What does this walking guide think about when walking?

History is littered with anecdotes about creatives, scientists and philosophers having their Eureka moments, the defining link with the Muse or breakthrough thought that crowned their academic achievement. All this while walking. There is something about the symbiotic relationship between the physical movement of the body and the freeing up of ones thought processes to solve problems and create insights into the human condition that sitting in a room at a desk would never generate. I went on a walk,…

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Welcome to the new website

  Welcome to the new website. The old website has been given a decent Viking funeral and I salute it that it has served me well for over a decade. After all, I have met and made life long friends with some of you who are reading this. I hope you enjoy navigating your way through the new site and if you are one of the people I haven't met yet, I sincerely hope that these pages inspire you to…

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Why walk?

Walking is simple. We are physically set up to perform what in reality has taken millions of years to perfect and what we now take for granted. Mobility, balance, gait, speed, direction awareness, multi sensory perception, fight or flight and health and leisure, some of the many areas to be explored when talking about walking. Walking is easy, so why do we make it complicated? Why do many of us in the developed world neglect our awareness about weight, diet…

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Remembering how to walk
Cornwall footpath

Remembering how to walk

Strange title for a walking blog perhaps? Remembering how to walk. Well surely walking is as easy as....well putting one foot in front of the other? Of course but today was a special day. It was the first long walk I have done since before the lockdown and the beginning of the pandemic crisis, where movement of any kind was curtailed, questioned and denied as a collective, personal and natural right. If you have ever seen cows who come to…

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The destination or the journey?

The saying that crops up a lot "it's the journey not the destination" is the walkers equivalent of "size doesn't matter". In this day and age I am amazed at how often this comes up, and we all have done this. It is said, "well, I've got a couple of hours I can do 4 miles inbetween the school run and lunch", as though this is another chore to get one through the day, ticked off, good for the health…

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From Macro to Micro to Macro.

The only time I can claim to have been prescient is when I saw Boris Becker at 17 years old win Queens just before Wimbledon and I thought this youngster is going to win the main tournament against all the odds and of those in the know. But I never put a bet on him. A treble of reaching the semis, final and then win it outright would have bought me a house for a £30 bet. Gut instinct never…

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Localism

   Over the past three years I have reflected a lot on life. Many thoughts are possibly a result of my new life post-divorce and probably more to do with the present climate crisis and the ongoing pandemic. The overarching question has been “How can I attain happiness and achieve a life that is the most satisfying and in the knowledge that we all have a ripple effect through being interconnected with people and place?” With an ever growing certainty…

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Masters of the Universe & Quaking Grass envy

I share my conservatory/office with a number of biota – plant and animal life, in this smallish 2mx6m rectangle. Just behind and above my head where I stand at my computer in the corner crevice where house meets conservatory lives a long legged spider (to be identified) and we live in fairly good harmony allowing each other to get on with our busy lives with a silent agreement not to impede or impose on our respective territories. However today my…

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Desire Lines or Desire Paths

Whilst walking around the Penryn Tremough campus of the University of Exeter where I have my office, I have become aware of long patches of what is presently mud and flattened grass. They veer around objects, connect low walls, merge and unmerge and basically connect buildings, major paths and areas of heavier traffic. These are known as Desire paths or Desire lines where people ignore what has been laid down as a route, normally a concrete or brick path and…

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Look up from your screen!

Look up!! Look up from your phone. Nature is talking to you and communicating with itself. It has taken 4.6 billion years to present you with todays show, so at least pay attention and look around as you walk. Nature will reveal its qualities, its secrets and its divinity if you let it. But first engage and acknowledge. Don't ignore or disregard it, let alone disrespect it which is what you are doing with your downward pointing face glowing in…

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A Penryn sense of place – Part 1 – Boundaries and Location

Having spent the best part of the day in my office pouring over the miriad of concepts that help explore a sense of place which in my case involves researching traversing Cornwall over the past 200 years, I ventured out on this cold crisp calm evening to stretch my aching legs (aching to get out I’ll have you know). My 1000 word proposal for my PhD on walking could not improve any further tonight. The experience is the walk, and…

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Walking with the Durrells in Corfu

If like me you have been entranced by the scenery and story of the Durrells in Corfu these past few weeks on UK television then your concentration on the stories behind the story might have been compromised away from the plot by the magnificent backdrop of the genuine Corfu. Those who are much more au fait with the landscape of Corfu can pinpoint where each scene is set and the location manager is someone who I intend to follow literally…

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