Guest Blogger - It's our good friend Rosie Hillman ...

After music, literature, photography and travel, one of the other things guaranteed to inspire me is nature – especially at this time of year.

After a cold, hard winter of dark mornings, dark nights and not much that isn’t dark in between, it seems like some sunlight is starting to filter through, marking the beginning of the start of spring.

It is quite amazing what half an hour out walking in that low, golden sunshine can do for your body and mind – everything seems to glow.

At the risk of sounding like a walking tourism brochure for Barrow, we have such an abundance of wonderful coastline right here on our doorsteps, not to mention the great green spaces and award winning parks at our disposal.

You can also see nature working hard on your own street. Although admitting this may make me a complete nerd, one of my favourite things to do as we move into March is to go ‘blossom-spotting’. I take my camera out for a walk around the streets of Barrow and look out for the first buds of spring blossom. Some of the shades of pink and cream look amazing against a crisp, blue sky – it’s a photographers dream. (But do be prepared for some funny looks from passers by).

Another of my favourite ways to while away an hour is to hop on my bike and pedal my way over to Walney or Roanhead. A walk along the beach is the perfect way to clear away the cobwebs – and the cold sea air is almost guaranteed to help even the longest-suffering insomniac get a good nights sleep.

I, along with many other Barrovians, have definitely been guilty of complacency when it comes to getting out and exploring the surrounding areas. I was born and raised in Barrow and I sometimes get the feeling that I have seen everything there is to see around the town.

But even though it may take a monumental effort to prise myself away from my sofa and cup of tea, it never fails to be worthwhile.

From a bike ride through Rampside and across the causeway to Roa Island to a stroll around Barrow Park to look at the latest seasonal flowerbeds – the thing with Barrow is, if you look for it, it’s there.

One of the nicest experiences I had recently was when some friends from Manchester travelled to Barrow to visit. They live on the outskirts of the city but work long, taxing hours in the centre. As a family, one of their favourite things is the UK’s coastline and their family holidays are usually spent exploring different beaches.

During their stay, my boyfriend and I  took them to a beach at the south end of Walney. The sky was black and the wind was throwing waves up on to the beach and seagulls up into the air. It was fantastic to see our friends’ flushed cheeks and happy smiles as they took it in turns skimming stones into the sea.

When things got a bit too chilly, we bundled them into the car and drove to Roa Island. We chose tasty ice creams from The Bosun’s Locker and strolled out to have a look around the RNLI lifeboat station.

Our friends didn’t want to leave and told us how lucky they thought we were to live in Barrow – I think they were right.

So if you’re after some inspiration, make that little bit of effort and get out and explore the local area, even if it’s the streets around your home – you never know what you might find…