Cross Fell

My mum has been staying up in the Northern Lakes with her older sister, her younger brother, and her baby sister and partner. It has proved difficult to create an opportunity to get away to visit them but today was their final day and my last chance. I had to go into the office first thing but managed to finally escape late morning to catch the train to Appleby, from where I cycled the twenty odd miles via Penrith and Greystoke to their holiday location.

It's been rather too long since I'd last seen my mum and certainly over ten years since I'd last met any of her siblings. We're a very dispersed family. The loveliest thing to see was how close they still all are, much helped by technology. They took me on a tour of the holiday village and upon visiting the clubhouse it was only seconds before my mum and her older sister Audrey, both well into their eighties now, had their iPads out and were logging on to the internet. Skype and Facebook allow them to keep in touch with their extensive and far flung families. I felt so proud of them!

The visit was sadly a very short one. I was slow saying my goodbyes so it was just as well that I was able to pick up a strong tailwind to help me get to the station at Appleby in time to catch my evening train back. It was impossible not to stop on the way for a few photo opportunities. The light was fabulous and the skies incredibly dramatic. This is looking over to the backbone of the Pennines, Cross Fell and Great Dun Fell. The Pennine Way passes along the crest of this ridge. I've not been on those hills in almost forty years! I've been reminded in many ways today just how quickly the years pass.