Another highlight from 2024 was a couple of days in the Lake District. As a kid, I spent many weeks on family trips and school camps in Grasmere and Borrowdale. Back then I’d be scrambling along Helvellyn’s Striding Edge or climbing a pitch on Shepherds Crag, but this time it was gentle strolls with the extended family.

I saw a red squirrel for the first time in decades, and had a lovely birthday lunch at the fabulous Zeffirellis in Ambleside,

Even mid-August, it was cool and a little drizzly, but that is almost to be expected in this green and pleasant land.