UK360 Day 3 : Leeds, Lakes, Loving it

James Morrow: So our first stop was at BBC Radio Leeds where Steve was to have his third Radio interview, with Amy on hand to bring the story a local link.  While I played press photographer both of them seemed to have a lot of fun with presenter Andrew Edwards.  Steve is now becoming a polished performer with his interview technique constantly improving.  Check out the write up they gave Follow That Fire Engine, http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bradford/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8695000/8695185.stm, fantastic!

Leaving Leeds we took Martha on the scenic route to Kendal, taking us up through Lake Windermere and the Lake District. It was the first time in this area for all of us, and I’m guessing none of us expected it to be in a fire engine.  In Steve’s own words, the Lake District was “proper beautiful”, to the rest of us it was one of the nicest drives we have ever been on.  It helped that the weather was perfect, but around each turn in the road, a gorgeous scene opened up in front of us.

Passing through Kendal, and not even stopping for any Mint Cake, we were heading to The Fire Fighters Recuperation Centre in Penrith, via another slight detour through beautiful Keswick.  The sun was up, the windows were down, and all of us were now eager to take on any drive in the world, if they could be half as good as this one!

When we reached Penrith we were overwhelmed by the fantastic reception we received at the Recuperation Centre.  The atmosphere they created was magical, as we were joined by fire fighters, jugglers, performance artists, fire cadets and locals.

The Recuperation Centre in Penrith is a place fire fighters can go to recover from illness, injury or surgery.  We spoke to injured fire fighters staying at the centre, who all had extremely positive things to say about it.  They told us the time spent there is pivotal to their recovery.  Fire Fighter Ant said the first time he visited the centre, he came in limping, and left two weeks later walking.  This really brought home the importance of the services provided by the charity.  The fire fighters we met were extremely excited about our expedition, showing real intrigue and enthusiasm.  They said they will be following our progress interest.

We said goodbye to the Fire Fighters Charity and headed for the A7 to begin the long drive to Edinburgh.  I don’t think any of us were prepared for the treat in store, we didn’t blink for about three hours as we took in the most picturesque scenery of the journey so far; rolling hills, rivers and chocolate box villages.  We arrived in Edinburgh, high on the journey behind us and ready for a little sit down.  The past few days were starting to catch up with us.  Luckily we were in the right place as our hosts, Jim and Corrine, looked after us very well, the take away pizza was much appreciated.

James Morrow

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