June sees the return of the Civil Service Walking challenge. The challenge is to walk on average 10000 steps per day for the month of June which for me is around 4 miles per day.

A lot of my steps were taken whilst out and about shopping for essentials. There was however a window of opportunity in the afternoon to walk round my local town to see the shop windows decorated to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Whilst in town I took the opportunity to visit the Peace Garden and found it to be full of delightful blooms.

My local pathways were quite treacherous this afternoon. I had to deal with compacted snow, ice and snow covered ice. It took me twice as long as it normally would to walk the pathways.

Today I returned to a local walk to immerse myself in the joys of the abundant wildlife there. The wildlife was not so varied as it was on my previous visit.

I recently had a mini break in the Ty’n Y Cornel Hotel  which is situated next to Lake Tal Y Lllyn. Whilst there I completed my ‘Thank You Rainbow 5k walk challenge.

The medal symbolizes the spirit of the recent lock down.

Just before my mini adventure I reached 600 miles in my #Walk100Miles challenge. The night before we set off on our travels I ordered ‘Britain’s Pilgrim Places’ as my reward. When I arrived home I was surprised to find it tucked under my doormat waiting for me.

The book inspires me to explore new places.

Now things are beginning to reopen we took the opportunity to visit Hampton Court Castle Gardens in Hope Under Dinmore.  On arrival our first port of call was the Orangery Cafe where we sat outside in the sunshine enjoying a sandwich whilst taking in the view.

After lunch we enjoyed a walk around the gardens which were as lovely as I remembered them on a previous visit. It was nice to visit somewhere that did not require tickets to be pre booked.

I eventually got around to exploring the new walking route/area that I researched a few weeks ago.

The walk was a refreshing change from my doorstop walks. There was an abundance of wildlife to see including two bold rats due to the area being so quiet.

I will be back to explore the area further along with some of the trail paths that lead to and from it.

Despite this years obstacles, firstly floods and then limited walking due to lockdown I have eventually reached 500 miles in my #walk1000miles challenge. I am so pleased that I am half way there

As luck would have it my 500 mile reward (only ordered on Sunday) arrived today. I am looking forward to trying these summer weight socks when the sun decides to put its hat on.

After a bit of trial and error over the past couple of days I have planned a new walking route to explore.

My medals have arrived for two walking challenges that I undertook before the lockdown restrictions were eased.

Due to the recommended hour for a walk once a day I was limited to the 5k (3.1 miles) option.

VE Day Challenge – 3.31 miles completed on 11 May 2020 taking 60 minutes. This event commemorated 75 years since VE day, to raise awareness and to raise money for SSAFA.

NHS Challenge – 4.01 miles completed on 12 May 2020 taking 70 minutes. This event raised money for ‘NHS Charities Together’ during the COVID-19 crisis.