LIFE | Waterfall Walks

The other day I was thinking about the direction and purpose of this blog. I don't want to make a half-arsed effort this time round, my old fitness blog Step by Step became a staple in my life for a good 43 days (good effort Amiee *eye roll*) I'm proud to say I managed to write about the Insanity workout and my meals EVERY SINGLE DAY. Then I got lazy and started university again so it came to an abrupt end unfortunately.

With this blog, I can write about what I love and share it with you! But then I think the best thing about having a blog is that I can look back at all these memories. The world is changing so fast, and we constantly have something else to look forward to, another plan to make, sometimes we can end up forgetting the good memories in the past. So I want to be able to look back through things I used to love, and places I’ve been and the times before everything gets all hover-crafty and super technological.

So a few weekends ago, me and a few friends decided to leave behind the hustle and bustle of Leeds city life and drive a gazillion miles, or 43, into the country side. I always used to be a ‘why on earth would you want to walk…outside…where it’s windy….and cold’ kind’a person but I can admit I have been converted. Once I’d wrapped myself up properly (I’m always the one without a coat, complaining it’s cold….I know, I know!) and we arrived, I began to appreciate the sights around me, even took a few pictures too didn’t iiii.

Ingleton falls are waterfalls…..in….. Ingleton. I don’t wanna go and give you a big backstory about this place, because to be frank I don’t know it, and I just want to write about it as I saw it. We parked up in the adorable little village with curvy hills, narrow roads and pebble-dashed cottages then walked the rest of the way to the actual waterfall trail. Yep, an official trail, 8 km I’ll have you know. And I made it! As it was quite a fresh day outside, the trees and ground were coated with that glistening frost that’s not quite there yet you’ll slip on your ass as soon as your foot touches it. Beautiful, but dangerous to those of us without shoes that have grip. And to be fair it did make everything seem magical…or my dream of being a pupil at Hogwarts whose letter just got lost in the post may yet be a reality. As you’ll see in a few pictures we took a wilder beast with us! Kidding, we took my friend Sophie’s Japenese Akita….everyone, meet Oscar! He’s good at scaring away bears and forest-lurking creatures, but he’s a big softie really and looks so cute padding around in snow.











The whole walk was alongside this river, it went on for ages, just miles of bubbling water and rocks! What had me the most was how tall and huge the trees were here, seriously they were like those tree men things from Lord of the Rings. But still, we walked and walked, i tripped a few times, then we walked some more.





The waterfall below was the largest of the trail and probably about half way round i'd say. More stairs winding into the hill took us to the very top, and as i looked down i realised it's not what it looks like in films. It looks vicious. The water crashes off every rock and pools into the black waters below. Quite scary, but at the same time beautiful and mesmorizing.






This marks the start of the end. We began to walk back just as it turned to twilight (my favourite time of the day) ...I love how the sky takes on a deep blue sometimes almost purple hue and everything looks so peaceful. Oh but first, the moon. During the day. Above mountains. The photo is slightly blurry however it never fails to amaze me when the moon shows that clearly during the day.

Look! A heart and an A. Ta-Da! With Love A. It's me!

Once we arrived back into the cute little cottagey town, we stumbled upon a little cafe with THE most amazing cakes and pastries on little cake stands. Frumenty and Fluffin. It was such a quirky space. Each wall painted a different colour, every chair a different cushion, the walls were covered in mirrors and pictures. Seeing the choice of desserts up front, it only seemed fitting after walking a loooong 8km we deserved a treat, right? Right! We chose the huge butter scones filled with a heap of whipped cream and jam. Another swirl of cream dolloped on top and a strawberry to finish, they were so big the full size cake box wouldn't close. Ooooops.











All in all, i thoroughly enjoyed my day frolicking among trees and waterfalls. My legs ached, i wont lie, from the sheer amount of steps but the fun and views and memories definitley make it worth the pain. Sometimes i feel i can get wrapped up in the social media, tv and work sides of life. It's refreshing to get out into the country, breathe in some fresh air and stop for a moment.

Thanks for reading!