A Winter’s Walk with Willow

My name is Jess and I’m a dog walker living in the Lake District. I started my own dog walking business back in April 2016 because I wanted to do a job where my border collie Willow could come out with me every day.

You can’t beat a cold, fresh winter’s day in the Lake District. It’s that time of year where you have to wrap up warm - even Willow has her winter coat on. The best part of winter is the snow. Willow fell in love with snow when she was 5 months old. We were at Wray Castle when suddenly it began to fall. Willow was a bit cautious of this new white stuff that was falling all around her but once I started throwing snow balls for her, she quickly decided snow was now the best thing in the world!

When there is a forecast for snow overnight and blue skies the next day, I always try and head up high to take advantage. With snow, the Lake District landscape completely changes. On one walk, myself and Willow went for a wander up High Raise near Helvellyn - a very popular spot for skiers and even has a ski lift at the top. When we started the walk it was beautiful blue skies but there wasn’t much snow, but the higher we went, the more snow there was.

By the time we got to the top where the ski lift was, there was plenty of snow - so much that the skiers were having to dig the lift out. The views at the top were incredible and Willow was in her element up there. I started throwing snowballs again and that was it, she was in pure doggy heaven!

My favourite photo that day was of a happy tired Willow with the old ski shack in the background along with the halo around the sun behind.

But what’s even better than being up in the mountains in the cold and the snow? It’s getting back out of the cold and sitting in front of the cosy log fire at the end of a winter’s day.

Jess is a small business owner based in the Lake District who has been helping us trial our brand new Mountain Paws range. She and her Border Collie, Willow, are blogging about their idyllic outdoor life in the Lake District and the things they discover on their adventures. Read on to find out more and look out for Jess' blogs on MountainPaws.co.uk in future.

For more of Jess and Willow's adventures, follow Jess on Instagram @thelittlelakedistrictdogwalker or visit her website thelittlelakedistrictdogwalker. For regular updates on our latest blogs as well as special offers and other news, sign up to our Mountain Paws newsletter using the sign-up box in the footer.