This Week’s Walks
28th July-3rd August 2024
A little late with this as I ended up doing a long, and rather interesting, walk yesterday so didn’t have the time to write it — but the details of that one will have to wait for next week’s post. (Though if you do want to keep up my exercise, you can always follow me on Strava)
There was only one big walk during last week. Sunday was about being volunteer co-ordinator for Junior Parkrun in the morning and then getting on with a bunch of stuff around the house. I did do half an hour’s walk around the block later in the evening, just to keep my step count up, but nothing special.
One problem I had last week was feeling quite lethargic for a bunch of it, partly because it was quite hot and humid, which meant I was getting a bit dehydrated and having times of sleeping unexpectedly. That meant that on Monday I did manage a bit of a walk, but also had a volunteer shift at the food bank that evening so it was more about taking a roundabout route there. But that did take me along the Bourne Valley path in my neighbourhood, which looks good in the evening light.
Tuesday was another day of food bank volunteering and then sorting out a few things in the city centre, so I hit my 10,000 steps doing routine things, which feels good and is a bit rare for me now that I predominantly work from home.
Wednesday was the big walk of the week. Thanks to my earlier twisted ankle, I’d spent the month thinking I wouldn’t hit my target of averaging 10,000 steps a day for the month, but it was still in sight and now just one decent walk away. I had planned to go out with a friend for a walk in the evening but she had to cancel because of a back injury, and I was almost tempted to say “sod it” and take to the couch. But then I did get out.
Travelling south, like I had the Wednesday before, this time I took a different path down the side of Friday Woods and found a couple of paths I hadn’t been on before to explore. Rather than looping through the woods, I carried on down and followed the path by a farm to end up on Mersea Road, crossing that into Donyland Woods. I thought about going all the way through there to Rowhedge and then heading back along the river, but that felt a little too ambitious.
Instead, I decided to take a slightly shorter route that brought me up through Donyland Heath and then the Wick, which turned out to be a good decision. The grass on the Heath has been allowed to grow long with occasional paths cut through it, and I had that little golden sea to myself on a quiet summer evening, just as the shadows were lengthening as the sunlight getting richer and deeper.
From there, it was a casual walk home, and enough of one to ensure I finished the month above the 10,000 average, which I celebrated by starting August with a couple of lazy days. Then on Saturday it was off to Maldon for their 500th Parkrun and the benefits of that rest showing up in my ankle being strong enough to run the whole thing in under 40 minutes. I did have a little walk along the Prom after that, just to enjoy the day before it started raining, and that was enlivened by some wonderfully colourful flowers, and the bees dining on them.
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