Tag: walking
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looking forward
Eight years ago, Tom and I walked the West Highland Way. We had a wonderful time. (Tom, on Conic hill, looking over Loch Lomond) I find that there is a singular sort of clarity about long distance walking. Time slows to the pace of your feet, and is measured in the distance you can cover…
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different shoes
It is almost three and a half years since my stroke. Conventional wisdom about post-stroke recovery suggests that the first neurological adjustments and improvements after a brain injury are very rapid, and then tend to plateau off after the first six months. The importance of this “six month window” was often repeated to me by…
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A Walk with Felix
Hiya! It is I, Bruce. I am here to tell you about a Fun Walk I had yesterday at Braid Hill with Kate and my buddy, Felix. This walk (which is one of my favourites) begins by Golf Course. Golf Courses are very mysterious human spaces: men walk purposefully about them with large bags and…
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New Lanark, the egg, and the naming of things
Hiya! It is I, Bruce. Today I am here to tell you about the place called New Lanark. Tom and Kate have been to this place many times, and are fond of it for many reasons. Kate particularly likes New Lanark because 1) it is the birthplace of Utopian Socialism and 2) it makes yarn.…
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the highlands and the hunky bunk
Hiya! It is I, Bruce. Today I am pleased, because, after a long break for the Winter, the walking and camping times have begun again! This particular walking and camping time was a surprise, because the weather is good, and Tom has not yet begun New Job. We packed up the van, and set off…
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weekend in Unst
The perfect spot The rocks and creatures tell out their stories in runic scribbles On the hill, the heather is turning. A walk to land’s edges. A meeting with Britain’s most northerly flock. Two days on the beach. Bliss.
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Wester
We spent the weekend up in Wester Ross. This is a truly beautiful part of the world. And despite it being a holiday weekend, it was also incredibly quiet. For two days, we had this glorious landscape pretty much to ourselves. One of the many lovely things about this area of Scotland is its native…
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steamies
(Edinburgh women negotiate the gradients of the old town, bringing home their washing from the steamie) As I walk about Edinburgh, I often find myself thinking about residents and visitors of the past, moving about the city. A while ago, such thoughts gave rise to the Jane Gaugain walk I wrote for Twist Collective. These…
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A walk at Roslin Glen
Tom is beginning to feel better, so we took a leisurely stroll around Roslin Glen earlier today. Yes, this is the same Roslin (or Rosslyn) that is home to the chapel. Dogs and visitor centres do not mix well, so we didn’t take in the interior, but if you are in the area then I…
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breezy
Hello everyone – hope you are all having a lovely day, however you are spending it. We’ve just been out for a very windy walk. Let me tell you, there is a very good reason that those nineteenth century women mountaineers abandoned their skirts at the foot of the hill — the damn things act…
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breezy
A breezy day. Everything has that blown-out, blown-back look to it. In the undergrowth, broom-pods rattle like crazy maracas. And what’s that rustling beneath the willowherb and gorse? :: I am already making the second mitten to form an actual pair. Hold still my beating heart – there will be a pattern. :: My peppers…
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friday
I’ve been out for a nice long ramble with Bruce. It was raining. As long as I have a) a good waterproof and b) non-leaky boots, I rather like walking in the rain. There is nobody around. The world looks different. Everything smells good. Bruce got to splash about in all sorts of wet stuff…
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Errigal
Errigal dominates the landscape of North-West Donegal. Everywhere you look, it is there. In the photo above, it is the fuzzy triangle at centre right, while, in the one below (taken from Horn Head), you can see its distinctive scree slopes catching the evening sun. I was reminded of the Hebrides in many parts of…
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a walk around the lighthouse
Outside the lighthouse, the ground rises steadily and steeply. Bressay Sound reveals its spectacular arch. We are climbing up toward the cliffs. Every ledge has its own maalie (fulmar). We are prepared for spitting, but they don’t seem to mind us. Sitting there at the edge, everything is quiet except for the soft whoooosh of…
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hedges, walls, and an ancient sock
We have been out and about in Border country. This part of the world is rolling and green and utterly lovely at this time of year. The fields are full of lambs and calves; the hard edges of the roadside are softened with the haze of new growth; the hedgerows are white with hawthorn and…
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schiehallion
On Saturday, we climbed Schiehallion – another munro. Rising out of the surrounding landscape like a great, squat cone, Schiehallion resembles a child’s drawing – it looks exactly like what a mountain should look like. Easily accessible from the shores of Loch Tay, it is extremely popular with walkers, whose pounding feet, over the past…