Sadly, with our lovely Studio being closed due to Covid-19 we have looked at other ways of connecting with our clients. Walking has become our new exercise preference! I started walking with my daughter Becky and we have found many interesting on road and off-road walks from between 1 to 3 hours around the village of Menston.
On one walk Becky took me to a place called ‘the S Bend’ which was where all the local kids used to go to sledge when it snowed. We think we found it and ended up walking down towards Otley and found the old railway line walk. Having lived here for 37 years I have never walked down there. On our way back we ventured in the other direction and found a clearing with a waterfall. It was located near the Tip but have no idea where the water flows from. We latterly found out that it is actually the old Ellar Ghyll. It’s beautiful, tranquil and a nice place to visit with the children. Can’t believe we didn’t know it was there.
On another of our walks down Hag Farm Road in Burley we crossed the old wooden stile to walk over towards Clarence Drive and we saw this bizarre gate in the middle of nowhere. It looked very odd and we could only presume the boundary line would be changing at some point in the future. Low and behold a couple of weeks later whilst walking with my grandson Alfie the gate had a fence! A lot of the old stiles in and around the village have been replaced during lockdown to make getting in and out of fields more accessible.
My love of walking and wanting to connect with my clients led me to set up the Studio Walk and Talk Group. At the moment we can only meet in a group of 6 and have to walk in 2’s and socially distance but that does not stop us embarking on some lovely walks and catching up on life with our clients. We meet on a Monday and Wednesday at 1.15 and we hope to continue the walks after we come out of Covid-19 and are back at The Studio. Our clients have found the walks socially rewarding and are so happy to be with other people, out in the fresh air and getting some valuable exercise.
I met with my friend Maria and went for a Moor walk in the snow which was great fun but sadly we got lost as it was very misty and snowing hard. Luckily we managed to find our way safely home after lots of giggles and walking knee deep in snow.