Hmm

So. That 40 Things list.

Did I mention blog more, then fall off the face of the earth?

With hindsight, top of the list should have been: Survive January. All 4793 years of it.

Boy did that mofo drag on, anyway what doesn’t kill you makes you alcohol dependent, medicated, stronger. Apparently.

*Dusts self down.*

A few additions have since made the list, still plenty to challenge, inspire and experience. In fact I’ve managed to tick a few off already. Go me!

For my birthday I ran away and hid took a trip to the Peak District to celebrate. A stay in a delightful cottage in Bakewell.

Our trip was off to a great start, easing ourselves in gently with a trip to the Bakewell bookshop to sit out some grim weather. It would seem I stumbled on my spiritual home, a bookshop with a cafe and a magnificent assortment of maps. Coffee, maps and books – marvellous!

With the weather starting to improve we took a wander around the village, exploring and looking for some caches to count towards my challenge of finding 10 caches with 40 or more favourite points.

I always keep an open mind with heavily favourited caches, sure often they highlight higher quality caches and experiences but quite often I’m left a little underwhelmed. Seeing a cache nearby with 85 favourite points I figured it had to be worth a look.

Hmm. A decent effort-but a cache, in the middle of a housing estate, hidden in a tin bath on the wall is not really my cup of tea.

The weather now significantly improving, we had to do better.

A virtual cache a short drive away had caught my attention and so we headed off to Rowtor Rocks.

Now this is the very reason I cache.

I can say without a doubt that if it wasn’t for this cache I would never have heard of this place, and certainly would never have visited.

Rowtor Rocks at Birchover was touted to Victorian sightseers as an ancient Druid stronghold but they fibbed. The only druid connection is the name of the nearby pub the Druid Inn which was a meeting place for the Ancient Order of Druids, a friendly society founded in 1781.

The Rev’d Thomas Eyre of Rowtor Hall is reputed either to have carved the gritstone rocks or had them carved on his behalf. In the 19th and early 20th century a paid guide would show members of the public around the rocks. There is lots to explore here including tunnels, rooms carved into the rock and armchairs.

I was tasked with finding quite a bit of info in order to claim the virtual cache.

I’ll be honest, I did terribly.

I made a note of what I needed to do. Turned up and played.

I had an absolute blast and I’m not even a tiny bit sorry.

As playgrounds go it’s a fantastic place, even for kids that are turning 40!

Luckily, the cache owner is a champ and accepted my very dubious info, happy in the knowledge that we’d had a bloody brilliant time. With 70 favourite points at the time of finding, it was a pleasure leaving one more. (And we all know how stingy I am 😉 )

How to top the final day of my 30th decade?

Easy. Chase the sunset to Mam Tor.

A cheeky bimble before dinner and to soak in the gorgeous surroundings and contemplate the fact that I’m getting bloody old.

It’s also helpfully one of my experiences ticked off my list. Ok, technically just before my 40th year started but let’s not be pedantic.

And what better way to celebrate your 40th trip around the sun than by watching it set in a beautiful place, now where’s that champagne…