Surprise View, plus winner of Born & Bred Giveaway

I'm delighted to announce the winner of the Born & Bred giveaway. Congratulations to Drae, the sixteenth knitter to leave a comment, chosen by a random number generator.  

Please get back to me by email with either your Ravelry user name or email address, and Ann will get the ebook winging its way to you pronto.  Many thanks to all who participated.

Over the weekend, P and I had a day trip to Sheffield to visit Tristan, Jane and their little ones, Lyra and Louis. It was such a beautiful day, icily cold, but with brilliant blue sky, so we decided to get out into the Peak District for a blast of fresh air.

Panoramic view from the top

Surprisingly this beautiful National Park is on their doorstep, only 20 minutes away in the car. In no time at all we found ourselves walking up a steep hillside strewn with gritstone boulders and scattered with elegant lofty birch trees. The area is favoured by climbers and scramblers as its impressive rocks offer a firm footing, which gets even better the colder it becomes. Jane carried six-month-old Louis, cosily snuggled in his sling  and  two-year-old Lyra stepped out like a pro, holding my hand.

Tristan had assured us we would be amazed by the glorious, rugged landscape and he was spot on.  Steeped in an industrial past, with old millstones littering the way, in the past the moorlands were quarried for stone to build the dams of the nearby Derwent Valley.  

The trek up to the top

Design inspiration everywhere you look!

Old millstone encountered on way up

View down to the birchwoods

Sitting on top of the world - allbeit gingerly!

View over the other side

Way down from the top

Beautiful birchwoods at the end of our walk

I think I can feel a Surprise View sweater coming on

It was the perfect way to spend a sunny winter afternoon. We were back in Sheffield by teatime, invigorated and happy, ready for a glass of something to warm up with by the fire.