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My first “long” walk

What counts as a long walk? That’s entirely up to you, you’re the one walking it so you get to decide

The long and winding road

One step at a time

I’d done several walks around the 4-4.5 miles mark, more than I had been doing for the past year but still not enough to make a long distance multi-day hike a possibility unless I want to take an awful long time about it – time is ones thing I have lots of, but not enough to drag less than 5 miles out into a full day of walking! It was time to step up my game

I planned a walk of just over 5 miles, the obvious next step in my vague plan to get hike fit, following a footpath I’ve used before up over a field and through some scrubby woodland, then picking up a bridleway that I’ve never explored to loop back home. The footpath gets very muddy in places, but Britain had just basked in a heatwave so it seemed an ideal time to do it. And then it rained

The best laid plans

It rained all the preceding day and through the night, and I woke to overcast skies and a very wet garden. Picking my way through mud isn’t my idea of a nice walk, especially when it’s not particularly scenic, so it was time to rethink my plans. The best option seemed to be to take to the roads – more accurately lanes – and head to a neighbouring village, and this had the advantage of giving me several chances to leave the tarmac for public footpaths across fields if the going looked good

I couldn’t find the start of this path, but I found the end

Achievement unlocked

There wasn’t anywhere to take a break before I reached the village, and it’s really nothing more than a cluster of large houses. A quick sit on the wall of the church and I was on my way again, picking up a well signed but clearly seldom used (see below) footpath to do one side of a triangle instead of two by the road

I don’t think anyone’s been this way for a while

When I got home, a bit footsore but still upright, I was amazed to find I’d walked over 7 miles with only a very short break. So much for the 5 miles that I’d thought was my next goal! I’m calling it my first “long” walk because it was a long walk for me, and it’s in quotation marks because I know I can and will go further so it’s only long at the moment. I definitely knew I’d done it the next day when the aches and pains started, but no blisters and hopefully I’ll be less sore with practice

That’ll do, Pig
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