We all come across difficult decisions from time to time, some of us more than others.

When to retire our dog from agility. Whether to move for that dream job or stay near family and friends. To buy a van or 4×4?! Some decisions are considered more difficult than others…

You may have been aware that Ash, Guinness and I headed off to the Lake District on Friday for a weekend away. We arrived on the campsite and quickly found there was no shelter from the gusty winds, which were frequently changing direction around the valley. We got the tent up (despite nearly losing it once) and questioned whether it was going to stay up. We’d unloaded the car and I was sorting stuff out inside while Ash was finishing adjusting guy ropes outside when a huge gust caused a pole to smack me on the head. Guinness immediately crapped himself and ran out of the tent and Ash and I were both cursing away from either side of the canvas.

We stood for a moment more, neither of us wanting to make the decision to bottle it and leave, but we had to admit defeat and decided to pack up. Our great big flimsy tent wasn’t going to last the night with stronger winds forecast and as we took it down we found one pole had split (probably because of my thick skull). No doubt it would have ended up snapped and through the canvas if we’d have stayed.

But before we made the long journey home we parked up in a lakeside car park and cooked pasta on the trangia at the waterfront. The view was absolutely stunning, just a shame it took a 6+ hour round trip to come see it.