Invest in your health and your bank balance – cycle to work

Published 3 December 2008

When 3.3 million people turn to cycling as a way to commute there has to be a good reason. It may not always be enough just to consider the health benefits. After all, the dark mornings and equally dark evenings are not too enticing.

Have a seat and enjoy the view... but watch out for horses carrying coffins!

Published 3 December 2008

Ignore the path that heads west from the car park to Watergate Farm; instead, walk in the opposite direction – as if about to head back up the lane you have just driven – and then turn right after just a few yards. Go through the gate and, with Carling Knott straight ahead, follow the clear track up to High Nook Farm.

Backin action

Published 3 December 2008

A landmark air dome in Carlisle, vandalised a month after it opened, is back in the city. The iconic Bitts Park Tennis Dome, a white bubble which dominates the Carlisle skyline, was slashed in February just weeks after it was put up.

Running up that hill

Published 3 December 2008

Fell running is a daft and dangerous thing to do. So said a visitor to the News & Star website after this autumn’s storm-hit Original Mountain Marathon in the Lake District.Probably the most famous name in the sport today is 72-year-old Wasdale hill farmer Jos Naylor who has won numerous races and inspired countless runners with his endurance achievements. In 2006, he celebrated his 70th birthday with an epic run over 70 fell tops, covering more than 50 miles and ascending more than 25,000 feet in just 21 hours. If you decide to compete in races, there is a minimum amount of kit you’ll need – this is set by the race organiser in accordance with rules established by the Fell Runners Association, the sport’s governing body. Items include waterproof body cover, emergency rations, water, a distress whistle, a map and compass and, in the winter, hat and gloves.

Trust us with your seven-year-olds and we will make them healthy

Published 5 November 2008

GET off your PlayStations and go out and enjoy some healthy exercise – that’s the message that Carlisle Leisure is sending out to Cumbrian kids.

Wet and wild, scrambling up a steep Cumbrian beck

Published 5 November 2008

Get on yer bike!

Published 3 September 2008

CYCLING is an excellent form of exercise and great for the whole family to enjoy. Before setting out on a bike ride, you need to do a ‘bike check’ to make sure your equipment is safe.

How do I get back in to shape?

Published 3 September 2008

Q I haven’t done any exercise since I was at school, which was over a decade ago. I’ve put on a lot of weight in the time since and really want to get myself in shape as there is a history of heart attacks in my family. What would you recommend?

Send us your flabby youngsters and we can make them superfit

Published 3 September 2008

WHEN you climb through the ropes into the ring, you’re on your own. The partisan crowd howls out of the surrounding darkness as your opponent looms up large and colourful, sucks on his blue gumshield and whacks his gloves together.

The card that can change your life

Published 3 September 2008

FORGET the traditional New Year’s resolution to join the gym and get fit, the busiest time of year for people to take out memberships is September and October according to the FIA, the Fitness Industry Association.

Go on, get on yer bike!

Published 3 September 2008

LEGENDARY downhill mountain bike racer ‘Dangerous Brian’ Robson stood at the top of the perilously steep winding yellow dirt track flanked by pine trees and, as his competitors looked on, slowly and very deliberately removed his brake blocks for the white-knuckle descent.

Glorious woods where you might catch a glimpse of our ospreys fishing in the lake

Published 3 September 2008

FROM the parking area, cross the road to go through the gate towards Kelswick and up the track. A little way after passing a bench and going through a gap in a drystone wall, the pleasant track starts to swing right. You soon encounter a drystone wall to your right.

Take a dive and see what Cumbria has to offer you

Published 3 September 2008

WE may not have the sparkling, clear waters and the stunning coral of the Great Barrier Reef or the parrot fish and turtles of the warm waters of the Caribbean, but Cumbria has a lot to offer scuba divers.