This weekend was a much looked forward to break in the middle of a very busy few months. It meant that I could retreat and visit my personal ‘go to’ place – the Northern Lake District. It’s a place where I can relax, rejuvenate and get in touch with myself, and as such it has an important place in my heart. Honestly, you can hear my soul give a deep sigh as soon as we get in sight of Skiddaw, or Borrowdale, or Cat Bells – I’m sure you get the gist.  And it got me thinking. We should all have a ‘go to’ place, somewhere we go to retreat, to unwind, to think, to simply just be. For me it has to be in nature and preferably near water and mountains, a place where I can be in touch with the pulse of the planet, with Mother Nature; but in reality it could be anywhere, it just needs to be somewhere special to you. I know of at least one person who has New York as her ‘go to’ place because she receives inspiration and clarity from the buzz and the busyness. The where doesn’t matter, the release does.

So, where is your ‘go to’ place and how often do you need to go there? Do you need culture, art, theatre, seashore, mountains, towns or cities – what makes your soul sing?

My ‘go to’ place has wonderful memories attached to it, memories from my teenage years visiting with family and friends, to my first visit (camping no less!) with my now husband. Memories of meditating on the lakeshore, resting under a beech tree, climbing Helvellyn and other mountains, abseiling and learning to trust my partner not to let go, bivouacking, building rafts, canoeing (one of my more comical experiences and never to be forgotten), meandering along the lakeshore, waking at 3am to go out and look for the Northern Lights, ruminating on the meaning of life, walking my dogs, wading through rivers with my oldest friend, getting soaked, getting a suntan, loving life or grieving for a lost one. No matter what it seems that when I need to retreat my ‘go to’ place is where I can be found. So, whilst we all have much in life that demands our attention, needs our time and care, deserves our love, we should also all have our place, our hearts home, and, if you’re really lucky, maybe it’s actually the place you call home.