Country_Homes_and_Interiors_-_November_2019

Anyacombines

herloveofhiking

andphotography

in the Peak District

IllustratorandphotographerAnyaRaczkalives ontheoutskirtsofSheffield,

a stone’sthrowfromsomeofthePeak District’smostbeautifulhikingtrails.

Shespendshersparetimeexploringwithcamera anddog,Doug,intow

IrememberwhenI firstfellin

lovewithhiking.I’djustmovedto

Sheffieldandwasfindingcitylife

a littlesuffocating.I’dbegunto

discovera passionforphotography,

soI tookmyselfoffforthedayto

BurbageValleyinthePeakDistrict.

AsI scrambledoverrocks,

navigatedmywaythroughpeat

bogsandwanderedthrough

woodland,I feltthisoverwhelming

senseoffreedom.Childlikejoyran

throughme,andI decidedthere

andthenthatI wasgoingtoexplore

alloftheincrediblelandscapes

surroundingmynewhome.

TherearetwothingsI alwaystake

withmeona hike– mycameraand

myDachshundcrossJackRussell,

DougPickles.We’llusuallywalkfor

at least an hour or two, perhaps

stoppingnowandthento

photographananimalprintor

a prettyplant.It’snotalwayseasy

tofindthetime,butthinkingabout

howupliftedI’llfeelafterwards gets

mereachingformyboots.

Stumblingacrosshiddenpaths

isusuallya happyaccident,but

sometimesI’llscourmapstofind

a remoteplacetoexplore.There’s

somethingsoexhilaratingabout

discoveringa trailthatis seldom

usedbyothers.I oncehikedalong

a routethattookmedeepintothe

moorlandsoftheDarkPeak.After

a coupleofhoursit suddenlyended.

Istoppedtotakeinmysurroundings;

itwascompletelysilentapartfrom

thepitter-patterofpawsamidstthe

heather...I lookeddownandwas

treated to the sight of a group of

mountainharesscamperingahead.

Itwasa trulymagicalmoment.

Forme,hikingis anactofself-

care.Notjustintermsofphysical

health,butmentalhealth,too.

It’sanopportunitytoslowdown,

reflectanddwellonsomeofnature’s

simplestjoys– fromthesoundof

thewindrustlingthroughthetrees

totheheadysmellofwildheather.

Withsomanywonderfulhikingspots

lefttoexplore,I’vegota lifetimeof

exciting discoveries ahead of me.

Beinspiredbythe

beautifulphotosthat

Anyatakeswhilehiking

herfavouriteUKtrails

onherwebsite,

oakandclaw.com

MY COUNTRY PASSION

Hiking hidden trails

See this...

COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS 139

FEATURE

TARA KING