Walking Forum
Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: ninthace on 14:37:06, 07/10/20
-
On Jan 1 this year I had a severe knee problem which curtailed my walking severely and necessitated a lot of short walks to build the knee up again. Not long after it had recovered to a reasonable standard, we entered the Covid lockdown which again limited how far afield we could go. As a result, we have rather got into the habit of doing walks of between 2 and 3 hours in length. Having done over 150 such walks this year, today as we strode along, we fell to talking about the advantages such a pattern of walking has. We came up with the following.
Shorter walks are easier to fit into weather windows, so you tend to get out more often. They are also easier to fit into a schedule of other activities so again, you tend to get out more often.
There is a law of diminishing returns for the health benefits associated with walking. Most benefit is gained in the first hour or so. So more frequent, shorter walks mean more benefit. Also, because you know the walk is of a relatively short duration, you tend to push yourself harder, again increasing the benefit.
In our part of the world, as in many others, a spell of bad weather means many routes become waterlogged and/or muddy, which means we are often restricted to lanes and byways while the paths dry out a bit. A couple of hours exploring a network of back lanes is not an unpleasant experience whereas a longer walk on tarmac would be less so, and longer routes make it harder to avoid busy roads. This means we still go out rather than stay in waiting for conditions to improve.
Shorter walks can be used as reconnaissance for longer walks and to complete sections of long-distance paths without the planning and logistics overhead.
A big plus for me, shorter walks can often be completed without a pack. There is no real need to carry food or water, you can often be confident of the weather for a 2 to 3 our period so you do not need additional clothing. If you get it wrong and it rains and you do not have the right waterproofs, you should not have far or long to go. (I accept fell/mountain walking has different rules).
Finally, in many areas, a decent circular short walk is easier to find than a decent long walk as the enclosed area is much less. In our case, it has led us into exploring many areas we would not have considered before and finding lots of hidden gems as a result.
-
Both short and long walks have their merit - goodness knows I do enough in the 2-5 mile range when I walk the dog!
..but having said that, it is the longer ones that give me the most satisfaction, and they are more likely to stick in my memory.
-
There is a lot to be said for short walks. As one who still works they are often all that can be accomplished after a day and the coal face/office. There is also the issue of wear and tear on your joints. When still training for the Dartmoor 50 there was no way I could train 50miles every weekend. That would just have been a total chore and worn my not so young body to a point a failure very quickly.
So as Richard suggest a varied pattern is good.
One important thing you mention, that I did work out this year, is that doing lots of miles is less effective from a general fitness point of view, than doing far less miles more effectively. ie walk or jog 2/3 miles as hard you can on steep ground, rather than bimble 10 miles along a canal bank. The later though is a more pleasant way to spend a Sunday with your other half. So there has to be a balance. Little and often is great for keeping in shape. But it's those longer little adventures that I think most folk enjoy and reminisce about when time and health allow and indeed what they/we try to stay in shape for.
-
On Jan 1 this year I had a severe knee problem which curtailed my walking severely and necessitated a lot of short walks to build the knee up again. Not long after it had recovered to a reasonable standard, we entered the Covid lockdown which again limited how far afield we could go. As a result, we have rather got into the habit of doing walks of between 2 and 3 hours in length. Having done over 150 such walks this year, today as we strode along, we fell to talking about the advantages such a pattern of walking has. We came up with the following.
Shorter walks are easier to fit into weather windows, so you tend to get out more often. They are also easier to fit into a schedule of other activities so again, you tend to get out more often.
There is a law of diminishing returns for the health benefits associated with walking. Most benefit is gained in the first hour or so. So more frequent, shorter walks mean more benefit. Also, because you know the walk is of a relatively short duration, you tend to push yourself harder, again increasing the benefit.
In our part of the world, as in many others, a spell of bad weather means many routes become waterlogged and/or muddy, which means we are often restricted to lanes and byways while the paths dry out a bit. A couple of hours exploring a network of back lanes is not an unpleasant experience whereas a longer walk on tarmac would be less so, and longer routes make it harder to avoid busy roads. This means we still go out rather than stay in waiting for conditions to improve.
Shorter walks can be used as reconnaissance for longer walks and to complete sections of long-distance paths without the planning and logistics overhead.
A big plus for me, shorter walks can often be completed without a pack. There is no real need to carry food or water, you can often be confident of the weather for a 2 to 3 our period so you do not need additional clothing. If you get it wrong and it rains and you do not have the right waterproofs, you should not have far or long to go. (I accept fell/mountain walking has different rules).
Finally, in many areas, a decent circular short walk is easier to find than a decent long walk as the enclosed area is much less. In our case, it has led us into exploring many areas we would not have considered before and finding lots of hidden gems as a result.
Welcome to my world. currently all I am doing is short walks. In fact just back from a 4.8 mile walk around footpaths near me.
-
Regarding health benefits, walking short distances on a very regular basis is much better than long distances that you do only occasionally. And really long walks are not good for your health at all, as your body doesn't have enough time to recover.
However, the really long (multi-day/week/months) walks is where my heart is. They enable you to visit the really wild places that cannot be done on daywalks and also because for myself the walking is only part of the enjoyment. I really enjoy camping at remote places too.
Anyway, at some point in time the body will put constraints on what you can do and fortunately there is much enjoyment in shorter walks too. Currently the very long walk options are also limited because of Covid-19.
-
I think I’d better begin my reply with a disclaimer… Insofar as everything you’ve written applies to you (ninthace!), there’s absolutely no reason why I should think it applies to me or to anyone else. So what follows is purely my reaction to the advantages you see in shorter walks. Oh, and I note that you define your ‘shorter walks’ by duration, not distance. I typically walk between 8 and 13 miles during your times, and I would call those distances short-to-medium.
So, to each of your points in turn:
I enjoy walking whatever the conditions and I’ve never cut a walk short or not gone out at all because of the weather. I especially enjoy walking in the rain for several reasons: I get to wear some gear I rarely use (such as my waterproof trousers), there’s usually hardly anyone around, and I like splashing through puddles. In fact, during the lockdown period, the only outdoor walks I did were when it rained – just twice, as I recall!
I walk for both health and fitness benefits and the fitness benefit I find most beneficial is endurance. If I limited all my walks to a couple of hours, then I doubt very much that I’d find an occasional 50km particularly straightforward. In my experience, fitness trainers say that the real gains are made when you go beyond your comfort zone. I don’t tend to push myself any harder on shorter walks than on long ones. If anything, my shorter walks are more likely to be done with family members while I often do solo long walks against the clock.
A walk of pretty much any length can serve as reconnaissance. I find that the longer the walk and the further from home I am, the more likely I am to spot promising paths to explore another day.
My backpack and its contents aren’t really an issue for me. I always carry drink and snacks, appropriate clothing (I hope!), and all those little extras such as compass, first aid kit… and now sanitiser and facemask as well. In fact, if I do a short walk of any kind without a backpack, it feels strange.
I really can’t relate to the final point. I believe I’ve walked almost every footpath, bridleway, byway and road within a 10 mile radius of where I live, so there’s nowhere local left to discover. While in my (slightly postponed) quest to completely cover Kent, I drive ever further to explore new areas and so I usually plan walks of between about 15 and 20 miles to make the drive worthwhile.
-
Your response does not surprise me Whistabledave but I did not have you remotely in mnd. As I said it was a discussion between me and Mrs N and she has no interest in this forum whatsoever. FYI I defined short walks by time rather than distance quite deliberately as each person walks at their own pace.
To you and other respondents, I did not mean to imply short walks were in some way superior to longer distances, rather that their value was perhaps not fully appreciated by the walking community.
-
The responses to this, sound a little bit like the ego thread. ;D
"oh I have walked x and Y trail"
"You have only walked, how many miles? etc etc.
I walk short distances because that is all my knee will allow me to do, are my achievements any less than those who walk long distances?
-
Your response does not surprise me Whistabledave but I did not have you remotely in mnd. As I said it was a discussion between me and Mrs N and she has no interest in this forum whatsoever. FYI I defined short walks by time rather than distance quite deliberately as each person walks at their own pace.
To you and other respondents, I did not mean to imply short walks were in some way superior to longer distances, rather that their value was perhaps not fully appreciated by the walking community.
I hope we're not talking at cross-purposes ninthace. I simply meant to say that what applies to you, applies to you, and what applies to me, applies to me. If ever there was an example of each-to-their-own, this is it. After several hours looking after my toddler granddaughter today, I was pleased to relax and share my perspective. Nothing more! :)
-
Both short and long walks have their merit - goodness knows I do enough in the 2-5 mile range when I walk the dog!
..but having said that, it is the longer ones that give me the most satisfaction, and they are more likely to stick in my memory.
I agree. I really enjoy short walks , and I can fit them in between more important things happening that day . I look upon them as necessary for keeping fit , but it is the feeling of achievement I get from the really long walks that I totally enjoy , and look upon them as milestones in each year .
-
I'm also back to short walks due to injury, building up from basically yards.
What I really enjoy, obviously a personal opinion, is walking places I have never been to or haven't visited for some time.
Saying that I'm just back from once again walking along the beautiful sandy beaches of South Shields, a lovely place to be!
-
Unfortunately Local Government, who have the responsibility for administering our footpaths and means by which we choose our routes, like to have set pieces to fashion their policies to.
The idea of a short circular walk in their view, I believe, puts Shortwalker's 4.8 miles in the category above. Also the average requirement is from a car park, making the routes that could be done from Public Transport for those without cars fall short of serious scrutiny. I spent quite a lot of time a few years ago planning linear walks between different bus routes, making a route short enough to fit into the official set piece, would of often necessitate field margins, not within the bounds of RoW, yet in areas that had not seen a livestock hoof in 20 years and yet it is possible to walk through a deteriorating hedge onto a safe lay bye to safely stop a bus.
I have had a lot of fun finding such routes, it often ridicules the notion of private land by exposing the pretentious nonsense of the rights of way network not being able to develop with modern needs.
Just an after thought;
Not in the five years I was on a LAF (Great Outdoors Liaison Do-Dah now) did I once hear mention of running as an outdoor activity, unless I mentioned it, the space needed of a short cross country run is greater that that of a short walk, so safe areas with safe road crossings become fewer. some of the courses I ran in the 1950-60's no longer exist, the safe courses have to be run twice if not 3x.
-
Alas you lost me just after unfortunately there. ???
-
Alas you lost me just after unfortunately there. ???
Me too. Unfortunately Barewirewalker has an agenda that he can't help but go on (and on) about.
-
I agree there are some nice shorter walks to be had. I've been suffering with knee problems since June. Alas due to covid getting advice and exercise to build my knee back up via email from NHS. I'm off to the lakes to to low level walks or lower level tomorrow due to my knee.
-
To enjoy any walk first you must be able to get to the start and secondly design a route to suit the parameters of the walk you wish to do. Shortwalker reconned 4+ miles as his short walk, this is a little energetic for the official idea of the walk the public want.
I enjoy designing walks, I take pleasure in seeing the delight on my walk partners face and in her actions when we are somewhere that has hit the right spots. To achieve these ends it is necessary to employ certain strategies.
Strategies that should be talked about and if they were, perhaps messages might get through to townhall. In praise of shortwalks, I wonder if how many ask themselves how much Quality Way is it possible to pack into a short distance. In the early days of Covid it was interesting to see how the rank and file of non walkers, forced to take exercise, took to the Edgelands of the town and ignoring the privacy signs. This revealed extensive paths of high quality of way, far superior to the Rights of way that accessed them, they now lose their definition as as the footfall has lessened. No damage to crops, though the routes followed a natural lie of the land, the network created, though extensive, had minimal encroachment on the land. The only failing in this random development was one step further, safe main road crossings, these could have been seen with a little map study.
My afterthought about running was probably triggered by seeing the regular tracks of a mother and son, who used the margin of one particular field as a running track on a regular training course.
My supposed agenda, perhaps due to genetic instinct, I come from a long line of tenant farmers, a broad streak of distrust for the institutions of landownership, would be to encourage the wider discussions of the limitations of our access agenda so that those bodies like the Great Outdoors Liaison Groups, reflect the true wants and needs of the all who walk in our countryside. Perhaps some younger than I will pick up the baton aided by my irreverent thoughts. >:D
Finally, in many areas, a decent circular short walk is easier to find than a decent long walk as the enclosed area is much less. In our case, it has led us into exploring many areas we would not have considered before and finding lots of hidden gems as a result.
And perhaps the specifics of the gems referred to by the OP might start to appear on the questionnaires local gov.com send out to formulate their policies.
-
As I said earlier you do like to go on and on.
This may come as shock to you but to start any walk, you have to be at the start.
What the heck are the parameters of a walk that I must follow, to enjoy it?
What has the official idea of what the public want, got to do with how far I walk?
I could go on (and on) like you have but to be honest after the first paragraph I couldn't really be bothered.
-
As I said earlier you do like to go on and on.
This may come as shock to you but to start any walk, you have to be at the start.
What the heck are the parameters of a walk that I must follow, to enjoy it?
What has the official idea of what the public want, got to do with how far I walk?
I could go on (and on) like you have but to be honest after the first paragraph I couldn't really be bothered.
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.
-
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.
Not meant to be rude, but if you want to engage with people you to have to bring them along with you.
-
For me there are every day walks, which are 3-5 miles and are mostly about seeing what is going on, yesterday it was the last brave field gentian, the first barnacle geese of the winter and a short eared owl flying up from nearly under my feet, and then there are long day walks and multi day walks which are more about seeing new places and getting out into remote areas. They are both enjoyable for their own sakes. The keeping fit aspect is more of an added advantage than a reason for doing it, and I admit to being a bit of a potterer.
-
Not meant to be rude, but if you want to engage with people you to have to bring them along with you.
Pot kettle black perhaps?
-
Not meant to be rude, but if you want to engage with people you to have to bring them along with you.
Ditto, if you want to take part in the debate you need to invest time in understanding other people's viewpoints and, by your own admission, you couldn't be bothered to read BWW's entry beyond para 1. But, on the question of rudeness, if you re-read your post does it not come across as rude to you?
-
Ditto, if you want to take part in the debate you need to invest time in understanding other people's viewpoints and, by your own admission, you couldn't be bothered to read BWW's entry beyond para 1. But, on the question of rudeness, if you re-read your post does it not come across as rude to you?
I will turn your reply round and ask did you not find barewireswalker post a bit longwinded?
Having an agenda is one thing, going on about it in every post just gets a bit tedious.
So yes maybe my post was a bit harsh, but it was posted in the hope that Barewirewalker would perhaps think a bit more about the stuff he posts.
-
BWW's posts are generally thought provoking. I don't read every one, but those I do I enjoy. Some are long, but they are often worth investing a little time in.
With regard to BWW thinking "about the stuff he posts" - I think he does, a lot ;) .
I suggest that, if you don't like BWW's posts, you don't read them, rather than being unpleasant on the forum.
-
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.
Now back to shorter walks. Today we set off on a short walk from the house. At one point we crossed the line of another walk and it being a nice day, we picked up the line of the second walk. This process repeated itself a few times with other walks we had previously done. Then I noticed we had just past the layby we had originally parked at the first time we had done the walk we were now on, and it had not been a short drive either. Cue a quick unwind of the the other halves of the routes, making an extended but very pleasant walk back home - or it would have been had the rain not arrived an hour early.
The point - having a network of short walks can generate other walks by pure serendipity.
-
This world is full of so many different people (understatement), viewpoints & cultures . Gee wouldn`t it be dull if everyone adhered to the norm`..by the way remind me..what is the norm .?
PDSTSP , I agree with your viewpoint .!
-
To stay on topic and lighten the atmosphere: today's short walk, lots of wax caps, assorted colours, and earth tongue fungus. Huge and hungry fox moth caterpillars. Samphire on the shore a lovely autumn red.
-
`.........by the way remind me..what is the norm .?
'All folks is queer save thee and me. And even thee's a little queer'
Old Devon saying (hence old definition of the q word)
-
I prefer long walks for the simple reason that I so much love being out walking. But in the end, what matters to me is not the distance or duration but whether I enjoyed the walk.
-
I prefer long walks, but recently have only been able to manage shorter walks. Fortunately, I can get to woods, field, river banks and quiet country roads from my doorstep. These short walks are enjoyable and I have seen deer, herons, goosanders, lapwings, bullfinches and an osprey within 2 - 3 miles of home.
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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!
-
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.