One of my first retirement challenges is to complete 100 of the best walks in the UK, as a way to increase my fitness, but also as a way to introduce myself to many areas of the UK that I’ve not visited before. As my fitness builds I’m going to...
I listen to a lot of podcasts, they provide a great combination of education, entertainment and company when I’m out walking or cycling alone (I reserve listening to audio books for holidays). Yesterday I listened to a particularly interesting podcast that described the concept of Temptation Bundling: the idea of...
I work in end-user computing and we are pretty focused on improving personal productivity, mobile working and collaboration, but the irony is that for all the buzz about mobile working our users spend most of their time sitting down and it’s not good for them. For background I’ve linked to...
The rugged east coast of England is one of my favourite places and I’ve made many visits to it this year, mainly to walk the beaches and cliffs, but the rest of the family have enjoyed the shopping and museums too. This last week we stayed at Scarborough which was...
Having prepared myself for three days I decided that today was the day for the walk I’d been looking forward too all week, walking from Filey to Scarborough. In theory it’s a 8.5 mile walk but that excludes the walk from Primrose Valley to Filey centre and the walking around...
Another misty day at Filey, but strangely I’ve not minded at all. In fact the limited visibility has made me appreciate Robin Hobbs masterful storytelling all the more, the cool air has made walking easier and the glimpses of views from the cliffs all the more magnificent. I woke early...
I’ve had my unfair share of silence this week and it’s been wonderful. There’s something unique about the high fells, when there’s no one about, no bubbling streams, no wind, just quiet. I’ve been soaking it up because it’s so precious. Back in my apartment, I’ve been struggling with the...
A few weeks ago Graham and I were out walking and I mentioned that I favoured repeating familiar walks, while he favoured new and exciting adventures. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to do lots of new walks which I’ve greatly enjoyed, but I still love familiar walks. On Monday...
As I crested the first peak on my laboured ascent of Cat Bells I noticed two red specks in the distance approaching the scramble to the peak. I continued upwards at q pretty good pace (pain free today) and they didn’t seem to be moving very fast. Eventually at the...
Being in the Lake District again I can’t help but think about Alfred Wainwright and how comfortable he was alone. I’m the same, whilst I love the company of my friends and family, the buzz of a busy cafe or the crowded seafront promenade on a summer’s day I’m totally...