Birthday gifts

I have just had some of the happiest times of my life. On the 8th September I turned 40 and got to spend the weekend with the people I love the most. First call on Friday night was to collect my friend Heather from the airport as she had flown in from Belfast. We drove over the A65 which is a beautiful road through the Yorkshire Dales to overnight at Tewitfield Marina near Carnforth. The house was gorgeous, very comfy with amazing bedding. The best thing was being right up by the canal boats and my son loved looking for fish in the water.









Saturday morning dawned intermittently rainy and sunny and we set off for Eskdale Youth Hostel which I had booked exclusively for my birthday party. Somewhere along the email trail I sent everyone a few people missed the instruction to go the long way round via the coast instead of the short route over Wrynose pass and Hardknott pass (now affectionately renamed 'Kilimanjaro' by my friends). As I have a major fear of heights my Mum observed as they scaled the road "it can't be this way otherwise she won't come to her own party".




This is as close as I am EVER coming to that road.

When my guests arrived we filled them with champagne and cake to recover from the perilous drive. And then, suddenly, the sun came out and all the kids and Dads got to play cricket in the beautiful grounds. It was a moment of total, pure, distilled happiness.







The only child who knew all the other kids was my son but within a few minutes all of them, from 11 year old to 3 years were running around together and inventing games involving climbing on the bunkbeds with balloons. It was lovely.

In the evening we had a delicious three course meal and then the parents danced and drank whilst the kids played. It was lovely.


The night went on with lots of dancing until, at 2am, some lost climbers from Scafell Pike arrived seeking a phone as they had got caught in 100mph winds and had come down the other side of the mountain from where their support teams were. There was no mobile coverage nor cover and they had seen our lights. I think they were totally confused by arriving at such a remote hostel to find a bunch of tiddly city dwellers in party frocks. Thankfully, they managed to get through to their support teams and went off safely.

In the morning we blew the cobwebs away with a walk through Eskdale and the kids played in the stream and did a nature walk (climb).











It was with a happy and sad heart that I came home on Sunday. Special thanks to Richard and Martin at YHA Eskdale who were endlessly lovely.

You know, life does begin at 40.

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Location:Eskdale