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Wild & Words

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Wild & Words
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February 06, 2019

Wild Things ↟ January 2019

February 06, 2019/ Athena Mellor
Wild Things ↟ January 2019

Wild Things for January covers a winter skills article, an inspiring video, a stunning short film and some sustainable toiletries.

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February 06, 2019/ Athena Mellor/ Comment
Wild Things
inspiration, self-care, health, winter skills, wild things
October 28, 2018

Wild Things ↟ October 2018

October 28, 2018/ Athena Mellor
Wild Things ↟ October 2018

This month’s Wild Things features some beautiful travel blogposts and videos, a reading list, and some inspiring environmentalists.

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October 28, 2018/ Athena Mellor/ Comment
Wild Things, Inspiration
inspiration, wild things, environment, plastic
October 11, 2018

Wild Things ↟ September 2018

October 11, 2018/ Athena Mellor
Wild Things ↟ September 2018

September Wild Things features a sustainable brand, a picnic blanket I love, an environmental website and a climbing podcast.

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October 11, 2018/ Athena Mellor/ Comment
Wild Things, Inspiration
gear, adventure, environment
September 12, 2018

Wild Things ↟ August 2018

September 12, 2018/ Athena Mellor
Wild Things ↟ August 2018

Some of the things I’ve loved seeing online in August, with a focus on mountains and strong women!

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September 12, 2018/ Athena Mellor/ Comment
Wild Things, Inspiration
wild, women, film, inspiration
July 25, 2018

Wild Things ↟ July 2018

July 25, 2018/ Athena Mellor
Wild Things ↟ July 2018

A new section of the blog where I share with you things I’ve loved each month; from gear to podcasts, books to videos. This month I feature a great hike in Snowdonia, a couple sailing the world, and an environmental blogpost.

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July 25, 2018/ Athena Mellor/ Comment
Wild Things, Inspiration
podcast, blogpost, inspiration, writing, photography, hike, tryfan, wales, environment, wild things, wild
Recent Posts
A New Kind of Normal
Apr 15, 2019
A New Kind of Normal
Apr 15, 2019
Apr 15, 2019
March
Mar 31, 2019
March
Mar 31, 2019
Mar 31, 2019
Winter Mountaineering Gear
Mar 1, 2019
Winter Mountaineering Gear
Mar 1, 2019
Mar 1, 2019
The JCMT Winter Skills Course
Feb 25, 2019
The JCMT Winter Skills Course
Feb 25, 2019
Feb 25, 2019
Snowy Adventures in the Cairngorms
Feb 9, 2019
Snowy Adventures in the Cairngorms
Feb 9, 2019
Feb 9, 2019
Wild Things ↟ January 2019
Feb 6, 2019
Wild Things ↟ January 2019
Feb 6, 2019
Feb 6, 2019
Review: Fjallraven Abisko Trekking Tights
Jan 25, 2019
Review: Fjallraven Abisko Trekking Tights
Jan 25, 2019
Jan 25, 2019
Postcards from Winter in North Devon
Jan 25, 2019
Postcards from Winter in North Devon
Jan 25, 2019
Jan 25, 2019
A Winter Wildcamp on Kinder Scout
Jan 14, 2019
A Winter Wildcamp on Kinder Scout
Jan 14, 2019
Jan 14, 2019
Adventures & Motivations for 2019
Jan 1, 2019
Adventures & Motivations for 2019
Jan 1, 2019
Jan 1, 2019
Highlights from 2018
Dec 29, 2018
Highlights from 2018
Dec 29, 2018
Dec 29, 2018
Learning to Lead | Climbing in El Chorro, Spain
Dec 27, 2018
Learning to Lead | Climbing in El Chorro, Spain
Dec 27, 2018
Dec 27, 2018
Solo Wild Camping in Wales
Dec 10, 2018
Solo Wild Camping in Wales
Dec 10, 2018
Dec 10, 2018
Christmas Gift Guide ↟
Dec 7, 2018
Christmas Gift Guide ↟
Dec 7, 2018
Dec 7, 2018
A Guide to Hiking the West Highland Way
Nov 28, 2018
A Guide to Hiking the West Highland Way
Nov 28, 2018
Nov 28, 2018
Kendal Mountain Festival 2018
Nov 26, 2018
Kendal Mountain Festival 2018
Nov 26, 2018
Nov 26, 2018
Zero Waste Bathroom
Nov 18, 2018
Zero Waste Bathroom
Nov 18, 2018
Nov 18, 2018
On Compassion and Resilience
Nov 13, 2018
On Compassion and Resilience
Nov 13, 2018
Nov 13, 2018
Wild Things ↟ October 2018
Oct 28, 2018
Wild Things ↟ October 2018
Oct 28, 2018
Oct 28, 2018
Review: Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket
Oct 24, 2018
Review: Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket
Oct 24, 2018
Oct 24, 2018
What the Frack? | The Green Series
Oct 21, 2018
What the Frack? | The Green Series
Oct 21, 2018
Oct 21, 2018
Snow, Rock & Ice | Inspired by Alpinism
Oct 14, 2018
Snow, Rock & Ice | Inspired by Alpinism
Oct 14, 2018
Oct 14, 2018
Wild Things ↟ September 2018
Oct 11, 2018
Wild Things ↟ September 2018
Oct 11, 2018
Oct 11, 2018
Postcards from Cornish Vanlife
Oct 8, 2018
Postcards from Cornish Vanlife
Oct 8, 2018
Oct 8, 2018
My Alpine Essentials
Sep 22, 2018
My Alpine Essentials
Sep 22, 2018
Sep 22, 2018
Peaks Beyond Our Feet | Alpine Climbs & Mountain Bivis
Sep 18, 2018
Peaks Beyond Our Feet | Alpine Climbs & Mountain Bivis
Sep 18, 2018
Sep 18, 2018
Wild Things ↟ August 2018
Sep 12, 2018
Wild Things ↟ August 2018
Sep 12, 2018
Sep 12, 2018
Norwegian Wilderness | Trekking on the Hardangervidda Plateau
Sep 11, 2018
Norwegian Wilderness | Trekking on the Hardangervidda Plateau
Sep 11, 2018
Sep 11, 2018
On Fear
Aug 8, 2018
On Fear
Aug 8, 2018
Aug 8, 2018
Wild Things ↟ July 2018
Jul 25, 2018
Wild Things ↟ July 2018
Jul 25, 2018
Jul 25, 2018
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Wild & Words

Wild & Words is an online wild space for a girl who loves the hills and words. A platform to share writing from adventures, big and small; ramblings from the hills, musings from the fields, and photography of nature, friends and earth.

@athenamellor

Writing has always been a kind of therapy for me. Putting pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard is how I unravel the complexity of the thoughts and feelings in my mind and make some coherent sense of it all. So through this journey of grief that I have found myself on, I want to keep writing and sharing... in the hope that maybe my words will offer some support to someone out there, or maybe because Instagram needs a bit more gritty reality; a little more humanity against those glossy images our eyeballs digest. So here’s mine. . “For now, there is no such thing as normal. No perfectly calm and content moment comes without the box of grief; there is happiness and gratefulness to have been loved so deeply, yet there is also a heart-wrenching ache alongside it. There is love, loss and confusion in every moment”. . New piece of writing on my blog 💙 link in bio.
Camp days with my love ❤️ Adjusting back to normalcy when something tragic and life-changing happens to you feels both like the most natural yet the most difficult thing in the world. Those simple moments of happiness that you usually crave now come with a kind of guilt and a deep sadness that goes beyond the surface. It’s hard for me to put this into words... I suppose what I’m trying to say is, this beautiful morning scene that I once took for granted is more than just a beautiful scene. It comes with happiness and gratefulness, yet a heart-wrenching ache and a lack of understanding as to why I get to live when those I loved don’t. Things are still hard but I’m forever thankful for the people in my life and the love of those not here anymore 💙
Life happened and I left the city that I’d called ‘home’ for the last two and a half years. Though circumstances were tragic and unexpected, I felt a sense of relief as I drove over the moors to what is now my ‘new’ home, but is actually the home that has lived in my being for the last 26 years and beyond. The home of my mother and father and grandfather and great grandfather. The hills where my ancestors grafted and roamed now belongs to me again. Actually, I think in a way, I never really left.
The pain of missing someone so deeply never disappears. Sometimes it will become a soft ache, and other times an overwhelming tug at your throat and your heart - pulling you down with all of its might. Sometimes it will hit while you’re chopping carrots in the kitchen, and other times when you dig your face into the smell of a jumper that belonged to a lost loved one. I can only hope to learn to live with the missing; to nourish and care for it as all feelings and emotions should be. I can only hope to accept it one day, I just don’t know how yet. My dad and Oslo in the hills. I miss this so much 💙
March. I wrote a brief blogpost about what this month has been for me. “To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.” — J. K. Rowling
Some days all I feel is an ache in my chest, and other days I feel a heart-wrenching emptiness that fills me with dread. And then there are the days when I can throw my mind and my body into something like this... These are the days when I feel grateful for the sun on my face and some strength in my bones. It is not a way of forgetting, just one of feeling a little bit like Athena again. I may have cried listening to Classic FM and watching a glowing orange sunset from the M62 on my way home, but today I laughed and smiled and felt strong and bold. Today I got to feel like Athena, with the strength of my father and brother in every move. Photo by the wonderful @molliie_anne who made today a special one. On my new spring project at Almscliffe, Teflon Traverse (6C).
My dad loved to watch the sun rise, and I know he will be there with every one I watch 🌅
Caring for these two pups has been one of the best distractions in coping with grief. With two dogs, you just have to get up in the morning. You have to go outside. You have to smell the air and feel the wind on your cheeks. When I cry, Oslo comes to sit with me and Ola licks my face as though she’s wiping away the tears. They can be a handful and I’ve gotten frustrated and upset at times, but I love these two so dearly. I hope we’re making you proud in looking after your beloved pups, Macky, we all miss you so much 💙 Photo by @harvey123go chief dog-whisperer and chaser 🐶
🌑
There is always love. And love exceeds all time zones and places, life and death. We’ll never stop loving you, Mackenzie 💙
On Friday night, I lost my daddy and my little brother (only 23) in a car accident. Words are usually where I find comfort and strength, but at this time I cannot find the right ones to justify this tragic event. We are all completely devastated. We are raising money in honour of my dad and Mackenzie for the Air Ambulance, who helped at the scene, and for the Dog’s Trust, because Macky and my dad loved their two rescue pups, Oslo and Ola, who we are now taking care of. The links can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MacandChristopherMellor https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MacandChristopherMellor2 Thank you so much to all my lovely friends for the messages already received 💙💙 their wild spirits and loving souls will live forever in our hearts.
NEW BLOG: Winter Mountaineering Gear I heard there’s a cold spell incoming... while I’m rather skeptical as to whether that is actually true, perhaps this will provide some inspiration for next year! Oh and for the record you wouldn’t normally carry two walking axes on your pack but I was carrying @amiramellor‘s for her when it wasn’t needed!). wildandwords.com for more ❄️

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