Author Topic: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking  (Read 5609 times)

gunwharfman

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #15 on: 11:10:50, 06/09/19 »
Great rant, really enjoyed it. Within what you have written is obviously the stuff that people will be for, against or otherwise. But don't worry, as in lots of things that you have identified there are 'truths' in there and I'm sure at an adult level we all know this. I for my part am wary of dogs and have had a few bad experiences, especially from owners who no matter what, will always excuse themselves and their dogs as well. I dislike cows as well, I too have had a few bad experiences.

I do have a little secret which is now is no longer a secret, I carry an ordinary horsewhip on me when I hike (light, easy to pack and/or carry and can be very effective) and I find it ideal to 'tap' a cows backside when I need to get over a stile, to wiggle in the face of horses who get too frisky when I'm passing by and to protect myself when a pesky dog tries to have a go at me.

That's what I like about hiking, the sheer variety of the experiences we have, I'm sure is far more than a driver in the most expensive car has in a lifetime!

Getting niggled, moaning, praising, being scared and all of the other feelings and emotions that we go through when hiking I try to tell myself its all positive, these are REAL feelings and so should we should cherish them.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #16 on: 11:34:08, 06/09/19 »
I am just as wary of dogs as cows in a field.
They can sense a persons unease or that your afraid of them, and some use it to their advantage.

Ive been bitten six times in my life, one resulted in me ending in hospital and staying overnight due to the staffs concern about the possible infection and depth of the wound to my arm.

I was even bitten by a very old Jack Russell terrier earlier this year, that was overly protective of its owner, thankfully i took my hand away quick enough, and it was a glancing blow to the hand from its jaws, but my hand was inflamed for several hours, and it did not break the skin,

I am sure all Dog lovers or owners here, will scoff and say, there must have been a reason for this aggressive behaviour towards me,  but they can obviously sense my fear, and some react to it.

Pitboot

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #17 on: 12:28:16, 06/09/19 »
How about people who write moaning threads on the internet, telling us how jolly they are before writing huge long list of petty everyday things that they don't seem capable of living with.


  ;D Don't get me started!!!!  ;D

Pitboot

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #18 on: 12:32:29, 06/09/19 »
A good way to deal with aggressive dogs, from my experiences in NI, is to be more aggressive than them. A well placed boot with some force behind it works well, as does a well wielded walking pole.
(Not recommended for the faint of heart.)

ninthace

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #19 on: 13:05:14, 06/09/19 »
My trouble is cyclists.  When they come up behind me and ping their bell - I keep thinking I have just had an email on my phone.
Solvitur Ambulando

Pitboot

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #20 on: 13:27:26, 06/09/19 »
 ;D


A cyclist using a bell, that's a rarity in these parts. You are lucky if you get a shouted warning around here.

jimbob

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #21 on: 14:19:33, 06/09/19 »
;D


A cyclist using a bell, that's a rarity in these parts. You are lucky if you get a shouted warning around here.
Yep. Bikes without bells seem to be the norm now. I cannot hear those ding things.


Too little, too late, too bad......

Dread

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #22 on: 15:20:37, 06/09/19 »
I hate it when I'm out walking and
 the path is uneven, what's wrong with a few paving slabs? Then it starts to get dark and wtf? No lighting, none at all. I pay taxes, why can't I see at night on Kinder Scout? Bloody ridiculous!

WhitstableDave

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #23 on: 15:39:35, 06/09/19 »
After a slightly rocky start, the discussion seems to have settled down into an interesting sharing of experiences and views.  :)

I am intrigued though by comments describing me as "an urbanite" (scottk) and "a true townie" (Skip).

According to the online Urban Dictionary an 'urbanite' is aged between 17 and 44 (making me exactly 50% older than the upper limit) and it lists '10 expectations' urbanites have, none of which apply to me in the slightest. Perhaps 'urbanite' was intended to mean 'townie'?

According to the OED, 'townie' is a derogatory term for someone who lives in a town. Collins adds: If someone who lives in the countryside refers to someone from a town or city as a townie, they disapprove of that person because they think they have no knowledge of the countryside or country life.

So the question is... do I actually live in a town? Hmm.. I'm not completely sure. I live in the parish of Chestfield, and Chestfield is a village on the outskirts of Whitstable. Walking from my front door, the nearest agricultural field is 1 minute away, the nearest farmyard is 8 minutes away, and The Blean - one of England's largest ancient woodlands at over 11 square miles - is a further 7 minutes past the farmyard along a gravelly track between fields.

It's true that I don't live on a farm or in a shack in the woods or in a caravan in a field, but I do spend a lot of time in the countryside and I love it. Like many other walkers, I've learned to identify many wildflowers, trees and crops, and I'm becoming ever more understanding of both the natural and farming lifecycles.

I do roughly 90% of my walking in Kent - mostly solo, but with my wife on Saturdays and on our walking holidays - with the remaining 10% being on those holidays. According to Garmin Connect, in the past 365 days I've done 3,131 miles of recorded walks and ascended over 186,000 feet. In recent months, our walking holidays have included weeks in north and south Snowdonia, the Peak District, the Auvergne, the Outer Hebrides (South Uist, Harris and Lewis), Islay and Kintyre (near the Mull of...), the Coigach & Assynt region and more. And next month we're off to the Brecon Beacons...

...which brings me to another thought that might prove slightly controversial.  ;)

Another little irritation for my list is the impression I get from some people that 'proper' walking (or perhaps I should say hiking) is done in National Parks over hills and mountains, while walking in woods and on farmland has far less street-cred (or trail-cred?), when in my humble and modest experience (see above!) nothing could be further from the truth.

For example, our most recent mountain/hill walk was Cul Beag in the Assynt (north of Ullapool). A couple of miles of pathless bog took us to the foot of the magnificent monolith that is Cul Beag. We climbed a sub-peak then down to a lochan then up to the main summit with its incredible views. For the return, we skirted the sub-peak and returned across even boggier bog. We saw no-one, it was brilliant fun and totally hassle-free and relaxed - a real walk in the park. Our route wasn't constrained by anything or anybody, and we encountered not a single one of the 10 irritations in my OP!  ;)
« Last Edit: 15:43:06, 06/09/19 by WhitstableDave »
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

GnP

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #24 on: 16:00:16, 06/09/19 »
Getting half way round a high level walk..it starts to rain..I realise I hadn`t put my waterproof jacket in my bag because I foolishly believed the weather forecast.... "sunny with light cloud" 8)
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

fernman

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #25 on: 18:01:24, 06/09/19 »
Just saying, my enjoyment of reading the amusing OP for my first time was a little dulled by some of the not-so-lighthearted responses to it.
A little bit of mickey taking is quite ok with me, but I am dismayed to see attitudes hostile to the OP that border on trolling. I thought we were all better than that on here.

tonyk

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #26 on: 19:17:46, 06/09/19 »
 Okay,I might as well add a few of my own irritations.

 1.People who wear bright coloured clothing.Such pessimists who always think they are going to be killed and need to be seen by MRT so they can remove their body. Just wear something that fits in with the environment and let the crows eat your body.Its cheaper all round.

 2.Cyclists.I detest middle aged cyclists who are obese and dressed like perverts.They leave me feeling physically sick and ruin a decent walk.


3.People who wear hoods when it is raining.Sign of a wimp who is suffering from Private Pike syndrome.

4.As per the orginal poster,fly tippers.A law should be passed allowing gamekeepers to shoot them on sight.

 5.Waterproofs that are nothing of the sort.

 6.Bull in field notice when there is no bull to be seen.Its rather annoying spending half an hour walking around a field trying to find a bull that isn't there. >:(

richardh1905

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #27 on: 19:23:51, 06/09/19 »
Just saying, my enjoyment of reading the amusing OP for my first time was a little dulled by some of the not-so-lighthearted responses to it.
A little bit of mickey taking is quite ok with me, but I am dismayed to see attitudes hostile to the OP that border on trolling. I thought we were all better than that on here.

Agreed, Fernman; there's no need for it.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

gunwharfman

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #28 on: 19:28:48, 06/09/19 »
I need to get personal about my orange tent, great design, horrible colour! My Osprey 48L Exos rucksack carries so well but again I have never liked the colour, or any of the other colours in the range. And I'm writing in as a person who is colour blind!  ;)

Or that really stupid red top I bought last year, useless! And last but not least that horrible khaki Craghopper hiking shirt I bought for just over a fiver a few years ago, Horrible colour, horrible shirt!  :)

GnP

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Re: The Less Joyous Aspects of Walking
« Reply #29 on: 19:37:01, 06/09/19 »


Getting niggled, moaning, praising, being scared and all of the other feelings and emotions that we go through when hiking I try to tell myself its all positive, these are REAL feelings and so should we should cherish them.
I agree....personally Im always a bit wary of eternally optimistic, happy people...when I was younger, I used to think maybe it was because I was too negative but emotions come in all guises.Sometimes on a walk I get nervous for whatever reason, or worse...but I have learned that on my return to a warm home, and my family...I cherish them more, than having too easy a day when everything was just hunky dory..
« Last Edit: 19:40:06, 06/09/19 by GinAndPlatonic »
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

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