Happy New Year, Solstice blessings, Merry Christmas and anything else you celebrate at this time of year all rolled into one from the three of us!

I wanted to write something meaningful. Perhaps about solstice and the coming of light, or the transient beauty of snow, or the importance of being ready to drop everything to chase seasonal wonders, but the creative part of my brain does not respond well to taking a break, which is what I have mostly done over the holidays. Creativity for me is something that needs nurturing, not rest. But I have been taking photos and I believe photos are better shared so what follows will be a mostly photographic round up of the festive period.

Winter festivities kicked off for us with Solstice, which is for me the winter celebration with the greatest significance. The turning away from darkness and towards light. This is the new year truly, the cycle completed, the old year dying and a new one born. There is a dark and ancient magic to the winter Solstice which I feel deeply. Just like last year, to celebrate the three of us headed to the summit of one of our local fells just in time to catch the sun dip below the horizon. With head torches shining like stars we hike back down in the dark and head home to spend the rest of the evening with the promise to shun electric lights in favour of candles and oil lamps and sit by the roaring fire. Here’s a little video of our hike…

So often Christmas here is plagued with mild temperatures, damp and wind, yet this year Christmas Day dawned unusually cold and bright with a chill wind blowing out of the north. Christmas Day has always been an opportunity for us to get outside. One year when we lived in the woods and Benji was just a baby, we walked 15km along the South Downs to my parent’s house for Christmas lunch. This time we braved the wind chill and headed to summit of Harter Fell in Eskdale to be buffeted and blustered under bright blue skies, building an appetite for our Christmas feast later in the day.

After a trip down south to visit family, and a New Year’s Day walk with friends around Little Langdale there were just a few days left of the Christmas Holidays - Scotland was hit with a dump of snow and we made a last minute decision to make the 4 hour journey north in search of a last little bit of seasonal magic. Although short, a couple of days sledging, hiking and having fun in the snow was just what we needed.

Well that’s all from us this week. Our little corner of Cumbria seems to be missing out on the snow but there’s quite a bit on the mountains so it looks like another snow hunt could be on the cards this weekend…

Until next time, warmest wishes for the year ahead,

Andrew, Emma and Benji

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