Daffodils in Dora’s Field One lovely spring day, I spent a magical time photographing Lake District daffodils, exploring an evocative old house that Wordsworth used to live in and discovering that sheep may safely graze in Dora’s Field. Spring is the perfect time of year to visit one of Britain’s favourite...

The Twizy is quite simply fantastic fun on four wheels. It’s a tiny electric car that thinks it’s a Ferrari. And when you drive one you’ll get as much attention, if not more, as if you were driving one of the most iconic cars in the world.  For the sixth...

“Ah,  you’ve got Room 105.  Very special.  You’re going to love it.”  When the charming guy carrying your bag tells you that, after you’ve checked in to a hotel, you could be forgiven for a slight air of scepticism.  After all, he’s not likely to say, “Oh Room 105 –...

In the fourth of the Challenge Zoë activities for The Kendal Courier I had a sailing lesson with Outrun Sailing, based in Bowness on Windermere, on England’s longest lake in the heart of the Lake District.  Here’s the original of the article that originally appeared in the magazine. “I can’t find the wind!” There was a...

“Found it!  Oh no, maybe not …” “It’s over here …” “That’s not it. Look. The mountain’s in the wrong place.” “If I lean over the river I think I’ve got it …” Rydal Bridge – photo by Zoe Dawes This was the conversation ricocheting around the Cumbrian fells as...

For the 3rd of the Challenge Zoë activities for Cumbria magazine The Kendal Courier, I was invited to tackle a climbing wall.  Although I live near some of the best mountaineering sites in the country, I’d only tried climbing once before and am a bit nervous of heights. So, with a touch...

It’s doubtful if any of us in the UK will experience anything like the sporting extravaganza that was the London 2012  Olympics.  As well as all the events going on in and around the capital, many people got a brief glimpse of a precious moment in time when the Olympic...