Yesterday, I went walking with a group up on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. It was a wonderful walk: the sun was out, there were views for miles, particularly from the hill fort where we started, and I went with a group of strangers and ended up with new friends. The highlight was seeing a Redstart, which are apparently just arriving in the UK.

The best bit about the walk was that I forgot for three hours what was going on in my life. My children's father has a serious health concern, another friend has just come out of hospital and my daughter had to have a medical procedure. On top of that, work is very stressful.

Walking on the Chase allowed me to forget all of that: a real escape from both the city and my day-to-day concerns. Those concerns haven't gone away, but they were parked. Nature was allowed to take front and centre. Furthermore, by the end of the six undulating miles, my body had had a good work out too.

Where do you go to escape?

BrumMum

A Moodscope member