Those of you who have been following along on socials will have seen me mention that I was doing a fundraiser in July and thus I quickly wanted to give a little update now that I’ve completed it.
In July, dad and I took part in a fundraiser for Point North, which is one of our charity partners at work that supports our local communities at a grassroot level. The fundraiser was to complete 38.7 miles in July to help raise awareness and funds to support the 38.7% of children who are growing up in poverty in our wider area of County Durham and the Tees Valley.
Every mile completed helped to provide: food, uniforms, bedding, holiday clubs, lessons, and more. If you’d still like to make a donation, our fundraiser page is still open for a few days:
As proof that I did complete the 38.7 miles, I made a little compilation of all the walks and gym trips I did in July, and so I thought I’d share it as a nice round up of the fundraiser challenge.
I’m so glad I signed up for the fundraiser, as not only did we mange to raise some funds for Point North, but it also forced me to get out more. I get so nervous venturing out on any journeys which are further than about a 20 minute car journey or walk (I might delve deeper into the why at some point), but to get my steps in I have had to push myself to overcome / deal with my fears. Although my anxiety spiked at times, I overall had really positive experiences and ended up enjoying some wonderful longer walks exploring new places. Now I just need to keep pushing myself to head out and not fall back into letting my nerves get the better of me!
Something a little different, but I wanted to talk about the fundraiser I signed myself and dad up for with work for two reasons. One, to raise awareness of what we’re fundraising for but also two, to talk about how it’s been helping my anxiety which is something I’m really proud of.
At Kaffeehaus Coffee Roasters giving back to our local community is very important to us and we’re proud to already be regular supporters of Point North, but we wanted to do more, and by participating are hoping raise more awareness for this amazing charity supporting our local communities!
So, dad and I are stepping it up and taking part in Point North‘s fundraiser completing 38.7 miles in July to help raise funds to support the 38.7% of children who are growing up in poverty in our wider area of County Durham and the Tees Valley.
“Thousands of children in our own communities are falling behind through no fault of their own. As the cost of living continues to rise, more families than ever are struggling to get by. The need is urgent and growing. This challenge gives all of us a way to do something about it,” – Michelle Cooper, Chief Executive at Point North.
Every mile helps to provide: food, uniforms, bedding, holiday clubs, lessons, and more. And any donation you can give, no matter how small, will help to make a difference To donate or follow our progress please follow the link below
By signing up to this fundraiser I have also ended up forcing myself to face my anxiety which has been an unforeseen bonus. Essentially, I get very nervous venturing further than a 20 minute car journey or 15 minute walk (I might delve deeper into the why at some point, but not today), but to get my steps in I have had to and still am pushing myself to overcome my fears. So far I have had some really positive outcomes and endend up enjoying some wonderful longer walks exploring new places. The repetition of positive outcomes and experiences, is slowly creating positive reinforcements to counter my anxieties which I’m really happy with.
Below was my first 4 mile walk. I pushed myself to drive up to the Pennines, about a 30 min drive to a place I’d never been to before, and go for a walk around a reservoir I’d previously known nothing about. It turned into such a wonderful morning. The Smiddy Shaw reservoir along the Waskerly Way ended up being such a wonderful expedition for me. It was a quiet path and we barely bumped into another soul which was fab and just how I like it. The path was well paved and easy to walk, and although a little overcast at first, the clouds soon cleared giving way to tow a warm and the sunny atmosphere and stunning views all around.
And yes, my anxiety did surface at times, but I was generally having a good day and feeling more positive and so I managed to keep it in check and ende up having a wonderful morning out. It may seems like nothing to those of you who don’t suffer for anxiety, but to me this was a pretty big feat and I felt very proud of my achievement. It made me want to go out more straight away.
So, a few days later I headed out for my second 4 mile walk through a more local Nature Reserve. I completed this walk before work one morning and there were a great number of paths to meander through and explore; although some ended up being quite overgrown and narrow this time of year resulting in a fair few nettle stings and bramble scratches haha!
All in all I have really been enjoying working towards completing this fundraiser and I’m generally feeling more hopeful for the future with every new step I take.
I may have mentioned my anxiety in passing on this blog before, and I’ll probably talk about it in more detail one day, but for now, let’s just say my anxiety essentially impacts all forms of travel and just generally being out and about. I’m telling you this because for me a trip to Wallington wasn’t the easiest, but as part of my action plan to overcome my anxiety I have to face my fears head on in the hopes of creating positive memories; and thus I pushed myself to finally go tick another National Trust site of our list.
For us Wallington is about a 1h drive away depending on traffic, and for me a journey this long, is very anxiety inducing, especially when it’s one I’ve not done before. However, after multiple checks of google maps to see which way was the fastest there and locating a good halfway point should I need to stop, we eventually set off.
We decided to travel up the A1 and head for breakfast at The Running Fox cafe in Kirkhill before heading to Wallington, after seeing Chloe from New Girl In Toon’s recommendation on Instagram. Although this was another 10 minutes further than Wallington, I’d pinpointed Dobbies Garden Centre as a good half way point stop should I need it, which made the journey feel a bit less daunting. I ended up feeling okay as we reached the halfway point and I decided to brave it and continued on without giving into my anxiety to make a stop.
It was such a lovely sunny morning that when we arrived and saw there were outside tables we immediately decided to make the most of the glorious weather and sit outside. They had a decent menu with plenty of breakfast options and although I was very tempted by the French toast, I decided for the Avocado on sourdough with fried egg and siracha , whilst Luis went for the full English. Now usually I would be wary of eating a big breakfast and having a cup of coffee when out and about in case it upsets my stomach and raises my anxiety, however, as the drive from The Running Fox Cafe to Wallington was only 7 mins or so I decided to face my fears and enjoy breakfast.
The food was good, portion sizes were huge, and my filter coffee was ok. My only complaint would be that the coffee came quite a while before food and whilst it was nice to have something to sip on, I didn’t want to drink a whole cup of coffee on an empty stomach, and so it was lukewarm by the time I drank the majority of it alongside my breakfast. We took our time savouring breakfast and basking in the sun.
We were both rather full when we finally left and annoyingly my anxiety did end up spiking because as drove up to Wallington we ended up joining a very long queue to enter. The stop and start and uncertainty of how long we’d be waiting made me very anxious. What should have been a short 7 minute drive ended up taking at least 20+ minutes, but I made it through.
Once parked we grabbed a map and a very friendly lady greeted us and answered our questions regarding the site. We were told the biggest walk marked on the map which takes you around most of the site would take about 1h and so we slowly set off to enjoy a spring walk in the sunshine.
The sun was out the whole time we were there and it was warm enough to enjoy a walk without a coat which was so nice. The 1h walk meandered through some forest and along the river, with streaks of sunlight bursting through the trees making the water sparkle. Although it had been very busy on arrival, the path we followed wasn’t crowded and with a gentle breeze and bird song in the air, it was really rather peaceful. I would recommend sturdy outdoor shoes however, as the path was quite muddy in areas and not properly paved as in some other National Trust sites.
Just over half way round the circular walk, you come across these cute little stepping stones to cross the river and Maya, who does not like the water, was very unsure of how to cross. Luis tried to guide her across but she just ended falling straight into the water as if she didn’t quite grasp there was a gap between the stones and she had to hop over; it was rather amusing. Don’t worry though, the river isn’t deep so she didn’t get fully drenched. After her second attempt went no better than the first however, Luis decided to scoop her up and carry her across.
Once you’ve crossed the stepping stones, you soon come across Wallington’s famous crocus lawn and it really was stunning. We were so lucky to have snagged such a glorious day for a visit. This was definitely one of the busier areas as people stopped to admire and take photos of the beautiful purple crocuses.
Following our wander round the walled gardens we slowly made our way back to the main entrance. Passing small lakes and snowdrops scattered around the shady woodland we also came across some beautiful nature inspired sculptures and a tree that looked strangely like the Dark Tower from Mordor and was just missing the eye of Sauron haha.
By the time we got back to the car at around 3pm Maya seemed rather exhausted as she just plonked herself on the cool grass refusing to move – too cute! All in all we had a lush day out and I’m really glad I pushed myself to face my anxiety and make the trip.
Have you been to Wallington before? What are your favourite National Trust sites?
Opening Times:
All Week | 10am – 5pm
Admission:
Ticket type
With Gift Aid
Without Gift Aid
Adult (18+)
£22.00
£20.00
Child (5-17) under 5s free
£11.00
£10.00
Family (2 Adults and up to 3 children)
£55.00
£50.00
Family One Adult
£33.00
£30.00
Main Season from March 24th (includes house)
Facilities:
Car Park, Cafe, Shop, Kiosk, Adventure Playground for kids, Toilets (albeit, in my opinion, not many for the amount of potential visitors)
simplycarinaxo.co.uk 