About walkitcornwall
Hi I’m Paul Simmons living in Mabe, Penryn, in Cornwall.
Home (with a small “h”) is just a place to sleep whereas the paths and landscape of Cornwall are really my Home (with the big “H”).
I Walk, I play and write music, I am a parish councillor and I am undertaking a PhD which is about….. walking (surprise surprise).
As for the relevant pieces of paper I have the South West Mountain and Moorland Camping Leader award recognised by the British Mountain Council and MLTE (Mountain Leaders Training England) and I’m qualified to go “wild camping” on the Moors. I am fully insured to take walks on the Moors and all paths in the South West. I was a committee member of the South West Coast Path Association representing the Lizard from Porthleven to Falmouth and over to the Roseland peninsula and up to Mevagissey. 80 miles (128 km) of fabulous coast path. I’ve been a qualified Green Guide since 2001 and presently I am an ambassador for CoaST (Sustainable Tourism network), for Cornwall 365 and for the Mining World Heritage Network.
I’ve worked for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at the Wetland Centre, Barnes London on their 105 acre as an explainer in the education department setting up and co ordinating various educational programmes. Pond dipping and inaugurating an Earth time line are favourites. I am absolutely passionate about Environmental Education because for the next generations if they don’t know what is out there they will not care about it and it will be lost.
Presently I am gaining accreditation to train people to take others Forest Bathing (Shinrin Yoku) which is a clinically proven practice of using all ones senses in a woodland environment that is beneficial to physical and mental health. Have a peek at my page Forest Bathing Cornwall.
I’m also a singer songwriter and had a new album out in 2017. Another one should be out for 2023. I have been a professional piano entertainer and session player for nearly 40 years. “From Cole Porter to Coldplay, Gershwin to Green Day”.
Paul
Experiences
Paul Simmons and Matt Baker on BBC Countryfile
Hello this is the BBC, are you Paul Simmons?” Just the usual phone call ….not! “Your name has been given to us by a couple of people”. “OK fine what can I do for you?” “Well they say you know something about the south west coast path and we have Countryfile doing a piece on walking the south west coast path” says the voice. So, many thanks to the south west coast path team and SWCPA for recommending me as I spent a lovely day with Matt Baker and his producer, sound man, camera man and assistant at three locations on the Lizard talking about the Choughs, geology and the “false” Falmouth built by Elstree studios in the 2nd World War at Nare point to deflect the bombs away from the actual town. We had lunch at the fabulous Down by the River café at Helford and what turned out to be about six hours of filming ended up as a one minute piece on the BBC Countryfile programme that you can see.
Julia Bradbury and Paul Simmons - Forest Bathing Cornwall
Forest Bathing or to give it its correct name Shinrin-yoku is a clinically proven therapy that is good for physical and mental health.
I have followed this for a number of years and I bring to the global research my personal experience of what I have been doing for many years, namely walking as a connection to nature using all my senses.
Shinrin-yoku proposes that the stresses of life are due to our disconnect from being immersed in nature. Connection is something that is in our DNA as we have spent 99.99% of our human ancestry as part of, not apart from nature.
Julia Bradbury understands this and she came down to the Helford River to ask me about my local practice of Forest Bathing here in Cornwall.
Billy Joel Duet with Paul Simmons
A few years ago (well nearly three decades ago) Billy Joel came to London and he recorded for TV and radio a Masterclass session, the idea being that the audience would ask questions and he would attempt to answer them whilst playing a few songs from his back catalogue. Now a good friend of mine Vic, was at that time a journalist with connections and he managed to blag tickets.
So on to the Q&A session. We were right at the back of the auditorium whilst the questioners were asked to wait for the boom mike to get to them before asking their question. No way for us as we were way at the back and the boom man wasn’t going to hike into the gods. Well, I am endowed with a boom of my own, the decibel of my voice and so at a precise moment after he answered a question I shouted “Hey Billy, right at the back here”. “Man, you have a loud voice, go on”.
“Well Billy I have been a piano bar player and I reckon I’ve played more Billy Joel than you” (audience thankfully laugh) and I do have a question but more importantly I would like to ask…..can I play with you now?”
Now two things crossed my mind, one immediately and the other not until a bit too late. A girl had been up on stage and had sung with him and, well, she wasn’t exactly tuneful, so I thought once bitten… no he wouldn’t. “Well what shall I do?” he ponders, “Yeah” go the audience. He starts waving, gesturing for me to come on down. Watch the clip as you see him scratching his beard, his eyes checking me out as I descend at pace to the front of the stage. The second thing? I hadn’t a clue what I was going to play! A potential professional suicide there and then, on TV and radio.
Wanderlust - 6 minutes of walking around the far west.
A French funded, German crewed, English fronted popular European television programme with Bradley Mayhew.
I spent a couple of days with Bradley and the crew where the whole programme is part of many adventures he has had and fulfills its titles premise, that of making you want to walk these trails.
Check out my 6 minutes along the South West Coast Path.
More of Bradleys adventures are here – https://filmzie.com/content/wanderlust-europes-most-beautiful-hiking-trails-2015