Walking towards 1000 miles

In early January I committed to a target of walking 1000 miles in 2021. Seemed easy at the time

An average of 3 miles a day would do it. But, like everything else in life, it’s not so simple. The weather, health, work and personal obligations make it impossible for me to walk 3 miles EVERY day. So, obviously, missing a few days means more has to be done to catch up.

Yesterday was a catch -up day. Beautiful sunny weather presented me with an opportunity to clock up a reasonable distance so I set off to follow my pre-determined route.

I use OS Maps online and the OS Maps App (you can sign up here). The walk usually follows a course I have mapped out and saved. There’s a useful ‘follow this route’ facility which I can access on the app using my phone. Alternatively (If I know roughly where to go and which paths (PRoWs) to follow) I can just ‘record’ a route and save it to my ever growing library of trails.

Yesterday I also decided (because I was in fairly familiar territory and walking solo) that I’d listen to one of my Audiobooks. It was a medieval tale which suited the weather and landscape to a tee. I set out just after 1pm. At roughly the halfway point I stopped to chat with a friend I hadn’t seen for years (another advantage of ‘getting out for a walk’) after one or two coffee breaks and another chat with a new neighbour near to home I managed to stretch the journey time to about 4.5 hours. I arrived home in the dying light at 5.30.

An amazing winter circuit which left me feeling confident, relaxed and relieved that I’d at least achieved Januarys walking target (albeit the 11th February!!).

88 miles walked this year… watch this space!

The route… 12 miles around Terrington St Clement and Tilney All Saints