Hello again!
It is now of course, 30th August, 2025. But I found this draft of this blog post here so thought I would share!
Interestingly enough, 23 years ago today I competed in the Air Cadets National Athletics Team as a national level athlete and I became the fastest female Air Cadet in England over 800m! My team also won silver in the 4 x 100m relay!
I hope you enjoy my post written from February!
Look how much my ears look like an elf's in the right-hand pic😂 if they make any more Lord of the Rings tv or films, get in touch
If you read last week's diary then you know at this moment in time I was up North-East ways and stayed in Bishop Auckland! The new week brought new places to explore so my first stop of the week was to Raby Castle and Deer Park! I was given the recommendation by a friend who is local as I was dying to see some!😍😍
I was lucky to get glorious weather on my trip here and I did think to myself, I've had worse Mondays!😁😄😊🌞
The walled gardens were lush.
I did have a little go in the hedged maze and then quickly ran back out when I got into a dead end as I started thinking, oh no, I don't want to end up trapped or in an Alice-in-Wonderland situation!😄
How many deer does it take to change a lightbulb?
Absolutely bloody gorgeous these deer, love them!!
The weather was sunny one minute, windy and rainy the next, but I loved every minute of this experience! The deer were so easy-going and let me and other families sit nearby and enjoy their company.💖
The food in the cafe was gorgeous! I had butter and cheese in my baked potato and I couldn't resist the gorgeous coffee and walnut cake! I pretty much rolled out of there😅
I loved the scenery on my drive after Raby Castle to High Force Waterfall!
High-Force Waterfall was spectacular!! Really breath taking.😊
I did take my time to stand there and take it in, in all it's glory! Feeling the spray of the water was lovely and hearing the water crashing was so invigorating.
The woods on the walk to and from the waterfall were beautiful as well. The High Force pub where you get your tickets to go to the waterfall was lovely as well. I think next time I am North East ways which I will be for the Great North 10k and the Great North Run, I might stop there for a meal because they looked banging! Looked a little pricey though. I think you can stay there as well so you never know - as a treat maybe.
After High Force, I set off for my stay for the night which was Ushaw's Historic Grounds and Chapel, it was pretty spectacular.
The view from my bedroom of the inner courtyard. I had a nice wander about the inside grounds once I was checked in. The staff are really brilliant. The breakfast isn't like most - the staff will heat up your porridge and make brews for you. There was lots of choice and nothing was too much trouble and it has a "wow" factor unlike most with the beautiful chapels. There was even a second hand library there which I had a read of a few books during my stay - I was only going to stay one night and ended up staying two! There is no TV but I watched my TV on my phone.
The next morning (Tuesday) I spent time walking through and admiring the Ushaw chapels and I prayed and spent quiet time by myself in them. It felt very special. As a guest, they open the chapel to you before the public so I made the most of it.
For the rest of the day, I drove into Durham and I checked out Durham Cathedral which was absolutely stunning and I had big, long walks around Durham.
This is where I got up in my diary from February!
I really enjoyed my stay in February and I loved my stay in Newcastle for the Great North Run!
Only a few days before my parents and I head off to Newcastle again for my big event, the Great North Run!
A bit of nerves (well a lot actually) about the distance. I had my long run each week up to a near enough half marathon distance back in May/ June but once I had my nerve exacerbations the last couple of months, my running hasn't been as consistent so at the moment my long run is 10k each week so you can understand my nerves.
I think I am going to have to just take my run at a much easier pace but even with that I am concerned how my body will stand up to a run that monumental but I know my parents and the runners and Newcastle will get me over that line. I want to have that feeling, that achievement and to raise money for the Walton Centre.
T minus 8 days!
M x
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