I’ve been following the progress of the England Coast Path for a while now, since my obsession with long distance paths started. I love these trails, even though I have not, as yet, walked very much of any of them. There have been various coastal paths around the country, with the South West Coast Path being the most prominent, but now work has been pretty much completed on joining the dots and unveiling the new King Charles III Coast Path. The man himself opened the path today, although I’m guessing he didn’t walk very much of the almost 2,700 miles.
There’s a lot to like in this book, the story of a friendship tested many years ago and efforts now to bring it back together. The characters are good, the friendship described well, the setting is vivid and the drama off the scale. Tension is present throughout, and for that part, it’s good. But it does feel long, it drags in places, and very repetitive - the scenery, I get it, in some way’s it has changed a lot, in others it’s the same. I’m glad I read it but I’m also quite glad to have put it away now.
This is such a good book, following Ed Stafford’s journey from one end of the famous river to the other through miles of challenging territory: jungles, locals, wildlife and just endless dangers. The story is well told, a good focus on the challenges whilst also remembering the good times, being open about the mental health side of it and honest about the author’s own mistakes and downfalls. It gets, perhaps, a little repetitive in the final third, which is probably quite representative of the walk itself, and of course it ends very abruptly as the river does, so also a very fair book. A good adventure read, and quite eye-opening about an area of the world I don’t know very much about.
I keep seeing walking pads everywhere - the smaller, more agile version of a treadmill that is designed for walking rather than running, and getting your steps in rather than completing a marathon. Naturally with the start of a new year and resolutions being made and broken, it makes sense for a lot of conversation to centre on health and fitness but I really am seeing these small machines everywhere, they are having a moment!
A recent addition to Apple Maps is the option to create a Custom Route, and this is a great integration for me. It’s not new technology to be able to plot a potential walking route for yourself, I’ve been using various options for a while. Being able to plan where you’re going, how far a route is, how long it might take, whether it crosses busy roads, etc. it’s all part of the fun.
In July, I wrote about the first part of a multi-part canal walk, following the towpath between two cities: Birmingham and Worcester. The first part of the walk was a lot of fun, and I quickly followed it up with a second outing. That was less fun. I was saving writing about it until I could potentially combine it with a more fun third element, but time has been ticking away and the weather is turning and who knows when that will be. So here we go!
It’s hard for me to put a number score on this movie because it’s a quality production - beautifully made and telling the story well, dipping back and forth in time at exactly the right moments to let the story unfold alongside the absolute insanity of the coast trail. Reese Witherspoon is fantastic in both grieving hedonism and intense introspection, and Laura Dern as the mother is so adorable. But there’s something about it that just didn’t grab me at all.
Obviously, I picked this up because of my obsession with long distance paths, and the Thames Path being one particularly high up the list. This was a really good read, but it did have me wondering in places - what is it trying to be? There’s a lot of discussion about pub prices and hotel hospitality, alongside slightly bizarre meanderings around the fallout from Brexit. But then there are great river anecdotes, meeting random people and setting up interviews and tours along the way. It’s well written, atmospheric and enticing, but then sometimes frustrating and (as admitted by the author) purposeless. Worth the read, though, for sure.
There’s nothing smart or clever about this movie but it is such a nice, gentle watch. The stakes are pretty low, even when there is an emergency deep in the forest, and that lets you relax into it and watch the love story unfold. It’s not a great script, either, really, but there are some good messages and moments in there. The group in a circle learning how to come up with three things to be grateful for was fun. Not groundbreaking, but worth a watch if you need a bit of soothing.
Julia Bradbury has walked all over the UK and made various TV episodes about her adventures, but one that has always stuck with me is the Worcester & Birmingham canal walk. Julia split the nearly 50km walk into a two day mission, stopping off at Tardebigge to break up the two halves. I finally got organised and kicked off this walk, but only did about 10km in the one session, so it’s going to take me a few more than just the two days. Never mind though, it’s an interesting walk and so far worth it!
I haven’t read any Bill Bryson in a long time, and it was fun to dip my toes back in the water. This book follows the adventures of Bill and a friend as they walk some of the Appalachian Trail - a hiking trail in the US that stretches almost 2,200 miles through 14 states on the east side. Naturally the pair are woefully under-prepared and make plenty of mistakes along the way, but I enjoyed how the book is not just about walking but also about various topical things along the way: industry in various places, the point of hiking trails, how leisure time has changed. It’s a good read even if the results of the actual hiking are disappointing.
My obsession with the UK’s National Trails has taken a bit of a backburner recently, but I decided to go in search of another starting point. This time, I looked for the trail that practically divides two countries - Offa’s Dyke Path. The path is a wobbly straight line hovering around the border between England and Wales, following the 8th century Dyke construction by King Offa. Lots of history.
We’re halfway through January now so those who were going to set resolutions have no doubt done so by now. If anyone is still looking for something to get more active and get out there, the Walk 1000 Miles initiative by Country Walking magazine caught my eye. It’s a challenge to do exactly what it says on the tin, although really the goal isn’t necessarily the target but really to get outside and get more steps in than you have before.
My 30 days of walking has come to an end, and this was a challenge that I really enjoyed. It was nice to have the oomph to get outside every day and nice to know that it didn’t have to be a long walk… although sometimes it was. September was a pretty reasonably month for weather, so I was quite lucky. Only a couple of my outings were in full on rain, although the final walk of all 30 was in horrible wind and drizzly conditions. Not a great way to finish but could have been much worse!
In the first ten days of walking, I was really all about no pressure, just getting outside and trying to be consistent about it. The next 10 days have been a bit more adventurous and have seen me explore different routes around my immediate start point, try out some longer routes when time allows, and more importantly than anything, walk with some wildlife.
I’m ten days in to this month’s challenge and so far quite enjoying it. The plan was simply to get outside and walk for at least ten minutes every day and so far I’ve not managed less than 15 minutes, not so much because of enthusiasm but more because that’s just how long the short ‘routes around the block’ take. It’s nice though, getting outside, getting some fresh air, breaking up the day.
This is typical me. My Apple Watch fitness goal for August was based on completing a certain number of kilometres across the course of the month. I achieved it, just, but have now decided for September, I’m going to do a bit of walking every day. If I’d done this last month, I’d have easily achieved that badge. Oh well.
It’s not the best time to get obsessed with maps and walking, given that the autumn and winter weather is starting to kick in, but I recently discovered the Get Outside section of the Ordnance Survey website. As the official mappers of the UK, they have plenty to peruse on the atlas and map side of things, but they’ve also made a big effort to encourage people to leave the comfort of four walls and a roof and make the best use of their products.
Our progress on the South West Coast Path this year has been slow, or more precisely, non-existant, given everything that has been going on in the world. And because I am the kind of person who doesn’t focus on finishing one thing but quite quickly flits off to another project, I’ve found another path! This time, the England Coast Path! Why do 630 miles when you can do 2,795?
When the sun’s been out, we’ve been sneaking quick trips to the South West Coast Path at various points along its length. None of them have been particularly exciting trips but there are enough now to make a quick scrapbook.
This batch includes a walk returning by train, a walk returning by bus, a walk that was stopped by a massive hill that we just couldn’t face, and a trip down Newquay streets which covered more of the path than I thought it was going to.
Stumbled across this beauty on my Jurassic Coast travels. The Geoneedle features many different types of rock to commemorate just how much history is on display in the area.
From the National Trust page:
The Geoneedle at Orcombe Point is an impressive landmark constructed of the various rock types found along the World Heritage coastline. It was commissioned from public artist, sculptor and designer Michael Fairfax to commemorate the opening of the World Heritage Site and was unveiled by HRH the Prince of Wales in 2002.
I’ve seen a lot of debate recently about the usefulness of new year’s resolutions - are we putting too much pressure on ourselves? Are we pushing for hard to achieve activities when we should be revelling more in what we have and who we are? I think there can be an element of this and I can respect those who don’t care for a resolution one way or the other. I personally think, however, that it’s a great time of year to consider what you’ve done and what you might like to do in the coming months. Self-reflection can be useful.
From a quick, refreshing walk around an RSPB nature reserve. I know the camera in my phone isn’t ideal for this kind of photography, but I still like the patterns created.
It’s only natural that with a growing interest in the South West Coast Path, I sought out books from those who have walked it already. There are a few, but this one seemed like a good place to start. Here we have tales of a walk split into two sections but still done properly - walking miles each day and stopping at B&Bs each evening.
Our third and final South West Coast Path adventure of the summer was all about cliffs. The theme of our adventures so far has been spontaneity and this was another one that we hadn’t really planned out. It was the kind of trip that saw us driving along a coast road and eventually just deciding to take the next left turn to end up at a beach.
Unfortunately, the beach we ended up at wasn’t that inspiring, so instead, we decided to follow the acorn which took us climbing up some pretty steep cliffs. It was hard work, but it was so, ridiculously, worth it. These are the kind of views that you see on TV… and views you just can’t look away from.
It feels a bit incongruous to write about the beautiful sunny days of summer when autumn has more than arrived, but I want to catch up the final two stretches of South West Coast Path we walked this year, before settling down to make plans for the next batch.
So, after finding the start of the path, our next adventure was another that came about by accident – we hadn’t particularly been planning on finding the other end of the national trail, but I sort of had an inkling in my head as we drew nearer and nearer that we could make it happen. A glorious blue sky was overhead when we rocked up to the beautiful Studland.
My obsession with the South West Coast Path has only been steadily growing since we found the beginning and the end of the long distance trail.
I bought a guide book and I’ve been plotting and planning how, when and where we can walk the different sections. Because although, just recently, I managed to get Mr C to finally admit he might have an inkling (albeit with great reluctance) to join me on this adventure, it’s not going to be eight week odyssey for us. This is more of a ’let’s go and see which bit of path we can add to the map today’ type thing.
I’ve long been intrigued by the UK’s National Trails. They are long distance footpaths scattered around the UK that follow historical or geographical patterns, like Hadrian’s Wall, the Thames, or the best of the lot, the South West Coast. The South West Coast Path is the best of the lot because, as it says in the title, it follows the coast – and the sea is the best geographical feature there is. It also tracks through some of the most beautiful areas, with the gorgeous Cornish beaches, Devon cliffs, and the lovely Jurassic coast.
I’ve long been of the mind that AR is a far greater useful tool to humanity than VR will ever be - particularly since I had a go on the PlayStation VR equipment for just a couple of minutes and subsequently had to lie down for half an hour. That being the case, I’m trying to keep an eye out for awesome developments in AR apps, and PeakFinder is one of those.
I’ve needed a new phone for a while, and was umming and ahhing about what specific iPhone to go for. In the end, I went for the 8 Plus and now I wish I had shut up and bought it sooner because the dual-lens camera is totally incredible. I’m not a natural photographer, but every single photo I’ve taken this past week or so is the best photo I’ve ever taken, thanks to the camera. The colours are gorgeous, the focus crisp, and portrait mode is something else entirely. Now I want to take more photos of everything, everywhere all the time, and I think that is worth every penny.
I found myself with a spare hour or so whilst in Bath recently, and suddenly remembered something I’d spotted online – an audio walking tour of the city. Rather than having to wait at a tour stop and join with a random group of people to be ferried around the famous streets, this was a solo adventure. The site offers two tours, for free, and the one I opted for was the Jane Austen Walking Tour.
When I was a kid, I remember being driven across Salisbury Plain, and spotting a pristine but empty looking village tucked away in the fields. My parents told me this was an army village, not for living in, but for exercises and drills. My imagination was absolutely caught by this and whenever I travelled around, across or anywhere near Salisbury Plain, I would always be on the lookout for this exceptional village.
The premise of this spoke to me, as I think of myself of something of a reluctant traveller. I like to see new and exciting things, but I very much enjoy my home comforts. Here we have the tale of Bill who, for some reason, is talked into going with his friend to climb a mountain in Ethiopia - a mountain that has a location no one is quite sure of. Some even doubt whether it actually exists.
As mentioned in my Snowdon post, I had four hours to while away before going up the mountain. Ordinarily, I think I would have gone on to another location, I had plenty of options of places to visit, but I was a bit worried about getting back in time. Somehow, I’d managed to time my mountain trip on the same day as the Snowdon International Race – a crazy event where athletes actually run up a mountain. They were putting up the required barriers and cones as I arrived, and I knew it might be tricky to get back and/or park, and having spent what I did on the train tickets, I didn’t want to miss it.
I met up with my parents this past weekend, and we went for a walk around the National Trust estate at Kingston Lacy. The place wasn’t fully open yet, still hunkered down and working through the cold weather, but they were celebrating the carpets of snowdrops that were across some of the gardens. We thought we’d brave the freezing conditions (there were literal snow drops falling at times) to have a look at nature in action.
I’ve fallen behind in documenting my exciting adventures out and about, although this first one I have to discuss isn’t all that exciting. It was a while back, when the days were still sunny, and I decided to get out of the house, go for a walk and make the most of the fresh air. I wasn’t really sure where to go, but I had a look online and found a circular walk or two that looked doable. I really like going for walks, following trails, that kind of thing. My parents are really good at reading an Ordnance Survey map and finding the pathways, but I need a bit more guidance than that.
It seems that O is a letter that is destined to cause me trouble. After the thwarted attempt to visit a previous O-shaped destination, I selected another. This did not go completely smoothly either, but I’m going with it, because I am running out of Os (and I want to get to P!).
During our recent heatwave in the UK, I took a day off work and opted to head outside. It was somewhat impromptu, because I wanted to make the most of the nice weather and the free time. I’d only discovered Osterley Park a week or so before, and realised it would make a good replacement O. The house and park is a National Trust property, situated just off the M4, right by Heathrow.
It was a beautiful, hot day in May when I decided to head towards Cheddar Gorge - the third stop on my alphabet tour. As it turns out, I arrived at Cheddar from the Gorge end, meaning I drove through it to get to the car parks and tourist stops. It was really quite scary, like driving into the centre of the earth. The cliffs either side started getting higher and higher, until eventually they blocked out the sun. Spooky.
I asked my mother what mood she thought I was in and the answer that I got was “You appear to be quite jolly!” So I am.
I went for a walk today, along the river and through the woods, it was very pretty.
