Tag: Walking

Boys, Belles, Bikes, and Bells.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography10 Comments

I just posted this piece to Medium. In a forest criss-crossed by tracks and trails of many different sorts, three types of users enter for their exercise, entertainment, and escape from the troubles of the world. Pedestrians vary from the agile runner in search of challenges, through dog walkers exercising their pets, groups sharing the …

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We Walked 1114 Miles in 2022.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography13 Comments

Coastal Path in North Yorkshire For a few years, I’ve subscribed to Country Walking magazine, which features articles, photos, and detailed maps of real interest to those who walk in the UK. Each year they run a challenge ‘Walk 1,000 Miles’. We’ve participated for 2 years now. In 2022 we completed 1,114.8 miles. Valerie’s 70 …

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#ScenicSaturday 02/July/22

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography3 Comments

Dry Stone Walls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. How many hands, over how many years, built such walls? Gravity and skill alone hold those stones together and keep them standing in line. Gathered by hand from fields they surround and define, they keep in sheep and keep out those who do not belong. Centuries …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 16/Mar/22

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography, Poetry9 Comments

Fenced inbut why?beyond those rows of postseither side of this well-trodden trackthe land falls steeply awayto the left it drops to a long-dry water courseright it hides a brook tumblingover rocks and fallen treesa veritable jungle full of wildlifeand the bridge?crosses over a track once bearingcarts of coal and iron and stonedrawn by horseslong retireda …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 07/Mar/22

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography12 Comments

To climb or stay on the flat?It’s a dry day, so the path following the fence to the left will be free of the sometime, shallow, flowing stream it harbours after heavy rain. Down there is the nearest route home, and now, after much work has been completed, that rough fence has been replaced by …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 23/Feb/22

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography, politics7 Comments

In the distance, you’ll see an old railway bridge, locally known as the Black Bridge. It’s currently in use as a casual public footpath, joining the English side of the land with Wales, which is where this photograph was taken. The River Wye forms part of the border between the two countries. Illustrating the peculiarities …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 08/Feb/22

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography7 Comments

This is a regular beginning to many of our walks in the Forest of Dean. It’s one of the popular ways into the trees, as can be seen by the numerous footsteps through the sprinkling of seasonal snow. Many of the trees here are reaching the end of their natural lives, and the Forestry Commission …

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Celebrating 1000+ Miles Walked

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography23 Comments

January 2021 On 1st January this year, my wife, Valerie, and I joined a challenge set by Country Walking Magazine to walk 1,000 miles in 2021. Most of our walks have been in the Forest of Dean starting from our front door. Just occasionally we’ve been able to venture further afield, visiting the Isle of …

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