After our sodden sixteenish miles last week and our equally wet weekend hill adventure, this week was all about shorter walks and hills. On Monday morning it was nice to see clear blue skies when I set out to meet Kim at Woodmill. The downside to the blue sky was the heat, even before eight in the morning, but I guess you can’t have everything and we were only planning to walk eight miles anyway.
Continue reading A few extra hills for good measure
24 January 2017
The icy cold continued into the week so, not wishing to loose any appendages to frostbite, I decided on a shorter walk than normal today. For a while I’ve been meaning to check out the cemetery at Quobb Lane and today seemed like the day for it. With the weather and the conditions underfoot fairly unpredictable, I’d plotted a few alternative circular routes so CJ and I could make a descision based on what we found. Continue reading Quobb Lane and Men of the Trees
26 October 2016
After our adventures at Exbury Gardens I thought today would be a good day to see how the trees were doing locally. Autumn has been slow to start this year but the colour does seem to be creeping in (or out as the case may be) very slowly so the avenue of limes at Hatch Grange seemed as if it might be worth a look. Of course CJ, who missed out on Exbury and has never been to Hatch Grange, said he’d come along too. Continue reading Fluttering green and gold at Hatch Grange
21 June 2016
For a while now I’ve been meaning to take a wander to South Stoneham Cemetery to look for R J Mitchell’s grave and today seemed like a good day for it. The weather forecast was for rain and the brooding sky backed it up so it seemed best to stick fairly close to home. It also seemed a good idea to bring the iPhone out of retirement. It’s one thing getting myself and my phone in its protective case soaked but I didn’t want to risk the new, and very expensive, camera. Continue reading A grave hunt in South Stoneham Cemetery
22 June 2013
Not many people like going to the dentist, especially not for a filling but that was where I was headed on Monday morning bright and early, well earlyish. When I got up I wasn’t exactly impressed to see rain but, by the time I left, it had stopped. Unfortunately, as the first part of my walk was through Hum Hole where all the trees were slowly relieving themselves of the left over rain water, I still got wet. Continue reading The dentist, a new trail and some rain
The long walks of the Moonwalk training weren’t always easy. In fact there were times when I really didn’t feel like walking at all. Mostly though I overcame this obstacle and got out pounding the pavements despite the inner voice saying stay at home. Sometimes it took a supreme effort of will to get out and keep going. Training for a marathon, even if it’s a walking marathon, is a tough lonely business. The last walk of January 2013 was one of those times.
Continue reading Walking when you don’t really want to walk – first published 27 January 2013
A few days ago I told you all about the Big Hill and the Little Hill, and my daily struggles with them. In September 2012, after a few lazyish days, I decided I needed something to make up for it and add a bit more intensity to my weekend walk. This involved a hill that leaves my daily hills looking tame. Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy. Still, I did add a few tips for dealing with tough hills. Continue reading upping the intensity with a few hills – first published 21 September 2012