There may be trouble ahead! But let's face the music and dance!

What a weekend! For months we have been preparing for the Keswick/Coniston to Barrow Walk (or at least I have) and then three days before my daughter is due to walk forty miles it's announced that they are doing auditions for Cumbria Youth Dance the day after.Something which my daughter has been waiting to do for over a year now.

Apart from the fact that it was highly likely that she would be unable to walk, let alone dance, and that the venue was one and a half hours away, accessible only by car (as there is no public transport on a Sunday) she was determined to attend.The auditions which are advertised as being open to all talented dancers in Cumbria are it seems, quite the opposite, there is only one audition and one location.If you don't make the audition, you don't get a place!

Quite apart from my own feelings on the fairness of it all this is obviously our introduction to the 'world of dance' and my daughter wasn't going to let this chance pass her by.

She finished her walk on a high,running over the finishing line in ten hours fifty eight minutes - a pretty good time for a first timer ,and she was smiling!

And so we were up next morning for her auditions near Penrith. We found the venue without too much trouble and,after signing in I left her to it!

I went to Rheghed for a coffee and a cookie and bought some lovely presents from the gift shops. Helen Skelton was due to do a book signing of her new book in the afternoon so,having browsed the entrants of the Cumbria Art festival and voted for my favourite with a yellow sticky dot planted securely beneath the artist's name. I set off for Penrith and had a browse round the town taking pictures.

Then I went back to Newbiggin where the auditions were taking  place and discovered the village well and water source which had been renovated. Apparently the village lay on layers of limestone with sandstone underneath. The water seeped through the limestone to the impervious sandstone and formed springs which had been used as watering holes for drovers taking cattle from Scotland to England.

At the end of the day I went to see how my daughter had fared. She had been selected to dance before the judges again but hadn't been allocated a place.Whilst disappointed ,she learned how tough it was going to be to attain her goal amongst youngsters who are dancing two or three times a week and travelling down to Warrington for lessons each month but she also got a taste of what was required and is now working on a fitness regime so she can audition again next year, and the next and the next until she gets her place! That's my girl!