Welcome to episode 55 of my weekly blog, which means it must be Sunday evening and it must be the end of another weekend…
I’m pleased to report that I’ve managed the stretching and Spanish exercises I talked about in last week’s weekly blog (Weekly Blog Episode 54) every day this week, my journal is up to date, and my new blog header seems to have gone down reasonably well. I also managed to finish and publish my review of the Via Ferrata Xtreme course at Honister Slate Mine, which has been on the to do list since August 2020 (!).
Anyway, there are a couple of things I wanted to share today, first up, the most wonderful audio book that completely charmed and enlightened me earlier this week.
“He who walks lives longer – and better.”
If you’re looking for a short read this week, I highly recommend Walking: One Step at a Time by Erling Kagge. I guess a book that sings the virtues of my favourite pastime is going to be something I enjoy, but I genuinely found it captivating, finishing it in close to 24 hours, which is really rather quick for me!
Erling Kagge is a Norwegian explorer, and this book is a celebration of everything that is good about walking. Erling talks about walking of all types, from the perilous first steps we take as a toddler, to how walking to work or at lunchtime can provide joy and thinking time, and to great expeditions such as trekking to the North Pole. In every story and example, there is deep thought and philosophy, self-help advice, and real motivation to get out there and walk.
It solidified why I love walking and made me want to do it even more. Except not in a sewer, no thanks to that…
I won’t give any more away, except to say that this should be compulsory reading for anyone who likes to walk. If you want to listen, the audiobook is available on Audible, or you can buy the book itself from Amazon, Waterstones or your local independent bookshop.
I’ve now moved onto Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen, which is just a lovely listen as I head around the block on my lunchtime wanders.
Planning our Coast-to-Coast Hike
With all that said, Jenni and I have been putting more plans in place for our Coast-to-Coast hike later in the year. As you know, we were due to be following in Wainwright’s footsteps last year, but that clearly didn’t happen for more than obvious reasons.
We are reasonably hopeful that we’ll be able to head across the country on foot in the Autumn, and so have gone ahead and booked some accommodation (might sound too soon but we’re keen to have something on paper to help with the excitement!). We’re planning to camp much of the route, making use of the basic sites as well as camping at some YHAs along the route, with a couple of B&Bs to help us recover after the longest days.
We’re yet to decide whether to make use of a baggage transfer company or not; we did think we would, but the freedom and flexibility (and pride…) carrying our own gear provides is hard to give up. We can decide that nearer the time.
I’ve been watching loads of Coast-to-Coast hike videos on YouTube and reading all the blogs I can find, because it helps encourage and motivate me, so if you’ve got anything you think I should check out then please do let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have any suggestions for the best cup of tea, slice of cake, or pub meal on the route, make sure you tell me, Clearly I’ve already got Ravenseat on my list, thanks to my current audio book!
In the meantime, for when both freedoms are reinstated and the flood waters recede, I have been making a list of hikes I hope to do to get me properly walking fit before October comes around. There are some waymarked routes close to home, plus I’m hoping to do the both Great Stones Way and the Cotswold Way this year, the former as a long weekend multi-day hike, and the latter in three weekend-sized chunks as camping seems pretty impossible. The best way to get hiking fit is to hike, and so I’m really hoping pandemic restrictions allow me to get out a bit further afield soon.
Photo Challenge Begins Tomorrow
My annual photo challenge is back – are you ready? For maybe the fifth or sixth year in a row, I’m challenging you to take and share a themed photo every day in February. Sharing my world in photos was how Splodz Blogz started (way back in 2010), and I’ve always enjoyed looking back to those days and setting a little challenge for us all to join in with.
The idea is to encourage you (and myself) to look at the world a little differently to normal, by hunting out things that might fit with each given theme, and documenting it there and then. I’ve provided a list of 28 daily themes, giving us all a creative project for the month, and hopefully reminding us how fun it can be to take an share photos that are a bit less curated for a change.
Check out the themes and the rest of the details on this blog post, and join in using #SplodzDPC every day for the next four weeks. I look forward to seeing your snaps.
Q&A Next Week
I reckon it’s time for another weekly blog Q&A session… but of course I need your help to make that work. Drop your questions in the comments below, or over on twitter.
Buy Me a Cuppa?
I’ve been persuaded to sign up to Kofi, which means that if you fancy supporting me and my mini adventures, you can “buy me a coffee” (or a tea, naturally). If you want to, and only if you want to, head over to https://ko-fi.com/splodz to find out more.
Use this link to read all my weekly blogs.
I’d love to see you over on Instagram some time. Give me a follow and comment on my latest photograph to let me know you have accepted the invitation from my weekly blog. See you there!