I am now retired, with more time for walking in the North Pennines and researching local history. My Fellowship in 2000 was to follow the fortunes of lead miners from Northumberland, County Durham and Cumbria to the goldfields of Australia from the 1850s. The purpose was to make the North Pennines of Northern England better known and more accessible to visitors. This has been done by establishing a Long Distance Path (LDP) called Isaac's Tea Trail between the old lead-mining centres of Allendale and Alston.

The trail's inspiration is Isaac Holden, a tea merchant forced to find another livelihood when the mines closed. His nephew and namesake was among the miners that went to Australia. Close links have been maintained with Australia including regular contributions to local history publications, talks and regular emails with friends made during my Fellowship. Staycations in the UK mean that increasing appreciation for walking has never mattered more.

The support of the Fellowship provided the catalyst for Isaac's Tea Trail. It gave me the confidence and determination to succeed and, like the heroic gold-mining pioneers from the North Pennines, to follow my dream.