40 by 40 Update

It's been 2 years since I first sat down to come up with this list of 'must-dos' before I turn 40 and as I did last year, I'm doing another update on that list today. With only 5 years left and some health changes, it's time for a big overhaul of the list in general. My priorities haven't changed, and in a perfect world, there are many of these things I'd still like to do, but it's better to be realistic and have more attainable goals. 

See my original list here > 40 Before 40 and last year's update here > 40 by 40 Update

Key
Previously Complete
Completed in the Past Year
In Progress
Removing from List 

Finally have our Honeymoon
Go Nessie Spotting at Loch Ness
Stay in a Hobbit Hole
Visit the Fairies in Cottingley Woods
Go on a Scandinavian Cruise
Do Disneyland Paris with Mr H
Ski Again
Travel on some Steam Trains
Take Baker Camping
Go to Monkey World again

 ---

See the Northern Lights
Go Bowling and Play Mini Golf with Mr H
See the Dolphins in Berwick
Do a big Zip Line (Over a river maybe)
Swim in the Sea During Winter
Do another Long Hike (min 10 miles)
Climb the 3 Peaks
Sleep at a Haunted Location
Go Ice Skating
Fully Wild Camp in a National Park



Buy a House
Get my Health, Weight etc Under Control
Renew our Vows at Gretna
Write a Children's Book
Put together my will
Start Paid Photography Work Again
Continue Studying BSL
Keep Getting Tattooed
Get Rescue Chickens
Volunteer as Much as Possible

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Be the Best Pet Mam I Can Be
Plant Lots of Trees
Knit Us Jumpers
Grow More Food
Be a Member of Nature Trusts Each Year
Do Regular Litter Picks
Sew More
Read 50 Books a Year
Photograph all the Birds on my List*
Just Make a Difference



* My Bird Photography Wishlist - to be updated!

So! At this point, I have completed 7 of the 40, 3 of which were in the past year, and there are 9 that are marked as 'In Progress', equalling 16 of 40 potentially ticked off. As you'll see from the key and list there are also 7 I am saying goodbye to, which leaves 17 I can hopefully work towards before October of 2030. That wouldn't be a proper 40 before 40, though, so I want to add some new, more practical things reachable with my mobility and health. 

The new additions are as follows...

- Visit our friends in Belgium

- Explore Dreamery Gardens Fairy Sanctuary

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- Go bowling with Mr H 

- Play mini golf with Mr H

(These were one point, but I am separating them as it is highly likely they will happen at separate times)

- Keep up with my monthly 10ks as long as my mobility allows.

- Climb a peak in the Cheviots.

(I may not ever be able to do any of the three peaks in my life, but I want to stand at the top of somewhere beautiful.)

---

- Do some photos for other people.

(I've changed this from paid photography work, because really my dream has been to take senior pet portraits for people who do not have professional photos of their pet. It is a huge part of my own healing to take special photos of my pets near the end of their life, and I know many people cannot afford such services.)

---

- At least try to learn knitting or crochet.

(I've tried multiple times before, but I do not have the patience and have so far failed to put in the time and effort. It was a special part of childhood having a Nana who knitted me beautiful things, and I at least want to give it a proper try again.)

---

See you next year with the next update, I guess!

Wigtown and Eskdale - Taking a Long Detour Home

 This is the second post of Baker's 2025 holiday. See the first part here > Baker's Last Camping Holiday.

After our one-night camping on the South West coast of Scotland, I wanted to take a little detour rather than heading straight home. My Maiden name (and now middle name) is Eskdale, and it's an important family name to me. It's uncommon and was Baker's original Surname too. So I've always wanted to visit the places of Eskdale in the UK. 

There is Eskdale, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, which we technically drove through on the way to our camping adventure; however, it is no longer an actual place name, but rather a 'glen and former lordship'. The River Esk flows through Eskdale to its estuary at the Solway Firth, and we've driven over the River Esk many times. 
There is also Eskdale in Cumbria, England. It's a civil parish in the west of the Lake District National Park...somewhere I have never wanted to visit haha. This Eskdale is named after the Eskdale valley, through which the River Esk flows. With the village of Eskdale Green and the popular Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, we were sure we'd be able to find a cool signpost somewhere with the name 'Eskdale' emblazoned, where we could get a photo of Baker.

Long story long, things didn't go as planned.

The first derailment of the daily schedule came when we approached the signpost for Wigtown. We decided to finally take the turn at the junction and pay a quick visit to Scotland's Book Town!

It turned out to be the very best part of our day and a wonderful, yet expensive, stop. The shopkeepers were so friendly, the garden and town itself were beautiful, peaceful places, and Baker was even welcomed into his first-ever bookstore! If only we'd decided to call it a day then and head straight home from there...
Instead, we jumped back into the car and started the journey South towards 'Eskdale'!
After a couple of hours driving, my pains gave in and I had to swap with Mr H, which then brought on the travel sickness. By the time we reached the country roads of the North West Lake District, we were not having a good time. So many people, especially those inexperienced driving on single-track roads, drive so dangerously around these areas and with that stress on top of stomach-churning nausea, I just wanted to give up and go home. We passed through many little villages with lovely signs declaring where we were, apart from when we reached Eskdale. Typical! 
We got out to stretch our legs, get some fresh air and still my tummy, walking through the village before popping back in the car to continue the sign hunt. We passed the railway, we passed holiday homes, but still no signs! So we decided to give up and head home. An 8ish hour detour for nothing! 

That's when we spotted it. The only sign we'd seen. On our way home. We jumped out of the car and got a quick photo, but overall, I was disappointed we'd come all this way just for that. I know many people from all over the UK revere the Lake District, but I feel what we saw (and what I have seen online) is nothing special compared to the sights of Scotland we have explored. I grew up in one of the most gorgeous counties, Northumberland, which is often underestimated and have spent time in many places in the Scottish Borders, Kielder and other areas of the North East, which I much prefer. At least there will be one less person crowding the Lake District because I am highly unlikely to visit again*, haha!

Having added a good 6 hours onto our journey, we arrived home late. It was a little bit of a sour end to Baker's last trip away, but he did so well and had a good time before we reentered England that morning! 


*Perhaps one day, only to see Beatrix Potter's house at Hill Top...

What I Read Last Quarter // April - June

 

It's the halfway point of my 6th year of sharing quarterly reading round-ups! As a reminder, I have a goal of 80 books for this year, 100 as a stretch goal and have been in a huge Non-Fiction phase. Here is how April, May and June went...

Check out Quarter 1 here! > What I Read Last Quarter // January - March

April

The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals by Sami Bayly 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses by Jackie Higgins (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟

Lost Animals: The Story of Extinct, Endangered and Rediscovered Species by John Whitfield 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Lynx and Us by David Hetherington [eBook] 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Extinct by Anton Gill & Alex West 🌟🌟

Lost Animals by Errol Fuller 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost and How to Bring It Back by Sophie Yeo (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The month of extinction reads. I had a much bigger TBR pile set aside to read for this month, but it turns out some of the larger (in actual size, not length) books took longer to read than expected. As with the majority of non-fiction that I read, I always feel that more people need to be reading this stuff. Such a large amount of the general public are so set in their beliefs and ideas that they think they know everything, but reading more into extinction and evolution provides such insight into a range of topics, from racism to dietary choices. 
As an animal lover, I obviously highly enjoyed the majority of this month's books. Nature's Ghosts and Lost Animals were true highlights.

May

Spring: The Story of a Season by Michael Morpurgo 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Hounds of Penhallow Hall: The Moonlight Statue by Holly Webb 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Baker Street Four by Penny Chrimes (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hotel for Cats by Marie Pavlenko 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Wolf Trials by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What Sadie Saw by Dick King-Smith 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Puloma and the Bear by Jasbinder Bilan 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Nine Lives of Montezuma by Michael Morpurgo 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Spider Sparrow by Dick King-Smith 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Finnish Guide to Happiness by Melanie Dower (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sarah Sparrow and the Scullery Maid by Jani Tully Chaplin 🌟🌟🌟


May saw us driving to France for our holiday, and so I expected to have less time to read. Therefore, I decided I'd theme my reads on all the smallest books I could find on my shelves. As seen from the ratings, shorter reads do not mean less quality, and there were lots of lovely books throughout May. You can never go wrong with Michael Morpurgo, Holly Webb, or Dick King-Smith, can you?! 

June

Life: The Wild Wonders of Biodiversity by Jennifer N R Smith 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rewilding: Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs by David A. Steen 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals by Brenda Peterson (Audio) [DNF]

Black Ops and Beaver Bombing: Adventures with Britain's Wild Mammals by Fiona Mathews (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Wild Handbook: Seasonal Activities to Help You Reconnect with Nature by Emily Thomas 🌟

Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wild World: The Adventures of Bali & Bhola by Deepak Arora (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Twitch by M.G. Leonard (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Last Year of the Wild - Volume 1: Winter by Lizzie Pepper 🌟🌟🌟

Wild Service by Nick Hayes 🌟🌟🌟

Spark by M.G. Leonard (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Clutch by M.G. Leonard (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Feather by M.G. Leonard (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Cull of the Wild: Killing in the Name of Conservation by Hugh Warwick (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Summer's Hum by Angela Harding 🌟🌟🌟🌟

In honour of 30 Days Wild, June was the month of books with the word 'Wild' in the title! The only thing that disrupted that streak was listening to Twitch by M.G. Leonard, and after I did so, I had to finish the series! It's been a series I've put off for a long time, but one I adored! Birdwatching and mysterious crimes to solve? So good.
Sadly, June also brought my very first DNF of the year - an audiobook I actually returned! This is the only time I have done this, but I was so angry at the opening chapter of 'Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals' that I could not continue. With triggers of animal hunting and continuous descriptions of adoration for this barbaric 'way of life', I couldn't listen to any more. I fully understand that there are some people who live like this because it is their only way of survival. Ingrained in their culture, and they are thankful for and use every part of the animal, but it doesn't mean I want to hear about it. Not every book is for every person, and that is perfectly okay. I just wish the blurb hadn't been so misleading. 
Conversely, a book that also discussed the killing of our precious wildlife - Cull of the Wild by Hugh Warwick - was an important and interesting listen. So much so, I ended up buying a hard copy to have in my collection. 

[Click to view larger]

I've definitely peaked for the year! At 6 months into the year, I am 62% towards my goal of 100 books, though as I write this, my reading has tapered off quite a bit this month. The quality of what I have read so far in 2025 is incredible, and that is the main thing!

Just some quick stats...

Total books read in the second quarter of 2025 - 37

Physical books - 23

Audiobooks - 13

Longest book - Land of the Last Wildcat, 273 pages

Shortest book - Life: The Wild Wonders of Biodiversity, 40 pages

DNF - 1

Average days to read - 3.3

Five Star Reads - 15

'All Year Reads' page total - 376

Favourite book from each month...

April - Lost Animals by Errol Fuller 

May - Spider Sparrow by Dick King-Smith

June - Twitch by M.G. Leonard

Baker's Last Camping Holiday

 

Baker's last holiday! Yep. Very, very sad, but it had to happen sooner or later.

At almost 13 years old, our not-so-little man is ageing rapidly, and after having to cut our 2024 trip short because he refused to eat without his normal bowl, we'd accepted that (as much as he does enjoy getting out and about), he's much more comfortable at home these days. 

However, I wanted to take him back to where he had his first holiday with us in 2022, just for one night.

And so we drove 4 hours across to the opposite coast.

I didn't take many photos this time, but here are those I did. 

 

The next day, we also had a bit of an adventure before heading home. I will share those photos in another post. Until then, check out some of Baker's other holiday posts below!

Baker's 2024 Holiday

2023 Holiday Posts:
North Rhinns Camping, Stranraer 2023
Portpatrick, Galloway Holiday 2023 // Part 1
Portpatrick, Galloway Holiday 2023 // Part 2
Terally Bay and Port Logan, Galloway Holiday 2023

2022 Holiday Posts:

Bruce's Stone, Loch Trool

North Rhinns Camping, Stranraer

Mull of Galloway - Part 1

Mull of Galloway - Part 2

Swimming at Terally Bay Beach, Rhinns of Galloway

Kirkmadrine Chapel and Stones

Tor of Craigoch