Remember me?

It’s been a while. Too long. You knew where I was going and when I got back this blog sat, tickling the edges of my guilt.

“Write something,” it said.

“I will,” I said, “later.”

It’s later.

Wheredyagowhachado?

I went here

And there

Did this

And that

Then moved house so I could see this from the bottom of the garden

which is all well and good but it didn’t put any words on this blog or this one either.

Maybe I burnt out slightly after managing around 35,000 words during the trip for The Novel but bills needed paying so I did more of this instead of writing.

This is about to be rectified, maybe.

Make mine Merrell

One thing is for sure, my boots took a battering – I needed new footwear. Something that would be okay for popping to the shops or schleping along the estuary. They didn’t have to be waterproof (I’ve others for that) but they did need to be comfy. After a bit of a search I settled on Merrell’s Avian Light Sport Gore-tex.

And they’re everything I expected.

Flexible,

light, cool enough with the breeze coming through the mesh to make sure my feet don’t stink (too much), sturdy enough to cope with a battering, great for gardening, walking, popping to the shops, rebuilding, decorating and fighting off battalions of dragons with a two-year old.

I’ll find out soon enough how they stand up to a weekend of bivvying in a rain-soaked wood. (More of that another time).

The sole has great traction, as perfect for clambering over a rocky beach or up a mountain as they are on pavements. They “provide women’s specific stride-sequenced cushioning” whatever the doozy that means. All I know right now after two weeks of general life-bashing (with my own prescribed orthotic innersoles rather than the supplied Ortholite® anatomical footbed) I’ve not had a single blister, no achy legs or complaint about pongy toes.

AND (as a good friend just pointed out on the phone) they’re Merrell’s “so they’ll last for ages and you can’t put a price on a good pair of shoes“.

Well you can, but he’s right – you can’t go too wrong with Merrell.

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Walking a section of The Ridgeway – edited version

In case you don’t want to read the full post, although I rather think you’d be missing out. Still, in the interests of internet attention spans, you get a flavour.

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Walking a section of The Ridgeway

The anticipation of a walk can often overshadow the experience. Sitting at my desk, in front of a window, I at least get to see the sky, but never enough time to get into the great outdoors. Any trip is preceded by a breeze of excitement. But this latest trip was borne on a hurricane. Planned for the last weekend in February it made the shortest month feel very long.

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Night Tracking on Twitter

I love to walk at night. The air feels different, it’s quieter and the animals are often out and about too. The last night of snow on the ground I went for my usual walk and took Twitter with me. (No photographs though – iPhone’s are pretty useless for night pictures).

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Walking in the Peak District

The Upper Dove Valley

A very beautiful part of the country that hides under a blanket of fog in it’s uppermost reaches most of Winter. We didn’t get much of a view!

Don’t be fooled by the pictures. We didn’t take them having left the camera in the car because of the possibility of torrential rain.

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