Back on the trail after odd patch

IT'S been an odd couple of weeks. There was no phone line for a quite a while – and as a consequence no internet – because of a fault on the part of the provider. It was a strange feeling of being cut-off. We’ve become so used to having these forms of communication. Also, writing a blog acts as a motivator. You can do that, of course, whether or not you have the internet. But it feels ‘unfinished’ if you can’t upload your post.

Rainwater seen
 from the ground up!

Coupled with a busy schedule, the walking has taken a bit of a battering. It’s been rather sporadic, and I have not done as much as I would have liked.  I need to review commitments and see how walking time can be fitted in!

The weather’s been more changeable, which has added some welcome variety. One or two mornings it's not been raining, but quite wet, with puddles everywhere. Now leaves are beginning to fall, and there are also unopened horse chestnuts and small apples on the ground.This morning was pleasant. It was dark when I set of at around 06.15 and quite mild. I aimed for a half hour walk.

No, not a flood - just a worm's eye view
of a puddle.

I prefer a circular route to a straight one, and today's excursion was a mix of the two – if such as thing’s possible. My outward route included a lane I had not incorporated before, so I had to double back along that on the return journey – that was the straight bit! Instead of simply following the same route all the way back, however, I varied it, to add a sort of a circle.

If you had to draw the route, it would look like one of those cartoon snakes that swallows a large object – two thin ends, and a big blob in the middle!

Stats record - with number of steps added.

Cakewalk now on the menu

Rose hips - seen the on the Cakewalk route.

ONE idea to work out a ‘menu’ of routes, so that you can choose one to suit your mood and the amount of time you have. You could have a longer, more challenging one at weekends, for example, and shorter ones for when you’re pushed for time.

Walking is not like going to the gym. Apart from the fact that you have no subscription to pay, you don’t have to travel to get there, you don’t have to book at particular times, you don’t have to follow any particular programme and you don’t need any specialist equipment.

In fact, you can fit a session in almost any time, any place. Even just a five-minute burst is better than nothing at all. And if you think of every step you take as an investment in your own health and well-being, then that time and those steps are invaluable.

I followed the same route this morning as I did yesterday. And because the distance was partly determined by my penance for eating so much cake – where I told myself I had to add an extra bit (on to the walk, that is, not another slice of cake!) - I’ve decided to call it my Cakewalk! It’s one of my favourites, and is exactly five miles from the door of my house and back again.

Early morning colour in the park.

I cross a main road twice – once on the outward and once on the home-bound journey – then stay on pavements until I reach the local park where I do an anti-clockwise circuit of the perimeter path. On the very last section of the route, near my home, I have the choice of walking alongside the main road or taking a woodland pathway which runs parallel to it.

My goal now is to do the same walk a few more times, until I get a good sense of exactly how long it takes, what my pace is, how I ‘feel’ about it. And I’ll be doing the same with the other walks, slowly building up the bank, or menu, of different routes.

The park was beautiful this morning, between seven and eight. A light bluey mist hugged the ground and beams from the low sun speared between the trees. It was quieter than usual, with the occasional jogger or walker, and a handful of owners exercising their dogs.

It’s surprising how quickly the sun rises, though, and for much of the way back I was walking into it. I like this least of all. It’s rather like when you’re driving and you’re blinded by the angle of the sun. Sometimes, you simply can’t see where you’re going. In these conditions, I stick to shaded areas as much as possible.

But the Cakewalk is now on my menu, and I’ll certainly be going back for a second, or even third, helping!

Extra mile for guilty cake pleasure

Pleasant day for a walk.

IT was fresher this morning after overnight rain. Puddles on the footpath and glistening drops on the grass created a slightly shimmering effect (or was that just me shivering?). It seemed cooler, but with a brisk walk, things soon warmed up.

I followed one of my favourite routes, where the surroundings vary from homes to leafy park, and I know roughly how long it will take. You’re soon able to judge the timing for certain distances. Five minutes to the first lamp-post, another five to the turning for a narrow ally, five more to the gnarly old tree. You can gauge time according to the ‘route-markers’ along the way.

A slightly niggling drawback is crossing the main road. When the traffic is heavy, you have to stop, which interrupts the momentum. But once on the other side it’s easy to get back into your stride.

Couple exercising in the park

Once you’ve settled into a rhythm, you become aware of your body; yet it seems to ‘take over,' as if on auto-pilot. It looks after itself. You hear your breathing. Today mine was a strong, slow, pattern of in-2-3, out-2-3, in-2-3, out-2-3. Your walking creates the rhythm, but the rhythm in return helps you to sustain the pace. It feels relaxed, comfortable. You could go on forever. Magic!

As with previous walks, the park was again buzzing. A large group of joggers talked excitedly as they waited for the off, young soccer hopefuls pushed through their routines, owners walked their dogs. Cotton-wool clouds billowed into the blue sky, long tree shadows stretched across the bejewelled grass, and everything was an enriched green.

On the return stretch I ended up behind a slow-walking smoker on a narrow pathway, unable to overtake. I had to reduce my pace – and breathe in some of the cigarette smoke. Thankfully it didn’t last long!

What did last longer than I’d planned was my walk. My wife makes wonderful cakes, specialising in heavenly brownies. And guess who’s the chief cake-taster! This week there was a lot of baking, including a chocolate cake that was a sort of giant brownie. I confess, I have been taking the job very seriously indeed, and undertaking a great deal of tasting! (I know, but somebody’s got to do it!).

Tempted by Heavenly brownies - life's so unfair!

To alleviate the effect of my guilty pleasures, I decided to extend my walk – and so did an extra mile or so at the end. I thought of it as my ‘cakewalk.’ I finished almost exactly on the hour, save a few seconds! It was a good feeling!

By this time I was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger. Trouble is, the first thing that caught my eye was . . . chocolate cake, anyone?

Don't go down to the woods tonight . . .

A glimpse of the highway on an after-dark walk.

UNLESS you have a torch, and ideally someone to walk with, it’s not wise to go walking in the woods at night. Not just because it’s scary – things take on strange half-human shapes that loom out at you from the shadows – but because of the hazards. In previous posts I’ve mentioned the uneven pathway, small holes and tree routes. In the daytime, they add character and variety to your walk; at night, they become obstacles waiting to trip you up at every opportunity. 

And then there’s the dog mess. It’s difficult enough to watch where you’re treading when you can see – when you can’t, you never know what you’re putting your foot into.

This is not to say that a woodland walk in the dark can’t be fun, but it would take a lot more planning – and really isn’t the sort of get-up-and-go-right-now kind of walking being advocated on Route Walk.

In a post on another blog yesterday (Bubblews: http://www.bubblews.com/news/1080680-back-in-the-swing-of-walking) I briefly mentioned the reduced impact walking has on your joints compared to jogging or running. Casey Mayers, in Walking, A Complete Guide to the Complete Exercise, points out that in running, we land with a force of three to four times our body weight; he says 3.5 is the ‘generally accepted’ figure. Maggie Humphreys in Step It Out refers to the same statistic, stating that your feet hit the ground with more than three times your body weight when jogging, compared to one to one-and-a-half times your body weight when walking. And the Livestrong website adds that power walking places less strain on your body and joints than running does. 

Headlight trails on the highway.

It would seem that even walking at speed, your body suffers less impact than when jogging or running, although to be fair, running would enable you to burn more calories over the same length of time.

Of course, if you go walking in the woods at night, you may receive some unwanted impact as you become snagged in branches, or take a tumble over that 'invisible' tree root.

So don't go down to the woods tonight; wait until it’s light, step out into a new day – and improve your health and fitness without bashing your bones to bits!

A stroll in nature's art gallery

A feast for the eye - and a treat for the taste buds!

Creative nature - from little acorns . . .

THE beauty of walking is that you can vary the pace to suit your mood and amount of effort you want to put in.

When you run, you have to, well, run – you need to be going at a certain speed for it to be classified as running. You can run slowly or quickly, of course, but you still have to run! When you jog you have to well, jog! Is jogging a sort of running walk, or a walking run? No answers required, just something to ponder if you’re at a loose end on a rainy afternoon!

With walking, however, you can powerwalk or racewalk, or you can stroll or even dawdle – just had to get that word in somewhere – but it’s still walking! Sometimes it’s nice to burn rubber and really go for it; other times, you can slow down and just take in the scenery.

Nature's art - textures of a fallen tree.

And when you’re walking there’s plenty to see. This evening, my walk was more of a stroll, with a few stops to absorb what I came across and take photos. I didn’t worry about my ‘stats,’ as I wouldn’t have burnt a great deal of energy or broken any land speed records, but it’s still activity, it’s still physically moving.

Nature provides a natural art gallery. Today I enjoyed beautiful shapes, forms, patterns, textures, colours. Here an installation, there a sculpture.  A real sensory adventure – apart from a slightly painful wrestle with the brambles!

Mind you, I don’t know why dog owners who bother to take a scoop bag don’t take the bag with them instead of leaving it where it is. That’s worse than simply not clearing the mess in the first place.

But a mild annoyance compared to the benefits of the walk and the natural delights on display.

Oh, and as for the Fruitometer – the little measure of calories burned on my Cardio app – instead of ‘burning fruit,’ I took some home with me.

I mean, those blackberries did look inviting!

Striking hawthorn berries that attract the eye.

Tree trunk pattern and texture.

Walk was worth the effort

HAD to make an effort to go out this evening. I’d been in college earlier, sorting paperwork and meeting this year’s student intake – who, I might add, were lovely. We visited a photographic exhibition, where the group were asked to write down their views; what they liked, disliked, what their reasons were, etc. We walked from the college to the venue and back (about four tomatoes' worth of energy!), so had the opportunity to chat on the way. 

       Tree support off the beaten path.

Time will tell, but if the young people continue in class like they did today – during induction week – they’ll be great!

Once home, there was more preparation and other admin to be cleared. I was slumped comfortably in front of the telly on my ‘break’ and just couldn’t rustle up enthusiasm for striding around the neighbourhood; there was ‘stuff to do,’ I couldn’t afford the time, I was tired, I was enjoying the TV, I hadn’t had my tea  – in other words, all the usual excuses!

Trouble is, the walking is becoming a habit (I’m glad to say), and habits are difficult to break. I began to feel that, well, perhaps I should go out for a few minutes.

I asked myself: ‘If I leave off tonight, what about tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after?’ It would be quite easy to take the comfortable option and not to do anything. And before you could say, ’I’ll just tie my boot laces up!’ I’ll have dropped out of my own project. 

Then I started to think it would be better going for even
just a short walk than simply remaining where I was
in my inactive state.

Picturing the enjoyment

Nettles picked out by the sun.

And, finally, I began to picture what I enjoy about walking: the rhythm that builds, where your body seems to transform into some fantastical organic machine and you can hear your steady, determined breathing; feel the measured pace of your feet as they tread the ground; see the trees and hedgerows, footpaths, roads, flowers, butterflies and anything else that comes into and passes from your view as you stride purposefully on.  You become aware of muscles and joints all working together in harmony (ok, and the odd ache or two!). Your body takes over.

In the end, I couldn’t resist. Weighing up what else I had to do, I gave myself 40 minutes. It was a beautiful warm evening and I took a bit of a wiggly circular route mixing woodland pathway, pavements and grassy banks, and including streets with some gentle but fairly steep slopes.

I returned to ‘base’ after 37 minutes. I hadn’t missed a great deal of telly, I had my tea, and there was still time to catch up on outstanding work. 

Sometimes, the hardest step is the first one!

Discovering hidden delights

THE UK’s Top 10 secret trails that can only be accessed by foot has been compiled by the National Trust as part of The Great British Walk – the Trust’s third annual two-month walking festival.

The list has been compiled following research, reported by the Trust, which revealed, among other things, that:

• Nearly one in four adults (22%) said they rarely go for walks
• 17% never venture more than 500 metres from their car.

Despite this, the survey revealed that:

• 68% of those questioned described a feeling of euphoria on reaching the summit of a walk or an amazing viewpoint
• Eight out of 10 (80%) said walking makes them feel happy.

If you want to find out more about The Great British Walk and discover the country’s Top 10 secret trails, visit the National Trust website at:  

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/activities/walking/walking-festival/

Beautiful rowan trees seen through silhouetted tree trunks.

IN the meantime, if you are a community group, school or youth group in the UK, did you know that you could be eligible for free packs to help you plant more trees? The Woodland Trust has 4,000 tree packs to give away.

The packs are distributed twice a year, in March and November, and come in three sizes:

• small (30 trees),
• medium (105 trees)  
• large (420 trees)

They are designed to help groups choose the right mix for their area – small copse, small hedge, wildlife, year-round colour, wild harvest, wetland and wood fuel.

To find out more, log on to the Wood Trust site at: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/moretreesmoregood/about/Pages/about.aspx

You need to hurry, though. Deadline for ordering trees is September 13

.Apart from their importance in the eco-system, trees enhance the experience of any walk, especially in an urban area. 

I went for another walk this morning in the copse near where I live. This time it was more of a stroll and to take photographs. With all the leaves on the trees at this time of the year, and the thick undergrowth, it’s sometimes difficult to believe that only a few yards away is a busy main road.

Canopy of green over a woodland trail.

Just popping out to the shop

Beware nettles thistles and other stingy-prickly things.

ONE of the problems with any activity is that you have to motivate yourself to do it – but sometimes, you just don’t feel like it. You’re glued to the telly; there’s that washing up that needs doing; or you’re enjoying a relaxing cuppa.

But the beauty of walking is that you can do it on virtually any occasion, for any length of time, and with very little preparation. Agreed, for longer, more ‘serious,’ walks you do need more planning and warm up exercises, but provided you have comfortable clothing and footwear, you can walk any time!

Scenic route to the shop.

My walk this evening was ‘short and sweet’ and, as my brother commented, shows that ‘walking can easily be slotted in to daily life without much bother - no special kit, no technology, just a willingness to get moving!’ You don’t even need a great deal of time.

Basically, we needed some salad for tea from the nearby shop. And guess whose job it was to fetch it! After slaving over a hot computer most of the day, I thought I’d combine the shopping with a quick walk, so would take a ‘long route’ (the shop’s only a five minutes away) – allowing 15 minutes in total.

An earth track through a copse going in the opposite direction to the shop was the choice! I know. Sounds bonkers, doesn’t it? Naturally, a woodland pathway is different to walking on a flat pavement. This particular trail remains more or less at the same level, but twists and turns and undulates and there are tree roots and small holes and bits of overgrown vegetation along the way. At this time of year, everything’s green. 

On the other side of the trees - a busy highway.

Although this kind of surface is uneven, it's relatively easy to walk on - but gives you more to do. An alternative route would have been a pavement running alongside a main road nearby, but the traffic was quite heavy and there would have been too many fumes.

Unlike yesterday’s walk, which was more leisurely and punctuated with taking photos, tonight’s was a fairly deliberate thrash, to complete the exercise and get to the shop. 

I went through the copse, then returned along footpaths between houses and re-joined the woodland track further up, before pushing on to the shop, so completing a sort of misshapen circle.

With shopping done, I arrived home 11 seconds off the 15-minute mark, which I was quite happy with. My average speed was down, of course, because I had to wait in the queue. But I’d completed a woodland walk, enjoyed a bit of exercise, and got the tea back on time!

Add variety to your route

VARYING your routes can provide a change of scenery, a range of distances and different conditions and levels of difficulty. You could build a list of your favourites. A bank of different routes can help to:

Pavements provide a level surface.

• Prevent boredom - Having alternatives means you're not going to stuck on the same track, mechanically retracing your steps over and over again.

• Match your mood – Sometimes you won’t feel like a long walk; other times you’ll want to challenge yourself.

• Tie in with other commitments – You may be pushed for time and not be able to manage a long walk, so shorter routes can help; easier to fit in around your schedule.

• Maintain motivation – By varying your walks you have more choice. You’re more likely to tackle something that’s achievable, than be put off by what seems like a daunting route march! Or you might just want something different to look at!

• Measure achievement – Knowing the distance and conditions can help you measure achievement. It’s not all about speed. Sometimes you might want to simply get a bit of air into your lungs and enjoy the scenery!

I chose a different, shorter route this morning of about two miles. This is all footpaths and public highways, generally bounded by leafy hedgerows. The paths are fairly flat and even, with one or two gentle slopes that get the muscles working.

A splash of colour en route.

I took a small camera with me, though this wasn't such a good idea in terms of sustaining a regular pace, as I kept stopping to take a snapshot. This would be ok for some sorts of walk, but it's satisfying to get into your stride, and develop that nice steady rhythm. 

Taking pictures disrupts that - but you do get to stop and look at what's around you!