The truth is not as much as you think. The reality is that most of us will walk many thousands of miles in our lives. So it’s not really a question of how far, but how fast.
Last week I clocked up 1,000 miles walked outside this year, so far. But not really in the way I imagined! 2020 has hardly been a normal year for anyone, but the walk around my local park, a circuit of just over two miles a day has taken on a whole new meaning, and has been what has kept me sane, certainly during the lockdowns.
Sure, during the summer I was able to get out and do a 10 or 15 mile walk in Surrey, Kent or Sussex most weeks. And these seemed particularly special. I even managed four days near Aviemore. But certainly nothing like the 470 miles in the Alps which I had planned.
I hope that we all have begun to appreciate a little more what we do have. As these pictures of the local park in November show, the beauty of nature, compared to the drabness of the office or factory, school or train is incomparable.
It’s nice to have a target too. As the crow flies, 1000 miles would take me from our house to Stockholm, to Seville, or to Belgrade. So it feels like an achievement. And I’m not stopping there. I’ll see how far I get by the end of the year, and try and beat it next, hopefully including the Alps this time.
Today was one of the wettest walks I’ve done round the park this year, but it had a charm of its own with the smells and colours, and far fewer people than normal. Much better than what I used to do, a trudge from Victoria station to the office, and then back eight hours later. And I feel better for it too.
Across the Alps to the Adriatic 