Author Topic: In Praise of Shorter Walks.  (Read 2839 times)

barewirewalker

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #30 on: 11:56:27, 11/10/20 »

How rude.


BWW has been a member here many years and, while it is true he has one main agenda, his interest lies in the opening of the countryside for access for us all, which is to be applauded.  He also makes some very valid points regarding the availability of the access network via public rather than private transport.  Perhaps if you read BWW's posts you might understand a little better.
I have not taken any offense at Shortwalker's response to my post and I appreciate the sentiment behind yours. It makes me feel honoured to debate our common interest on a forum in such good company.

I think Shortwalker took the whole sentence as a criticism of his post, whereas the criticism was aimed at the authorities, who are custodians of our network and the information they publish in stating their objectives to provide that, which they think we need.By these standards, SW's walk would have been a long walk even difficult.

 With apologies to the OP for this mild fracas;
FWIW I sometimes struggle with some of BWW's posts too.  When I can understand them, I try to contribute because I also have an interest in the origins of footpaths and lost ways but I often I fail to comprehend him sufficiently.  Hope this is not rude - not meant to be.

The point - having a network of short walks can generate other walks by pure serendipity.
I sometimes struggle with my own posts  :D .  The craft of Barewirewalking grew out of search for a Forum name elsewhere, when I had found myself
in an area, where the tactics of WW1 trench warfare were used to express the local opinion that reestablishing the footpath network had ruffled a few local ego's.

The means to find those objectives that that create the serendipity in the various forms described need ways, so I apologise for suggesting that field margins may create some of the ways to shortcut and reduce a walk to a more acceptable length. But sincerely hope that any disrespect I show for the institution of land occupation, will give others the will to explore and find the means of experiencing serendipity.

I would like to add to Bigfoot's list, a golden raft of marsh marigolds reflected against the soft filtered light of willow catkins, an endless haze of yellow flag or a waist high horse chestnut flowers making a daylight candle lit avenue. Do these objectives linked by the quality of way of a springtime field margin find parity with the objectives of Crib Goch linked to Crib y Ddisdl by a slightly different quality of way?  Or is that too obtuse an analogy? 
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #31 on: 12:10:01, 11/10/20 »
Each type of route has its own qualities. The recent shorter local walks have given me a real appreciation for the local flora and fauna and I particularly enjoy seeing how they change through the seasons.

Birdman

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #32 on: 12:23:11, 11/10/20 »
My short walks usually don't involve all that much walking, as they are mainly used for bird watching. One of my favourite standard walks is in Pennington/ Keyhaven marshes. I usually spend the best part of the day there, but the distance covered is only 8 miles or so (because of watching birds). Unfortunately it can be very crowded there, but I always see a large number of bird species (I typically see 60-70 species outside of summer, which is a more quiet period). Yesterday it was extra crowded with birders because there were 2 Grey Phalaropes and 1 Wilsons Phalarope. That last one is very rare in the UK, as it is an American species and it was a lifer for me (never seen before), which is always nice!


Another one of my favourite walks close to where I live is one particular route in the New Forest, which is also great for birds /deer etc but yields a lot less species (typically 25-35). But it can be very quiet and the landscape has nice variation. Also here I don't walk much distance. Sometimes as little as 3 miles, but I spend hours doing it! I sit down a lot and just enjoy the birdsong, the smells etc and see what birds I can find. I have seen rare birds here, like Hen Harrier and Great Grey Shrike in the winter and also Goshawk. This walk is fantastically beautiful on an early morning after a frosty night. Mid winter, just after sunrise with frost on the ground... hard to beat! My favourite winter walk close to home.


In the summertime, I also sometimes day-hike parts of the South Downs Way that are not too far from where I live. Especially great in summer because of wildflowers and stuff. Here I would usually walk a longer distance, up to 20 miles or so. It's a longer drive so I want to make it count.


Just for the daily exercise, I have a 3 mile circuit (walk) in the local park 5 minutes walk from my house (usually after dinner) and I do all my shopping on foot (my supermarket is 2.5 miles roundtrip). So at least I do get some exercise when not 'officially' walking.
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #33 on: 12:28:02, 11/10/20 »
Like Birdman, I don’t walk too far if I am out trying to photograph or spot wildlife. I do spot a goshawk once when walking through a wood in South Wales and was fortunate to see 3 male hen harriers displaying at the head of Loch Muick when out for a walk. In both cases I didn’t have a camera with me.


It is amazing how quiet parts of the New Forest can be, even when the roads and car parks are filled with cars.

Birdman

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #34 on: 12:39:29, 11/10/20 »

It is amazing how quiet parts of the New Forest can be, even when the roads and car parks are filled with cars.


Yes some parts are deserted. One thing that helps is that some areas can be muddy and a bit boggy. That keeps the crowds out.


Unfortunately, it has become much more crowded recently in many nice areas. It looks like people who couldn't travel abroad due to Covid-19 started to explore closer to home, and now that they have discovered the nice spots too they keep coming back!
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: In Praise of Shorter Walks.
« Reply #35 on: 14:37:59, 11/10/20 »
It may well be busier in the New Forest nowadays than when I used to live in the area. It is over 20 years since I moved up to Scotland.

 

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