Fit For Life #1 - Hiking/Camping in Suffolk

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Hello Steemit!

After finishing the #sixweekhealth challenge, and getting a brand new laptop, this feels like the right time to start a new series of posts on my blog. The new series is called Fit for Life and will follow my activities as I work to become the best version of myself. Join me as I keep fit for anything that life throws at me, both in the gym and out. Follow a long as I build the best version of myself and live the best version of my life.

I'm about being fit for the life I want to live. For the first episode in this series I visit the county that my Grandparents have lived for all of my life - Suffolk, England. I get outdoors, enjoy nature, build fires, cook hearty food over said fire and explore the local area. Camping for me is a real getting back to basics and nature. Some of my favourite memories from my childhood were spent camping in France and Northern England.

But I have a confession to make... This time around I went glamping (glamorous camping), instead of camping, with the fiancé. But it was still great fun getting out and about in the fresh air, taking time to relax and enjoy the country side.

This was our yurt for the weekend. Deep in the Suffolk countryside, this camp site had four yurts, similar to this one, for couples and small families. This was actually the first time I'd been glamping. In the past we've always done it 'properly', with hours spent setting up your tiny little tent and rolling out your bed rolls on the ground. But you know, it was the fiancé's birthday so wanted to be a little more fancy.

And fancy it was! Our yurt was complete with full sized double bed, seating (off to the side) and a log burner to keep us toasty warm at night. Well romantic, right?

Before arriving we had been to visit my grandparents, in their home in Ipswich, the primary city in Suffolk. Part of making the best of your life is keeping all aspects of your life healthy, including your relationships - this weekend was a chance to keep the relationship with my fiancé blossoming and to spend more time with my wonderful grandparents.

Having spent the day with them, we arrived late at the campsite and after checking out the yurt, I got straight down to building a fire. Making a fire is that awesome back to basics kind of skill that is being forgotten in modern society - we don't ever actually need to be able to build a fire. But I love being able to make a proper fire. I feel primal and manly and there's something special about the crackle of flames that you've built yourself.

This was the best casserole I've ever eaten. Something about being slow cooked over a real fire just made it taste absolutely amazing! We chucked everything in to this one, with carrots, potatoes, turnips, venison sausages, chicken, stock, mixed herbs and chilli.

The fire gave it a real smokey flavour which I've never been able to replicate for obvious reasons. It also tasted of hard work, patience and fun!

As the sun set on our first day, I felt that today I had built towards a fitter life having spent time with family, worked with my hands and cooked a lovely meal with my partner. Tomorrow would be about physical health and getting out in nature to clear our heads!

Orford Ness Nature Reserve

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Originally owned by the ministry defence to test weapons during both world wars and the cold war, Orford Ness is now best known as a nature reserve. It is protected by the National Trust as an area of significant natural importance because it is one of the few remaining shingle habitats. Shingle habitat is very fragile and easily damaged and as such Orford Ness has conservation status as one of the last remaining shingle habitats in the world.

Orford Ness is actually a bank of shingle just off the Suffolk coast and is accessed via a boat which runs every half an hour. The status as an island helps protect the natural habitat. It's also a lovely experience to get on the boat to make your way over to the island.

The shingle bank rises just a few meters out of the ocean and is very flat, making it an ideal habitat for grasses and bird life. The birds can hide in the grass easily to make their nests.

Remains of an old military barracks

Roads for the military vehicles still criss cross the island

We picked some wild blackberries to eat - the ultimate convenience food! Getting some anti-oxidants while on the hike is always going to be a bonus. In the UK blackberry bushes grow wild and are considered somewhat of a weed. I've spent much of my childhood out blackberry picking in the hedgerows so this was a nice bit of nostalgia of rural Britain.

Old bunker

Gas pump used to fuel military vehicles

Nature always finds a way

Once we'd crossed the main bulk of the built up areas of the island, the path took us out on to the long, wide pebble beach. This was probably 1km wide and tens of kilometres long. The beach was strewn with old military debris and as you can see, apparently there was unexploded bombs out on the beach too from when the island was used as a testing area for the ministry of defence. We wisely kept to the path! The path was probably 3km long to make a look to the edge of the sea and the lighthouse, and back again.

This was a great workout. The pebbles were so hard to walk on and that 3km felt more like 10km! We were sweating and out of breath by the end.

This was a base for a rotating gun emplacement

Old exploded bomb... maybe?

This building was the old electrical substation for the lighthouse. As you can see it's in need of a little bit of repair. Nowadays the lighthouse is connected to the main power grid and is managed remotely.

Orford Ness Lighthouse

As the light closed in that night we made another fire. A fire to sit around, talk and watch the flames. Visiting Suffolk helps me be a better person. I have spent many weeks here in my childhood, on the beach, watching Ipswich Town play football, exploring WWII bunkers, crabbing and just being in my dad's ancestral home.

It was lovely to be able to take my partner to somewhere that meant a lot to me growing up, and to get fit while doing it. We did around 15km of walking that day and I felt like I'd worked super hard. Sat around the fire, we felt like we had achieved a lot. We had got fitter, eaten great food and I felt I had become fitter for life.

I hope you enjoyed the post and exploring Orford Ness! My hope is that it will inspire you to get out and get fit, with a walk, or a bike ride or a run.

Yours in health,
Coach Ben