Walking back to happiness
I walked to school from 5 years old. First with my mum and then from about age 7 with my sister. It was normal back then and was really unusual for a child to arrive at school by car or even with a parent. Weekends would be spent often walking in the countryside with my family or locally with friends. I walked everywhere; to the park, to the cinema and every Sunday to church.
Not until my teens did I seriously take an interest in walking and bought my first pair of walking boots when I was 19./ After spending my early teens in the suburbs it was a revelation to escape to the real countryside and enjoy the freedom of the open trail. I began to explore the Peak District at first and then ventured further afield to the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales.
In my mid 20's I met my wife, also a keen walker and we embarked on a lifelong love affair, with trail walking. We have walked in most parts of Britain from coastal Cornwall to the West Highlands of Scotland, from the mountains of Snowdonia to the Norfolk Fens. We have hiked in the Alps, tramped in New Zealand and slogged through the jungle in South America. When we go on holiday we walk, it's such a great way to understand a place. When passing through a landscape by car you don't get to experience the sounds and smells, the people and animals or the weather. It's one of the best forms of low impact exercise and it doesn't cost a penny.
I will walk as long as I am able. When I walk I am at peace with myself and the earth. I am free and all I have to do is put one foot in front of the other.
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