In 2018, with a client, I walked a shortened version of The Coleridge Way from Dunkery Beacon to Nether Stowey. The whole route was stunningly beautiful, we were lucky with the weather and the views were amazing. One section stuck in my mind as needing a revisit. It was a bluebell wood, but well past it’s best. I’ve been thinking about returning for some time and had planned a short (4 mile) circular route to take another look. One thing and another got in the way, a pandemic then a job as the major problems. However I now had a day off and drove to the edge of the Brendon Hills and the tiny v ..read more

During the Autumn two very different news items made me think about the paths we walk today and how they might have been made. ‘The Slow Ways Project’ hopes to get people walking between locations via existing off-road paths and bridleways to promote slower types of travel. My favourite section of the M6 motorway, through the Lune Gorge in Cumbria and over Shap Fell (the highest section of motorway in the UK), was 50 years old on the 23rd October. Early paths were travelled on foot. They took the easy, safe and quickest routes. Initially they connected settlements to hunting grounds, or other ..read more

From any one place, there will be a limit to the number of walks which can be easily completed without resorting to the motor car. Most places have walks of varying lengths in all directions, but eventually you will need to repeat a route. But what is wrong with walking a familiar route over and over? Walking a familiar route removes anxiety of getting lost, or finding the path blocked or taking longer than you thought you would. You don’t need to concentrate on a map and looking for the route. You can let your mind wander, let your eyes rise to the horizons to look at the view. ‘It looks diff ..read more

With the Walking Group currently curtailed again because of the latest Covid 19 restrictions, there is another walking activity which has been keeping me busy and outdoors over the last few weeks. I first got involved with the Duke of Edinburgh award when I was a trainee teacher some 20 odd years ago. My own school did not run the awards at all. It was not as popular then as it is now. Most people associate the award with the expedition alone, but there is a lot more to it than that. Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates have to complete a volunteering section, learn a new or develop an old skill ..read more

I first met Jo when she overtook me on Jacobs ladder on our first day on the Pennine Way. I was carrying a 65l rucksack complete with my camping kit and was still warming up whilst climbing this huge staircase. Jo had left her Edale B&B, her suitcase to be forwarded by a carrier, and was carrying a small day pack. She generously slowed down and we walked together across KinderScout, bravely telling everyone we met that we were heading for Scotland. It seemed an awful long way. Later on we met up again, with just one route and few civilisations to stay in, it was almost inevitable. My husba ..read more

Many years ago most of the UK was covered in woodland. As humans began to settle they made clearings in the wood. The settlements got bigger and the clearings got bigger. Agriculture developed and land was cleared for animals to graze and to grow crops, they left thin strips of woodland between fields. As time went by land use changed from woodland to agriculture and back to woodland. Urban areas developed. The Kings took back land to form the Royal Chases. Cannock Chase and the New Forest are just two of these areas still largely clear of both agriculture and settlements. Instead of Royal pla ..read more

Religion and Navigation So what is the link? I’m sure that some of the early explorers appealed to their Gods before setting out on their expeditions, imagine those setting out over the sea in small craft to find out what happened over the horizon. Later when the world and the seas were charted and they navigated by the stars and a sextant, did they pray for a safe journey? I expect so. But for us today, walking in the UK, we may pray for a safe trip, good weather or give thanks for the beautiful countryside we find ourselves in. Perhaps the desperate prayer of a walking group leader to whiche ..read more

I spent an interesting morning in the Gym today with Nathan from Defined by Movement having my gait and way of walking analysed. Very thorough check up from literally the tip of my toes to the top of my head. Some things to think about to keep me walking into old age ..read more

Last September I walked The Pennine Way. People ask if I enjoyed it and I can't honestly say that I enjoyed all of it. Some parts were physically hard, some were mentally hard. The weather toyed with me, fine sunshine when the forecast was for rain and Storm Ali with winds in excess of 80 mph for the penultimate day. But would I do it again? Most definately .#thepennineway Offa's Dyke seemed like a logical next move. Like the PW I had walked along bits of it here and there, crossed over it many times on the way to Snowdonia on the A5 and lived close to it for half my life. I called Jo, whom I ..read more

I've come to realise that I have lots of things I've said I will do 'one day' and that days are running out, so I thought it's time to make a start. Driving to Ayrshire from Gretna, along the A75, for many miles on the left you can see a rather inviting looking mountain. Its name is Criffel. I calculated I have driven past it over 100 times on my way back and forth from Ayrshire, back in July I was admiring it from another angle looking across the Solway Firth from Cumbria. I saw it a few years ago from furthur up the Cumbrian coast on the final section of the Hadrian's Wall path. Tuesday 29t ..read more