What Bank Holidays Are Made For...

2016-05-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

To me, nothing beats a bank holiday that involves some exercise, a generous dose of the outdoors and a lot of R&R! Add good food and a few drinks and I'm a happy camper. So this bank holiday break didn't actually involve any camping (probably a good job given that there had been a blizzard in London just a few days before), but it did involve everything else.

For my boy's birthday I had booked us onto a white water rafting session at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, followed by a night in our own private log cabin at the YHA. We only live about 20 minutes by train from the Lee Valley Park, (which was a bit surprising and something we'll definitely be maximising on in the future!) but it was actually really nice to spend the night in the park, wander back to the cabin after the white water rafting session for a pre-dinner nap, and wake up amongst the trees, sunshine and animals on Sunday morning for a day of cycling and exploring! It actually felt like a proper weekend away, just without the slightly annoying travel on each end as we got back into London super quick on Sunday night. I found it quite strange that considering how close we were to central London, it felt like we were miles away in the countryside, and I'd definitely recommend a visit to anyone who is just looking for a day's escape from the city and some outdoor fun.

We actually started our bank holiday weekend on Saturday morning with a quick but delicious breakfast in Seven Sisters. A new cafe had opened close to my boyfriend's house, so we decided to check it out en route. Considering the slight lack of places to eat in the area that are not coffee chains, greasy spoons or fast-food shops, the Tri Cafe was a pleasantly surprising find! It was quiet, so we were served quickly. I started with their Sunshine Immune Boost Smoothie (seemed to go with the theme of what I was hoping for from the weekend - lots of sunshine and health boosting activities!) The smoothie was made with pineapple, mango, ginger and turmeric and completely delicious. I think the addition of the turmeric gave an edge to the tropical fruitiness that made it interesting and refreshing. To eat, we both had the Tri Spiced eggs, chosen from the chalk and blackboard menu resting on the floor next to the counter, that looked like it would be changed each day depending on what produce is in stock. Everything was made on site in front of us (well, behind the counter), and you could see the baskets of fresh seeded bread and lemons. The eggs came scrambled on the yummy bread with a few spring onions. The really tasty addition was that rather than being overwhelmed with butter, the bread was drizzled with good quality olive oil. The eggs were cooked and spiced to perfection, I only wish I'd asked what the secret trio of spices were.

(Checking out their website afterwards, I notice they describe themselves as a 'coffee studio' rather than a cafe, and that they have a 'holistic approach to health and life. We understand the pressures of living in an urban lifestyle as well as the benefits too. We can take more advantage of the joys of living in a bustling exciting environment when we take time to de-stress, recalibriate and support our immune system. Tri Prana offers a tranquil urban respite from our hectic, fast-paced city lives'. I can get on board with that! I also realised afterwards that they were a yoga studio, so will definitely be looking to go back and try a class).

Next stop on our weekend retreat was the Lee Valley White Water Centre. I'd been looking forward to this for a while, but was also slightly nervous. I'm a good swimmer, but seeing the rapids and then going through the health and safety training actually added to the nerves! There was a lot of chat about falling in, the 'defensive swim position' and how to be rescued. All very important, and as it turned out, needed when we got out on the water. We also had to complete a 'practice falling in' task before we were allowed on the raft, which involved plummeting into ice-cold water, being washed under a rapid and then swimming as hard and as fast as you could to reach the exit to avoid being dragged downstream by the rapids and potentially not even being allowed to take part. No pressure. The sudden full-body submersion into the cold water was such a shock that I lost my breath and struggled to breathe as I completed the task, and I was left thinking that a quick swim before jumping in, to acclimatise to the water temperature, would have been a good addition.

After completing the falling in task semi-successfully we were allowed to board the raft and start the fun part. We had 4-5 circuits of the course, each time getting a bit more adventurous than the last. The raft I was in had 3 couples (including us) and 2 instructors. One seemed very experienced and the other was in training. They generally sat at the back and took it in turns to shout instructions and steer us back on course if needed. The first circuit went smoothly and we all seemed to have a great time getting splashed and bumping into things, finishing the course happy and in our start positions. The second circuit wasn't quite as successful, and after getting stuck in a rapids whirlpool, circling in a bit of a traffic jam with other rafts and kayaks (crazy, lone kayakers!), we apparently hit a massive wave which washed all 6 of us into the water. Thankfully the instructors managed to stay on, and proceeded to haul each of us in turn back onto the raft. We finished this circuit a bit less enthusiastic, missing a few oars and very, very cold and wet. All adds to the fun though, right? :) The rest of the circuits were lively but uneventful in comparison. Each time would get a little bumpier as we tried to surf bigger waves and challenge ourselves. There was a moment on the last lap that seemed like it would never end, we were 'surfing' one of the bigger rapids which involved A LOT of leaning and jumping back and forth over the person next to you, to the point that you felt like any minute you could fall out but you weren't quite sure which side it would happen at. This only happened to one person in the end, who was knocked out by her boyfriend who accidently leaned the wrong way when trying to interpret which shouts were meant for us and which were from other instructors attempting to control nearby rafts.

Our man overboard rejoined and we finished the course as a group. All in all, a good experience, probably better in summer, and probably more enjoyable as you grow in confidence and learn how to adapt to the rapids. I left aching, shivering, exhilirated and ready for a drink at the terrace bar!

The next day was a lot more mellow, and we spent most of it walking or cycling, with occasional pit stops for food, drinks and ice-cream. The night in our own cabin at the YHA was great. The excitement of the white water rafting sent me into a deep early evening nap, and I woke up to the sun setting on the park and the last of the late evening light coming through the thick bushes outside of our window. After a quick trip out for a Turkish dinner in the nearby Cheshunt, we returned for a relaxed night, reading and making plans for our next big trip - 2 weeks road tripping along the south coast in Florida.

Sunday we were up early and renting bicycles (after a refreshing 1 1/2 hour walk along the River Lee to reach the cycle hire centre). By this point we were quite far north in the park, and proceeded to cycle south-west until we reached the Lee Valley Park Farms. This seemed like a haven for families and children. We stopped for refreshments and a snack in the cafe garden, soaked up some of the afternoon sun surrounded by a few farm animals, before hopping back on our bikes and cycling north to our next pit stop - the only pub we had been able to locate in the Park, The Crown. The pub had received quite a lot of negative reviews on Trip Advisor, mainly due to waiting times and not being able to eat outside. But we didn't encounter any of these problems - the staff were friendly, the food arrived quickly, and we were able to eat on a table in the garden in the sunshine, overlooking the river and those who were attempting to navigate various rentals from the Boat Centre opposite. We chilled out here for a few hours before getting back on our bikes and heading to the only cafe selling its own farm-made ice-cream, the Old Mill Retreat Cafe. Well worth the queue.

The rest of the day consisted of more cycling, river-side strolls and a detour into Broxbourne to see if there was much going on there on a bank holiday Sunday (there wasn't). We ended with a trip to Waltham Abbey and the historical Waltham Cross, somewhere I would like to venture back to on market day to check out the fresh produce. We finally dropped the bikes off at the YHA, picked up our bags and hopped on the train back to London. Half an hour later and we were home! Contentedly exhausted, refreshed and looking forward to a bank holiday Monday lie-in.

A Quick Intro

2016-04-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

To start this blog I thought I should set out why I’m doing it and what I’m hoping to gain. I’ve been what I would call a relatively fit and healthy person for the past 7 years or so. I’ve always been active, training as a competitive gymnast when I was young (and prevented from continuing due to a back injury when I was 12) and then taking on new sports in high school such as hockey and netball, playing competitively at county and city level, as my back began to recover. I suppose sport and fitness were ingrained in me from a young age, although back then it was more about the fun of competing, and doing activities I loved with friends, and less about all the good health and fitness side benefits you become aware of as an adult.

There was definitely a slight ‘health gap’ between college and where I was 7 years ago. Life had naturally taken me to other things, with sport dropping down the list. When I moved to London in 2008 exercise had almost completely fallen off of my radar and I spent more time enjoying what my new city had to offer. I decided I needed to regain the balance. I joined a local gym at the time, tried a few classes, started going more regularly, got fitter and happier and just went from there. There were no drastic changes, just more mindful living, eating and exercising. I didn’t give up all the fun stuff either. The balance that enables me to feel happy and energised each day is what I’ve tried to maintain since (just with a few location changes after moving to Africa for a few years and then back to London. But more on that in other blog posts!)

The challenge I’ve faced recently is not in keeping up work outs and enjoying healthy foods (as well as some of the less healthy ones, I’m a firm believer in enjoying everything in life!) but in mixing it up. It’s easy to get into a routine and stick to it, but I’m interested in trying lots of new things, and would like to use this blog as a way to explore and share. I also love the fact that I’m based in London at the moment, a city which has something new to offer every week. I hope this is a chance to experience that more fully and take advantage of being in such a diverse, lively and active city.

One of the aims of the blog is to help keep me motivated on my health and fitness journey, keep me on my toes by trying new things and using this space to write about them and share thoughts and opinions, whether it’s a new class or work out, an interesting recipe or book or a recently visited restaurant. I also love being out in nature - hiking, walking, swimming (and more extreme sports when I have the chance) and would like to share some of these adventures. I tend to travel a fair bit, with work as well as personally, and love exploring my new environment and what’s on offer locally – whether local activities or finding a hidden gem of a restaurant or other local business.

In short, this blog will probably be pretty diverse, but will come back to enjoying life through exercise, good food, fresh air and lots of adventures J

Follow me on Instagram: thehealthreview16, for more regular updates

Contact me: zoethehealthreview@gmail.com

Trying a new activity in Cape Town - Boga! (Yoga on a stand-up paddle board - so much fun!)

A few years ago I cycled 420km in 5 days through the Death Valley desert in the U.S. with a bunch of other crazy people. 8 hours a day of cycling, insane heat, miles of undulating roads.. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done but also one of the most incredible experiences. This is me at one of the pit stops, clinging on to a sign for the hill we just climbed

Waking up in hiker's paradise

A less healthy moment on my birthday ;p

The Health Review

What Bank Holidays Are Made For...

A Quick Intro