Author Topic: Have you walked for a 'purpose' or because of personal interest.  (Read 6093 times)

gunwharfman

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I've hiked three routes that have offered me a purpose and/or a particular interest, the first was to walk from Calais on the GR128 to Ypres in Belgium to visit a relatives WW1 grave near Poperringe and the and then camped near to the Menin Gate to be there on November 11th.

My second was to read the book 'Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes' by Robert Louis Stevenson and then do the walk. Part of the GR70 route.

My third was to walk 9 days along the French Camino route from Le Puy en Velay to Figeac in France. I'm not religious in any way but it was still very interesting to do.

If I get the chance to do it I'd like to hike the Resistance Trail' in the Pyrenees (I think its called that?) sometime.

Mel

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Most of my walks have no purpose other than emotional/mental relaxation and recreation.  The incentives and inspiration to do them come from a wide variety of sources and, where possible, I try to work out a route incorporating "key" features I like to see.


So I guess the answer's yes to both those questions!




astaman

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Hello, returning to the forum after a period of absence, if that's okay. An absence with absolutely no prejudice I should say. Just distracted by other interests and a loss of focus - but the walking continued and the lock down has made me yearn for it so I found myself drifting back to this best of sites.


In answer to GWMs question. Yes. When young I  walked around notable Chartist and radical political sites in South Wales. Also, the interest and the walk sometimes grow together. I walked the Thames Path and realised, as I left London, that reading Wind in the Willows might be interesting which it was. After that I turned to Rob Roy as my read on the West Highland Way. I have been thinking for a while now of plotting a coast to coast walk north of the Great Glen, starting Lochinver; possibly taking in Conival and Ben More Assynt, Ben Klibreck and then Morven, the Maiden Pap and Scaraben before finishing in Dunbeath (with bad weather re-routes of course). Anything by Neil M. Gunn (say Highland River) would be interesting.


It's nice to be back.

gunwharfman

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Welcome from Portsmouth

Dovegirl

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Some of the walks I've done have taken in features I was keen to see  -  eg old mines on the SWCP in Cornwall, Hadrian's Wall, churches, hillforts.  But the main purpose of my walks is the enjoyment I get from walking and from seeing landscapes.

ninthace

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Looking for odd features marked on maps such as a memorial in the middle of nowhere, aircraft crash sites, chunks of industrial archaeology, mines, adits - that sort of thing.  Also filling in gaps left by previous walks if the map or aerial image indicates a route exists.
Solvitur Ambulando

richardh1905

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It's nice to be back.


Welcome back, astaman  O0
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

richardh1905

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Looking for odd features marked on maps such as a memorial in the middle of nowhere, aircraft crash sites, chunks of industrial archaeology, mines, adits - that sort of thing.  Also filling in gaps left by previous walks if the map or aerial image indicates a route exists.


^this - an old mine or quarry is like a magnet to me.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

astaman

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Thank you Richard and GWM. I think that Stephen Pern's walk in 2012 putting a hook in every bothy in Britain has to count as one of the greatest walks with a purpose. And the purpose was eccentric enough to be engaging and to turn the walk into an end in itself. For those who might not be aware of this walk he made an excellent video of the trip which is on YouTube at:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yesqy-8gIYY




Zizag

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Yes I walked the Anglesey Coastal Path .
For a purpose .
For Macmillan Cancer .
No Incentive required .


pleb

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I'm like a tightly wound spring, walking helps me relax a bit.
Whinging Moaning Old Fart

ninthace

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I'm like a tightly wound spring, walking helps me relax a bit.
I have had the odd boss who, while they weren't like that themselves, they were carriers.
Solvitur Ambulando

gunwharfman

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I forgot one of my walks, in late May/June 2015, just over two months after having my Prostate removed I thought I was ready to hike again so I decided that I would walk Offas Dyke. My purpose was to prove to myself (and my wife, she warned me!) that I had come through it OK and was ready to resume my normal life again. A really bad move, I lasted just 6 days, my bladder was just not strong enough, I leaked so badly especially when walking downhill, so I had to come home. I did the hike again well over a year later.

The nurse told me that daily pelvic exercises were the key to a full recovery so from early June until mid-July I walked in my local area, practicing my exercises day after day after day, I freely admit I became a bit obsessed about it. By mid-July, I felt fine and then hiked the GR10 in France, no problems with my bladder at all, but I did get a hernia on day 17! I failed to appreciate how vulnerable the strength of my groin muscle area was after my operation. I then had to walk for three days (hand in pocket) now KNOWING that I had a hernia but when I reached the campsite in Lascau I was able to buy myself a truss. I finished the walk wearing it and two weeks after I returned home my hernia was repaired and I've never had a problem since and no problems with bladder control either. Thanks, NHS.

Odd that I remembered my other walks but not the ones I'd hiked that year, in many ways 2015 was the most stressful period of my life.

SteamyTea

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If I thought about why I walk, I would stop and get a life.
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

barewirewalker

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Part of the beauty of walking is terrain. It provides the views, it also governs the level of difficulty and so many others factors. I suppose my main interest is terrain and purpose is to explore terrain.
My lifestyle and family setup has not suited long distance walks, though my first X Wales walk was to draw a straight line between the monument at the top of Pride Hill in Shrewsbury and the end of the Pier in Aberystwyth. The route I walked taught me a lot about walking as a pastime and the parts of the countryside we are allowed to walk in.
Even doing day walks can be intellectually part of LD walking, because ideas of destinations can develop, especially when infrastructure starts to throw an influence onto developing a route. So finding an idea and being curious on how it might fit with another often gives me a purpose to go and explore.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

 

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