The Immaculate Easter Break (; part IV ;)

…Hopefully this part will be as beneficial as I expected it to be for motivational purpose…

Kak Najwa and I had a blast by going to nature reserves here in Sheffield; we never thought that this hobby of ours can be very meaningful in a very abstract way.

Woolley Wood is another nature reserve that currently is being taken care of Sheffield Council. Here, we expected this particular area to be full of English Bluebell, a wild kind of flower that grows only in Spring. We were almost right because this wood is literally has English Bluebell duvet, they covered every inch of the wood’s floor and that was a gift from Mother Nature! SubhanaAllah.. It superbly soothed my hectic heart.

    

  

  

But…

It wasn’t just that. Before we discovered this fairy-tale-background wood, we had to walk for 3 consecutive hours amidst a small town during a hot afternoon just to find the entrance. As a matter of fact, our thermal wear burned us from the inside along with again, hunger. Both of these factors led to major carelessness and lots of miscommunications. In timely manner, we were first directed by a local farmer (thankfully), only that it was a vague guide which contributed to our little miscommunications. We appreciated his help though because without the ‘vague’ guide, we couldn’t make it to Woolley Wood. Alhamdulillah.

After performing our Zuhur prayers nearby big trees, we took some more time to rest and to eat our lovely lunch. Well, we just wanted to enjoy the view for a bit longer plus our legs were terribly sore. One thing we did not know at that moment was since this small region is just 10 yards hidden from a residential area (which is why we couldn’t find it with ease initially), there were of course dog owners along with their dogs or shall I say big sized ones.

Let me tell you a fun fact about a dog, it has a very sensitive nose that theoretically can smell something for over miles away from them. So, let us all imagine a situation where me and my partner was having our sweet little lunch in the wood and they were passing by a main path that coincidently also coming our way! They barked and continue to bark at us expecting food while running towards us and almost bit my leg. I am scared of dogs not because of the typical reasons; neither because I am a Muslim nor I am Malay or even I had lack knowledge about dogs. It was because I was chased by wild dogs twice in separate events before. So, logically, I do get easily scared by them and truthfully, I almost cried. Yes too, I am scared of many things.

I am writing these just to inform and maybe learn our lesson that we humans get scared instantly if we think we can be compromised by something. If our lives are in jeopardy, it is totally acceptable and because we think our lives are in jeopardy all the time by so many things now, we all accept whatever reasons that are scaring us. It is a noble act by respecting other peoples’ fears but in the same time, we are being fooled by our own kind. We now can get scared of cockroaches, home spiders, rats, heights, fur and electricity.

It makes every sense because respectfully, we all have bad experiences with those creatures. So did I. But, what we are lacking of are strong will and courage to tell our brains not to be afraid. This is usually the hardest part of dealing with fear. The only thing that stops us is ourselves. So, let’s think harder about this which I reckon that this issue also applies on our careers or relationships etc.

Last but not least is Blacka Moor. This is the last nature reserve that we had a chance to go to during the break. This specific reserve area is also an attraction to people that have science interests as written on the entrance sign which I cared less about it but felt more intrigued to go in.

To our luck, it hailed that day. Heavily that it almost seemed to look like heavy snow in December. Hail is just a shorter name for water and ice rain and looked like snow. Nonetheless, we had our best chance to see beautiful colours of flowers covered by snow. It is most likely that the two seasons, winter and spring, combined at one time. SubhanaAllah again. We were almost speechless to actually discover all white surrounding since we are originally came from tropical weathered continent.

We, again tried to find the best spot to eat our lunch and perform our solah along the way through the very cold temperature which I presumed approximately 2 ̊C. My gloves were wet due to the hail and could not protect my hands anymore until my both hands swelled that I could not even scratch my nose with it. Plus, I was not wearing the gloves the entire time because I was busy taking photos of the dramatic landscape.

We managed to hike to the top of a hill and made our way back down to ground level then to the swampy area of Blacka Moor. It felt like we were walking down to Harry Potter dead parents’ house because of the trail provided in the swamp was freaking us out just by walking on them. The trail was slippery because of the water and some were even covered by moss. Once we headed back to the forest, the icy surfaces were almost all disappear. Birds and other small animals started to make their unique sounds again which we both interpreted it as a natural therapy. No living things dare to go out in heavy hail except us. We were both lucky and damned at the same time. Mesmerised by the astonishing landscape and got flu by the cold temperature. Fair enough I think.

That experience made me reconsider about how much we complain and still go through our routine every day without knowing those complaints are building a character in us in which it is okay to complain once in a while as long as we made it till the end of our day. It is also known as a humanly trait. I am sorry for us that we actually do this but I do believe that it is also the most traditional and the hardest trait to get rid of which is why it also is worth knowing this fact.

All nature reserves; Mam Tor Hill, Bamford Edge and Ladybower Reservoir, Wyming Brook, Fox Hagg, Moss Valley Woodlands, Ecclesall Woods, Woodhouse Washlands, Woolley Wood and Blacka Moor that Allah has given us chances to go to, all hit a different spot in our hearts in a good way every time by taking lessons after experienced multiple difficult tests along the journey, by allowing ourselves to absorb and by really think about the lessons. All made me a better thinker as a Muslim and I would be stupid if I don’t use these lessons in the future. Again, just wanted to restate my aims of writing this blog which are solely for me and Kak Najwa to remember what we have learnt along the way during the break and those who read this entry to learn and think about several new things in reality.

Au revoir, Assalamualaykum..

The Immaculate Easter Break (; Part III ;)

We are down to the third out of four parts altogether.

The break was almost over so we rushed ourselves (mutual decision) to make this activity almost like a daily basis routine. We decided that woodland-walking and immature photography activities are our hobbies. In fact, we did captured some of amazing photos ourselves and we are proud of that. We learned new things about photography and nature landscape that it became almost an educational slot on weekly basis.

I must say that I loved it. Loved it enough to know it can be an addiction, a good kind of addiction. J

So, the next destination was Moss Valley Woodlands and yes I got some interesting experiences (for me, at least) to share.

We made it to the closest town by bus at almost noon if I’m not mistaken and as usual, we would use directions given from a trustworthy website with Google Maps’ help. Unfortunately, we got lost or we thought we were. After about an hour of walking down the streets, we still couldn’t find our way in to the wood which was a bizarre encounter. Commonly, there would be a signboard somewhere along the road to ease our journey but not this time. We were hungry and almost fight with each other because we did not have our breakfast that day and I am advising you readers to eat your breakfast, any type of food literally.

We eventually found an old local couple at a residential area who were cleaning their front yard and asked them on how to get to Moss Valley Woodlands and to our surprise they did not know where this place was. But, we did not give up. We made a bit more research and with a little geography knowledge we had, we interpreted the map over and over again until we finally reached our desired destination. How relieved we felt at that time considering our empty tummies and our tired limbs. Later that day, we found out that the old couple knew that the woodlands existed but they just do not call it with the same name. 

Thus, I got my lesson; a lesson that pinched my heart. We all need help in any form but sometimes we take them for granted because we simply overlook them. I am a newcomer in Sheffield and did not master about directions to go anywhere so I required help from Google (because did not want to bother other people much with a tiny ego), verbal help from good Samaritans and of course signboards along the streets but that particular day all these aids were not available or in other words, they could not help me to get to my destination.

And by that I managed to come out with a few questions for us to think about…food for thoughts. Can we be succeeded without help? Can we get what we want with lack of willingness? Yes, miracles do happen but they do not happen all the time. We must earn the miracles.

The next few days, we came across a similar output website that showcases nature reserves and achieved a consensus; to have a go at new places since it did not have much information like the previous website and we thought it would be nice to embrace new adventures (sort of).

How lovely this view and this is only the entrance.

Ecclesall Woods is one of the oldest woods in England which has been conserved by Sheffield Council instead of Sheffield Wildlife Trusts for more than thousands of years (the history was written on an information board).

We then encountered a group of old couples on our way in. They were carrying backpacks, wearing proper outfit to go through cold weather (approximately 9  ̊C) and so were we. I was amazed by their willingness to have a walk together with friends at old age into the woods. I imagined myself do that with my friends because it is an indication that our bodies are still fit to do outdoor sports and I always love keeping my body fit though I love to skip it at most times too (confusing but understandable for other girls XD).  

It also indicates that our silaturrahim is very strong that we still can be friends for a long time. That is a friendship goal! ;)

To be truthful, we never intended to go to Ecclesall Woods in the first place. We were aiming to change direction to go to a washland that week and were hooked to try going to Woodhouse Washlands Nature Reserve by attractive photos on the website. 

We got to the place of interest but there were cattles which we thought was completely safe. In contradict, we did think of finding a snake as being warned on the website and prepared for it but never to acknowledge that those herbivores were trying to chase us. Still, we did take some photos before leaving and headed for Ecclesall Woods instead. Animals do demand their privacy from urban citizens whom do not recognise wildlife enough and I admit I am one of them. I got chills and ran away from taking a risk to be physically compromised which I think is fair enough. The cattles demanded privacy (as I call it) and they got it because they deserved it.

Moving on to the last part… 

The Immaculate Easter Break (; Part II ;)

Wyming Brook Nature Reserve is the name. A place where there is no rushing homo sapiens. There was only a torrent river with gushing sound of water and chirping sound of birds. I went with Kak Najwa again this time. She became my woodland-walking partner. We entitled ourselves with that name in which neither of us cared enough to extend the group (unless there were requests from friends) or lousy enough to go alone; fair and square.

So, a few of English people with their dogs walked pass us while we were walking and sat near the riverbank from time to time for almost 4 hours we were in the Nature Reserve. Walking and a bit of hiking in this particular area only took about an hour and a half. Why 4 hours? We decided stayed back for a bit longer to be amazed by Mother Nature simply because we loved it and we still loving it.

I would love to come again to this nonsensically peace place with my books and a cup of hot chocolate. I am imagining myself sitting and reading books while holding the cup to keep warm and think as a civilised adult (not that I am not). This is just my surreal dream, that’s all.  XD

The sound that oak trees made as a result from the friction with the wind really resembles the feeling as we were in a spa with scented therapeutic candles all around us. That was a total rare experience in this modern techno world. Those whooshing and creaking sounds were able to clear our miserable, tumultuous minds just for a quick moment and that was the most precious moment in my life personally as I can only get that sort of feeling when I see my mother’s smile which obviously I could  not get since I was thousand miles away from her.

We only know how much we really love or care about someone/something when they’re not with us. I thought I showed enough affection towards her while we were living under the same roof but once my mind got cleared up I realised that how much I wished I could’ve done much more than I did before.

Beyond everything, I learned to express my care in many forms and really practise them until today; I prayed harder, I made gifts not bought them and I said that I love her.

Back to the storyline... :D

We got out from the worldly heaven pretty early, at about 3pm and in Spring, Maghrib time (when the sun sets) is about 8pm so we had plenty more time. Of course, we did not want to go home that early because it would be a waste if we did not use the time wisely to explore nearby nature reserves and experience quiet times even more. So, we went in Fox Hagg Nature Reserve. It is not a huge area of flora and fauna but we saw some footprints of humans, dogs and horseshoe so we acknowledged that this place is also being utilised for recreational purpose, not only keeping it at its best condition along with previous reserve areas we had a chance to go to.

As we walked down the riverbank’s trails, we learned that with no existence of stones stuck on the ground, we will have trouble of walking and may injure ourselves because of the slippery trail. We then got home at about 7pm with lots of humanity lessons to think of but a long shower and dinner beat our thoughts so that is why I need to write all these down.

Thus, the million-pounds-worth life lesson that we discovered throughout this woodland-walking activity was we should cherish everything in our lives and by that I mean to the smallest creature or man-made creations. In other words, we should appreciate everyone/everything as it shows our true colours; civilised or non-civilised? First class or third class way of thinking? I leave that for all of us (including me) to answer. 

Moving on to next part… :)

The Immaculate Easter Break (; Part I ;)

Easter break is usually a period of time where a lot of people wait for. It is the only gap in spring semester, well, I am speaking on students’ behalf anyway. 

So, this is my story during the break!

I didn’t go to France or Prague. Not really my current passion, at least. I went Into The Woods.

Technically, the first place we went was not a wood at all. It was a hill, Mam Tor Hill. I said we, who is another person?

Kak Najwa.
She was my housemate/roommate for since I got in Sheffield.

It was just another day, trying to convince ourselves to get out of bed, as usual. It is a real struggle anyway with that below 10  ̊C temperature. So, we departed from home at almost noon by train. We had to walk from a nearby town to the place of interest for about half an hour but we did not feel fatigue since it was our first time to go to such place. Surprisingly, the town itself was so peaceful that we decided to hang around for a while. How can it not be? The Castleton town has a river, lots of acres of farms, the hills look as green as a mint leaf.

Mam Tor is a very excellent place for beginners to hike. You can wear a pair of jeans without thinking of getting it dirty even a bit. Just prepare yourself to beat the stormy wind. It can make you sick. I did, for a week. Only 3 hours of steady hiking though, good for building stamina if you are preparing yourself for a marathon, breathing exercise and simply because it is good for you to get out of your house and do something different occasionally. Again, I am talking on students’ behalf. We tend to get stressed because of stacks of assignments, tonnes of presentations, tutorials and societies’ responsibilities so why don’t give yourself a break and see the nature. The view was greenly pleasant, I can tell you that.

As a matter of fact, green is the colour of Heaven. So, you bet how peaceful you can be after seeing it for yourself.

We then got so tempted to see another part of Sheffield after seeing such a view at Mam Tor and so decided to go to Bamford Edge a week after that. This time, we got more companies.

From left to right; Atiqah, Kak Najwa, Nadia, me and Amira.

They are all in the same scholarship programme as me, different courses by the way except Amira, she is chem-buddy. 

Bamford Edge was a new level of hiking. The hiking trail is a bit steeper than our previous one but fun. We ate lunch at the peak, literally at the edge of Edge. I am afraid of heights, not to be standing near the edge is my fear to be specific. Anyways, we took nice photos on our way up and whilst at the peak plus got lost on our way down. We got home after dark. 

Nonetheless, getting lost in the nature really means something to each of us. Different lessons yet useful for the future. As for mine, I learned that humans’ plans aren’t really the best because Allah is The Best Planner. I am sure that everyone knows this but can we all really instil it inside our hearts when things go ‘wrong’?  I know I am still in the process. This is just a quick self-reminder. 

Lucky for us, another sort of nature reserve was very close to The Edge. It’s named as Ladybower Reservoir. Some people come here for fishing, another some come here for eye pleasure and another some come here for a family day out. Apart from being scared of heights, I am also scared of water. Anything deeper than a bath tub like photo below scares me because I don’t know how to swim. It is not something that I am proud of but it is the fact and facing life facts can be difficult to some people nowadays maybe including me. Lots of ups and downs that we all have faced in our lives yet sometimes we still wondering or questioning ‘what if…’ questions. Not really a good thing but this is another life fact that we gotta face, aye?

This particular experience; standing near to this huge engineering machine taught me something. Time moves even faster than this and we all chasing it like crazy just to achieve dreams or goals in life. It makes all sense but I learned that we just need to go with the flow and adapt and do our best in timely manner, in present. We don’t have to chase anything, all good things will come to us if we manage to do all three above because that is exactly what Allah has mentioned in The Qur’an. We cannot be so attached to this temporary world, it is solely just a test platform for us to prepare for Hereafter.

Another fascinating lesson that I’ve learned was that when we get so worldly attached to something/someone, we will get hurt eventually. If we prepare for an exam like a robot just to get good grades and after that good university then a decent job for the rest of our lives and all for what? What is really the meaning beyond all those decent and good stuff we get from robotic manner of preparing ourselves in an exam?  I believe this apply to all situations in life, not only examinations.

Moving on to the next part…