‘I always take my socks off’: Floella Benjamin follows the bracing trail to a waterfall in Cumbria

The TV presenter heads to this spot twice a year, in spring and autumn, and loves it in both seasons

I love going to Cumbria. It’s my spiritual home and a great place to go to feel connected with nature. The first town I stayed in, maybe 20 years ago, was Ambleside, at the top of Lake Windermere. It’s a lovely resting place and you can set out in almost any direction and have wonderful walks with wonderful scenery. Sometimes we’ll walk for seven or eight hours to Grasmere or up to Lake Rydal, and have a picnic overlooking the valleys and lakes.

Go in the springtime and you’ll see the snow-capped hills with a blue sky behind them and fields of daffodils. Go in autumn and you’ll see golden leaves, which remind me of the Windrush generation when they came to Britain, saying the streets were paved with gold – when the land is golden like this, you actually understand the meaning of it.