My Saturday

[y_not]

Sorry, don't mean to brag but, after a great nights sleep, a few puffs of "magic powders", pain killers and a other equally exciting pills and I was ready for the off.

Left "she-who-must-be-obeyed" with her new ironing board (almost the same size as Wales!) and her new stream iron which could compete with the Flying Scotsman for steam generation (and of course about a hundred of my shirts)

The car park was near empty, no sign of walkers, the Highland cows were in lower fields so the dogs can roam free. Suitably attired for the biting Easterly wind, scarf, gloves and a sturdy pair of walking poles this intrepid adventurer stepped through e gate and into the wild country of Derbyshire!

High up on the moors the dogs got bored of being overtaken by a tortoise and two slugs so, after an argument about who owned the stick the Yorkie won and settled down to chew on it watched by my Border Collie.

Arriving at the highest point I decided to descent arriving back at the car just under 2 hours later. You might be impressed until I tell you that the round trip is almost one mile and I used to cycle or walk it in a couple of minutes in my younger, fitter days!

Up there is a sense of solitude, problems are blown away, the air is crisp (scarf solves that) and the views are to die for. I'm sat thinking I need a few days for my legs to recover but hell, it was worth it!

Bring on summer - I'm not too proud to borrow a Tramper or other mobility scooter (except they are no use on the moors!)

Some days are just brilliant.

[sassy59]

Well done to you. Days like that make you feel good. Xxx

[Mandy6513]

Oh I almost imagined myself there reading that it sounded lovely and all your ironing done for you too . Perfect day

[O2Trees]

Sounds delightful y-not. Harley Davidson do a mobility scooter with their signature handlebars. Its very flash and copes with rough terrain pretty well I believe. That might work for you. What a lovely area you live in

[O2Trees in reply to O2Trees]

Cant find a link for the HD one, but here's one for another similar one. Ghastly price but you might be able to find a second hand one.

tgamobility.co.uk/product/s...

[y_not in reply to O2Trees]

These are "just" £2600 (ex vat) but the closest I've found so far electrokart.com/electrokart...

[y_not in reply to O2Trees]

I have looked at some "all terrain" scooters but because of the wild nature even these cannot negotiate some of the gateways and ground!

Its this inaccessibility that first drew me some 42 years ago (when walking & cycling were easy).

Many thanks for the idea, much appreciated.

[O2Trees in reply to y_not]

You're welcome y-not. Good to read your post

[y_not in reply to O2Trees]

Oh, just thought! For anyone not aware (sorry if you all know): I pay Derbyshire Council £21 a year for Tramper scooter hire, this lets me use their Trampers at no extra cost in 6 - 7 locations which I think is really good value. Also National Trust have loan scooters at many of their locations - you can make a donation but its not mandatory.

Also, I know this sounds odd, you don't have to be registered disabled to hire/ borrow a scooter - they are available for anyone with mobility problems - if you want to hire one they never ask any questions about your medical condition ... ever.

Sometimes just breathing is damned hard work ... adding walking can make life impossible.

Sorry if everyone knows but thought id mention this.

[Mandy6513 in reply to O2Trees]

Are you serious ?

[O2Trees in reply to Mandy6513]

Me? (checked back, this seems to be a reply to me but not sure.)

Why are you asking?

[Mandy6513 in reply to O2Trees]

Yeah sorry I should have said more. You were talking about a scooter you can get with Harley handle bars. Was asking about that. Sorry honey I assumed your a mind reader and would know what I was talking about x

[O2Trees in reply to Mandy6513]

My friend has this scooter Mandy. She looks great on it and it goes everywhere. But the price is prohibitive.

Hey ho . . .

Hope you're ok?

[Mandy6513 in reply to O2Trees]

Oh how fab :). I'm doing good honey I'm off to test drive a couple of cars so I can get back on the roads. I gave up driving almost 2 years ago and have literally felt trapped since then so I'm taking back some of my independence. The car may sit on my drive for weeks at a time like everyone is telling me but they don't understand how it feels. I hope you and your family are doing as well as possible. X

[SquirrelsHolt]

Good for you y not and what a great photo of your two dogs. How lucky you all are to live in such wonderful countryside. Who said speed is everything anyway ? First class bit of exercise, so keep up the good work. Your lungs being filled with clean air - not so good where I live, very built up in the main and directly under the flight path of the dreaded aeroplane.

[y_not in reply to SquirrelsHolt]

Thank you, I look over Sheffield and Manchester (the moor is under the Manchester flight path but thankfully at around 8,000-10,000 feet) and I find it really sad to see the yellowish plume that hangs over these cities and is clearly visible from 30 miles away.

I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy the fresh air sometimes. I do realise how lucky I am and try to never take my countryside for granted.

Thank you again for reminding me of how well life has treated me.

[SquirrelsHolt in reply to y_not]

Thanks for your reply and isn't it awfull to think of the air pollution that you say you can literally see above the city. I bet the real figures of pollution are quite shocking. Scary. Poor old lungs don't need anything else to ruin them !

[velvet55]

Hi y not

Sounds just a perfect day, just perfect .

Xx

[rubyred777]

Hi y not

Lovely photo.😊 what a wonderful day you had. I can just visualize it, and smell the fresh air! Bet you feel good.😊

Rubyxx 😊

[dall05]

Sounds like my kind of perfect day y-not. Its still a little to cold for me but I'll be out there in the countryside very soon.

Oh yeh I'm also a member of the 1mph club, I do a 2 mile flat walk and it takes me roughly 2 hours. I once did it in 1.25 hours but my lungs are not quite as good as they were but I'm happy just being able to still do it .

[y_not in reply to dall05]

I'm up for a race We could hire the Olympic Stadium, invite a few celebs, sell tickets for maybe £100 each and, if we do two races, we can make it a full evenings entertainment(?) for everyone - darn it, I need to get this imagination under control!!

[dall05 in reply to y_not]

Why Not! y-not. Sounds like a good little fund raiser to me. 😉

That imagination of yours could get us into trouble😁

[mmzetor]

well done sounds like you had a lovely day , yorkie looks happy chewing his stick , collie looks like he is looking for some sheep to round up

[y_not in reply to mmzetor]

No, the Collie is sulking because the Yorkie stole his stick ... and he's frightened of sheep (after I shouted at him for chasing them when he was a young pup!)

[Hidden]

Hi it sounds like you had a much nicer day than your poor wife using 'her' iron to iron your shirts! x

[y_not in reply to Hidden]

On a serious note, I know my wife doesn't like ironing, I wear 1 or 2 shirts a day (I work full time) so there is a build up. To make things a little easier she has some "hefty kit" to do this AND, if I don't take the dogs then I do (sometimes) iron a few myself!

[Hidden in reply to y_not]

Ah but do you iron any of your wife's clothes? x

[mskpjb in reply to Hidden]

Had to intervene cof . My husband ironed only once when I was hurriedly getting ready for work. He managed to burn a hole in my uniform blouse. Accident ? I`m not so sure. Sheila x

[y_not in reply to Hidden]

Hum, we all have our limits!

[Jeanielee1]

Very uplifting post, lovely to read positive story's . Long may you reign .

[y_not in reply to Jeanielee1]

Paying today - but it's worth it! Thank you for your kind comments.

[Tatters]

What a lovely post and may I say very well written. Your Collie is very similar to one of mine, he's called Shep. Bit original for a collie lol. Well done and I admire you for your conquest.

[y_not]

Thank you. Sorry, I just realised that I omitted their names: those black eyes stare at me giving nothing away left no choice but to call the Collie "Ice" because of the icy stare and, when a young pup with fur/hair sticking out in every direction the Yorkie reminded me of a childhood Teddy Bear so obviously "Ted" or "Teddy".

[Tatters in reply to y_not]

Thanks, my other collie, his litter brother, is Moss. Whilst from the same litter their temperament is very different. They will be 13 years old in August and have aged very much this last couple of years, Shep had 22 teeth taken out 2 years ago and within two days he was crunching a carrot that the pony had dropped !!!!!! Don't think humans would do that. I do love them dearly and I am prepared for the final day, sad when the time comes but like us it's inevitable. It will be a sad day, or two sad days, we had the old pony put down last September at 30 years old. She had lived a good life. Best wishes to you.

[Lyd12]

Loved reading about your adventure, and for some reason brought to mind the old song "this is my lovely day". Wonder if there is anyone else who remembers this song? When it gets a bit warmer I might try to walk up a steep hill near us, when we moved here 18 years ago I walked up there on New Years day and never thought about the climb. Good view from the top so I will have to take my ipad in my shopping trolley with me! Love Iris x

[Hidden]

So they are and thanks for letting us join you on your walk. You are happy, the dogs are happy and you have cheered my day.

[Scouser58]

Well done on your bracing day out,,,,,the dogs got the hang of it,,and your got your peaceful soul moment,,,,,well that was worth it,,,,,the legs will get back to normal service,,,,