In the early part of this year after much deliberation I decided to mark my 70th birthday by inviting some of my friends to stay at a large house in the south of Cumbria. It was on the edge of a village called Staveley and although the booking website called the house Skyline it was known locally as Craggy. Skyline was more romantic and the house turned out to be wonderful with great facilities and most of the bedrooms were very luxurious.

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We spent most of the day in Windermere and Bowness however I did experience a migraine on the day which is the first for a very long time, many years. We spent the evening at <a href="http://www.hawksheadbrewery.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hawkshead Brewery</a> where the beer was excellent, the food was terrible and the noise from the young customers was deafening. We visited the brewery several times in the week and also, <a href="http://www.moreartisan.co.uk/bakery-cafe.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More?</a>, the artisan bakery/cafe next door. To have two such wonderful services in the same village made me think it would be good to live there permanently.

During the week we spent quite a lot of time visiting outdoor wear shops however I rapidly came to the conclusion that I wasn't wet or cold, I didn't need new shoes or boots, so what was I looking for?

Skyline (craggy) was a superb location and the views across the countryside were unsurpassed.

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At the back of the house there was a walk up the hillside to a footpath. It was quite a climb and I managed to walk it on a couple of occasion, each time finishing the walk in Staveley.

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The woods in the autumn are at their very best and I was enthralled by the variety of colours with deep greens from the moss growing on the stones to the lighter browning leaves.

A week in the Lake District and it only rained on the final morning as we were leaving. It was an excellent way to mark the passing of my 70th birthday and it doesn't seem too bad having made it this far. I continue to deeply regret the fact that Jane isn't with me but I would be letting her memory down if I didn't continue to live life to the full and make the most of every day.