Living in the city it's good from time to time to blow the cobwebs away. I've been feeling particularly cobwebby recently so I've been looking forward to this weekend's trip.
With Dave Clark and Paul Furner
I remember the first time I met Dave I was completely in awe of him to be dealing with his Parkinson's with such courage and grace in front of an audience of people as the host of Sky Sports' darts programs. After meeting him that awe grew because he was such a decent, good-hearted bloke and had a way of making you feel like you had been his friend for a lifetime. Dave invited his friend Paul to join us who is an avid wildlife photographer.
When Dave heard we were going to be up in Yorkshire he suggested myself and my friend Kat visit Robin Hood's Bay and the local area where we would be able to see grey and common seals close up.
Arriving at his beautiful cottage we were greeted by Dave and Paul and we wolfed down fish and chips and planned the next days activity.
Waking up slightly blurry (the results of a trip to the local pub where we met some real characters including Chaz and Dave the overweight pugs) we set off on our adventure in Ravenscar, possibly the most stunning place with a Lord of the Ringsy sounding name. Sadly today was incredibly windy so we made the decision to only walk down as far as a viewing platform where we could see the seals from above.
It was still an incredible thing to see, all the seals laid out enjoying the sunshine like we were. They are a sensible creature, I lay down a few times on my way back up the hill to the car and it felt amazing, warm with a really strong breeze.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, my Parkinson's was trying its hardest to kick my arse but we didn't let it. I never knew Yorkshire could be so beautiful and i'm keen to explore again soon.
'When you have Parkinson's it's easy to get stuck in a routine. A challenge breaks that routine of life, makes you socialise with new people, boosts your confidence and gives you something to talk about. You have to keep that zest for life.' Dave.