June Round Up

I sometimes see other bloggers doing monthly round ups, and I think they’re such a good idea. However, by the time I get round to it, the next month has raced on and the moment has gone. This time, I’m prepared! So much happened last month that I thought it was worthy of a quick recap.

June has been a month of personal achievement, lovely family outings, travel and sunshine! It’s also the month that I celebrated 3 years of blogging, even though The Helpful Hiker has been through a few different versions since then!

• 50 Mile Charity Walk 

On the 10/11th June I completed a 5o mile walk in aid of the Lullaby Trust. Walking 30 miles on day 1 and 20 on day 2, it was the furthest I have ever walked in my life! It was tough, but I completed my challenge with the help of some good friends and I really enjoyed exploring more of Northamptonshire.

I don’t have any plans to walk quite that far again, but I was very impressed with what I now know I’m capable of. It’s given me a boost, and I’m very open to the idea of doing another challenge one day.

• Castle Ashby

Our little trip to Castle Ashby  started with a spontaneous idea and a spare couple of hours and turned into a lovely family outing.

I’d encourage anyone who find themselves with a spare hour or two, to get outside and explore. Go somewhere local that you’ve never been before and you might find a little gem.

• Go Ape

I’ve never been to Go Ape before and I’m not really that fond of heights or extreme adventures, but I was still keen to try something new. It turned out to be a fantastic fun-filled two hours on a sunny saturday.

I did it only a week after my 50 mile walk, and I was still a little sore, but I soon got into the swing of it! I would love to go back, hopefully when Finn’s a little older we can get him involved too in the junior version.

• Italy

I’ve wanted to go to Italy for years and finally, thanks to my job in the wine trade, I got my wish with a few days in Abruzzo. It was strictly speaking a work trip, but it was so much fun. We got to sample the most amazing food (including a Michelin starred lunch!), an afternoon at the beach, a few hours in Rome and winery tours. Oh, and did I mention we stayed in a beautiful hotel with a gorgeous outdoor pool.

• Irchester Country Park

Another day, another quick local trip squeezed into a spare hour. I was casually browsing facebook, when I read about a new viewing platform at Irchester, so we headed off to investigate.

It’s always nice to find something new at a favourite haunt, and we enjoyed both the views and the new trail.

• Pub Walk

I made good use of my OS maps subscription to plan a 5 mile pub walk in the north of the county. Faced with the task of finding an interesting walk with things to look at, nice scenery and a good pub; I think I succeeded on all fronts.

We walked from Elton, to the village of Fotheringhay with it’s ancient castle site and church, and back to Elton for a well deserved lunch.

So that was a whistle stop tour of our June. July has started pretty well too! Last weekend we let Finn stay up to watch the balloons take off at Northampton Town Festival and it’s all he’s talked about since! It was such a lovely evening and a great start to a new month.

The rest of this month, apart from a break in the middle for my sister’s wedding, is all about work (and no trips this time!). August, however, is looking jam packed, with two camping trips and our epic Poland adventure.

What have you got planned for the rest of the summer?