Just like that, it's a brand new year. It's hard not to see the turn of a new year as a fresh start; the beginning of a new chapter and the opportunity to make plans for the year ahead.

I looked through my Facebook memories on New Years Eve, and couldn't help but laugh at what I posted in 2009. My 17-year-old self expressed horror at the thought of being 'almost 30' when the new decade came around. It's funny, because the closer I get to 30, the more content I feel with life. People think their 20's are the best years of their life, but for me they've been riddled with self-doubt and uncertainty of who I want to be as a person. I think we often spend too much time deciding who we want to be, that we don't let ourselves just... be.

I'm a sucker for making resolutions and breaking them - as I type this, I've broken my 2-day stint of eating salad with a strong coffee and a Double Decker bar - so instead I just want to do more of the things I really enjoyed last year: getting lost on long Sunday dog walks, visiting new cities or countries, spending time with people that make me belly-laugh.

One thing I do miss, is being creative, and I want to try and unleash creativity in me again. After all, it was creativity that drove me to start this blog, and to buy my first DSLR camera, and to sit for hours upon hours drawing anything that inspired me. I'd like a new camera and I'd like to learn some new skills to go alongside that, whether it means taking a class or watching tutorials. Hopefully this won't be such a hard resolution to keep, so stay tuned either here or on my Instagram page...

Happy New Year - I hope 2020 is good to you.

Olivia x

One of my favourite Christmas traditions is to go on a nice long walk to the pub for a tipple before dinner. As I've said in previous posts of mine, we're lucky to have such wonderful walks nearby, so we're never spoilt for choice. I thought I'd list some of my favourites here so that any readers local to Derbyshire might take a bit of inspiration and go out and explore over the festive season.

1. John Thompson Inn, Ingleby

We did this walk on New Years Day and it was the perfect way to walk off the hangover. You can park in the car park at the John Thompson Inn, Ingleby, and head up the road to Ingleby Village. You pass some incredible sights, including Anchor Church; four inter-connecting caves that have a lot of history attached to them, as well as Heath Wood which is the only known Viking Cremation Cemetary in England. Two things we had no idea were on our doorstep until we stumbled upon them.

Details on the walk




2. The Admiral Rodney, Hartshorne

One of our favourite pubs for the well-kept beer and friendly locals. There are a couple of great walks in this area; you can park at the Admiral Rodney and head down the road to where the Mill Wheel pub is/was - there's restoration works currently so the pub's closed, but if you find the path that leads to the fields at the back of their car park, you'll find some great walks that lead you to the back of Foremark and Calke, depending on how far you'd like to walk.

We often walk to the Admiral Rodney from Rob's parents house in Midway too, taking the path from the side of the Midway Inn and heading over the fields. There's livestock in the fields this way though, so dogs needs to be on leads for part of the way.


3. The Swan, Milton

Park up on Main Street in Milton and look for the green public footpath sign that's near the red phone box. Head straight on over the fields up to Foremark Church, which you'll pass with the church on your left. You'll quickly approach some gorgeous holiday cottages, which again you'll pass through heading through the fields. Keep going straight on, and after you've walked through 3 or 4 fields, you'll end up at Ash Farm Boarding Kennels. Here, you'll turn left and head back up towards Heath Woods - the same place I mentioned earlier with the Viking cemetary. Once you're through the woods, you'll be in the grounds of Foremark School - walk through the grounds, turn left and you'll find yourself back at Foremark Church, where you can walk back through the same way you came in towards Milton. Be sure to pop in the Swan for a pie and pint!


4. The Dragon, Willington to The Bubble Inn, Stenson

One of our favourite towpath walks starts from the Dragon, Willington and goes straight along the canal until you get to the Bubble Inn, Stenson. It's around a 40 minute walk, so a nice short one if you've got places to be and dinner to cook! We'll most likely do this on Christmas morning.

5. The Black Lion, Blackfordby

Another fantastic pub with a great atmosphere - if you don't fancy trecking through fields in the dark, start from Swadlincote and walk towards the Clock Tower. After here, walk straight on up the A511 as if you're heading towards Ashby bypass. Turn right onto Hepworth Road - if you do fancy the fields, you can walk over these straight towards the Black Lion, but if not, you can turn onto Butt Lane, which eventually joins Main Street, Blackfordby. The pub is situated just opposite the church, so be prepared for the steep walk up the hill!

Let me know of any nice Derbyshire walks you'd recommend...