So 10 months on from our last post, we've returned to the internet. But now we're back.
Where have we been?
Several things happened pretty quickly that meant Northern Stroll took a back seat vs real life.
Firstly, we both moved house towards the end of 2019. Adam to west Manchester, I've moved into the Peak District.
Secondly, we had a couple of bigger trips that took our time and attention away from the more local routes, and in to the temperature extremes of Iceland and Vietnam. (So many photos needing editing...)
We also had a thing called COVID-19 come around and confine us to our houses in March. Not only does it sap your creativity, being stuck inside all day within the same four walls, like the rest of the UK we were not allowed to travel and visit new locations.
To be honest, we weren't too sure what to do next, and had kind of lost a little bit of our love for what we were doing. Adam had and continues to have huge success working with PTs and professional athletes (as well as a lot of weddings!) in his own photography business, and I've had the day job increase its demands throughout lockdown. Thinking of what to post and when plus keeping up that kind of weird intensity lost its appeal very quickly in late 2019, and it hadn't returned.
In all honesty, we were probably on the brink of turning the site off when it came to renewals in October. We don't make any money from the site, and there are costs to keep things turning over.
What happened?
You happened. The person reading this post! Since May when the easing of lockdown restrictions ended, we started to get emails through from Google pointing out how well our site was going, and how many people were using our routes. We ignored them at first, not believing it.
Then we logged on to Viewranger one day to plan out a new route, and noticed over ONE HUNDRED new reviews (all 4 or 5 star, I might add).
It seems the UK really has had a need to get outside and get walking, and it seems that our website had helped you do just that.
So thanks to all of you who found our content and routes interesting, who sent us questions on social media, who dropped us emails and appreciated our hard work. You've convinced us that it might just be worth putting in some more.
What's next?
Well we've had a facelift as of this weekend (new colours, new layouts ooooh) and we're about to drop another 4 or 5 routes onto the site over the next few weeks. We're also going to have a look at how we can make this site more about the community and people who use it, rather than just two blokes work on a vanity project.
Finally, as we're easing out of lockdown we're going to pull some content together for those of you looking for safe, easy and appropriate ways to get your outdoor fix, without putting yourselves or others at risk (and respecting the locals of wherever you end up).
Till then, we're glad to be back, and looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
James & Adam.
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