Nicky King
AmbassadorCapturer of scenes and founder of @your_peakdistrict
Hi … my names Nicky and although I was born and bred in Lincolnshire, I have lived at the Southern end of the Peak District since Summer 2002, after meeting my husband and moving to be with him.
At first, I actually didn’t appreciate where I was (even though I came from a very non hilly place, I really didn’t really grasp it!) and after numerous comments from my new friends and workmates of “have you actually been up Thorpe Cloud yet?” I actually ventured a bit further from my doorstep (10/15 mins) and visited Dovedale Stepping Stones in 2006.
During 2013, I started suffering with family fallouts when my parents divorced and this really took its toll on me. I was lucky to have a friend who had just started running so I joined her. After I got a bit braver, I started doing a bit on my own, finding it helped collect my thoughts and process what was happening in my life and started taking in nature, the change in the seasons.
Being out on foot in my beautiful area massively helped my mental health and I started running further afield and seeing more of the area’s beauty. Whilst always being a very amateur photographer, the phone/camera started being used more so I could capture what I was seeing.
My running went a bit nuts and in 2017, I actually even did a challenge of running 2017 miles in the year to raise money for a few local charities (I ran 2027 miles in total!)
It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to think/know that someone out there is looking at my photography, appreciating and smiling at it. My running these days isn’t as extreme though!
And yes, I have been up Thorpe Cloud … numerous times now and I do a lot loops which also take in Milldale and Bunster Hill … hills are now my very close friends!