the youth values ranked highly in sport, gamesmanship and fair play for example. So I began volunteering a couple of weeks ago, giving a couple of hours on a Thursday evening, helping to referee and organise 5 a side games and a bit of fitness.

Another string to my Sport and development Bow!!

In association with Hull City and Tigers Trust.