Walking, hiking, tramping, yomping… It's the oldest form of human transport, the most accessible, and the one that can still offer us the easiest escape from our busy lives. It's remarkable how the further you walk away from the nearest car park the fewer people you see. You don't have to walk very far at all, but modern society is so bound to four wheels, itineraries and mobile phone reception that very few people take those extra few steps and leave the crowds behind.
My Dad had been trying to give me a new pair of walking boots for my birthday for years, but I always asked if he could please give me something more immediately useful. How little did I know? I was making do with a pair of his old boots (treads that had done about 1600 miles in the two years that he wore them before passing them on to me - my old man walks a lot) until last summer I relented and he took me to be fitted for a "proper" pair of walking boots. Little did I realise that he wasn't just giving me a pair of walking boots for my birthday; he was giving me a little bit of freedom, an easy escape and an open ticket to the entire 630 miles of the South West Coast Path (which runs right past my door) as well as any headland or hilltop that I fancied enjoying the view from the top of. It's as easy as putting one foot in front of the other and letting your body follow along behind, but you'll be amazed at where it can take you.
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