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!

Taking a gentle night trail

I FELT a shorter route with a more gentle pace might be nice this evening, so I set off for a half-hour walk at about 7.45pm. It was dark and I stuck to pavements in residential areas – very much an urban expedition! 

There are differences walking in the dark, of course, not least because if you want to see where you’re going you need light. This is where street lamps come in handy! It would be spooky, not to mention potentially dangerous, walking around a large unlit park at night! I did actually venture down an ally, but it can feel uncomfortable.

Air of mystery in the dark.

Walking is easy to do and great fun, but you still need to take safety and comfort into account. If you ever venture out at night, then you at least have to take sensible precautions, and perhaps even go with someone else. One of the benefits of walking over jogging in the dark, is that it can give you a little more stability - and thinking time? - should you step into that pothole or stumble upon uneven ground.

Everything takes on a different, more mysterious, form once the sun has gone down: shadowy youngsters whooshing past on their bikes (with no lights!); people unloading shopping, bathed only in the yellow glow from their homes.  On one corner, some lads were returning from playing cricket, and were still in their whites. A couple of them hid in a hedge until a younger member appeared.

‘Whaaaaaaaa!’ exclaimed one, as he leaped from the shadows.

‘Aaaaaaaagh!’ shrieked the startled victim.

It may have been dark but, from the reaction of the ambushed friend, someone went home as pale as the clothes he was wearing!

This time the brownies won out!

MY fruity goal was not achieved tonight. I was involved in the private view of a photography exhibition and had to run off copies of a leaflet giving exhibitors’ names; print fliers; sort other arrangements and prepare certificates. 

Oh! I also took some of my wife’s delicious brownies, as she had baked them especially for the event. She makes killer brownies, even if I say so myself!

You're allowed a chocolaty treat now and again!

The exhibition went very well and attracted a good attendance. A number of the group were asking if they could carry on with photography next year.

So there was plenty of running around – but not on my usual route along pathways or in the park.

And as for my fruity energy consumption measure? Well, on this occasion, I enjoyed real brownies instead. I can always burn off any excess tomorrow!