What counts as a long walk? That’s entirely up to you, you’re the one walking it so you get to decide
One step at a time
I’d done several walks around the 4-4.5 miles mark, more than I had been doing for the past year but still not enough to make a long distance multi-day hike a possibility unless I want to take an awful long time about it – time is ones thing I have lots of, but not enough to drag less than 5 miles out into a full day of walking! It was time to step up my game
I planned a walk of just over 5 miles, the obvious next step in my vague plan to get hike fit, following a footpath I’ve used before up over a field and through some scrubby woodland, then picking up a bridleway that I’ve never explored to loop back home. The footpath gets very muddy in places, but Britain had just basked in a heatwave so it seemed an ideal time to do it. And then it rained
The best laid plans
It rained all the preceding day and through the night, and I woke to overcast skies and a very wet garden. Picking my way through mud isn’t my idea of a nice walk, especially when it’s not particularly scenic, so it was time to rethink my plans. The best option seemed to be to take to the roads – more accurately lanes – and head to a neighbouring village, and this had the advantage of giving me several chances to leave the tarmac for public footpaths across fields if the going looked good
Achievement unlocked
There wasn’t anywhere to take a break before I reached the village, and it’s really nothing more than a cluster of large houses. A quick sit on the wall of the church and I was on my way again, picking up a well signed but clearly seldom used (see below) footpath to do one side of a triangle instead of two by the road
When I got home, a bit footsore but still upright, I was amazed to find I’d walked over 7 miles with only a very short break. So much for the 5 miles that I’d thought was my next goal! I’m calling it my first “long” walk because it was a long walk for me, and it’s in quotation marks because I know I can and will go further so it’s only long at the moment. I definitely knew I’d done it the next day when the aches and pains started, but no blisters and hopefully I’ll be less sore with practice
