Wednesday 21 October 2015

Walking to form a community



Getting to know a place.
Today I walked in an area that I am still getting to know. I understand that the act of walking physically links me to the land and as I walk I become far more aware of the place than I ever could if I was to just drive through it in a car.
Beautiful clear autumn day on the Kent Downs.


The paths we followed ran across open fields where skylarks flew up when disturbed and the haunting call of the buzzards circling much higher overhead reached down to us. The views were glorious; I could see 360 degrees around and on a clear day such as today I could pick out landmarks all along the North East Kent coast from Whitstable to Pegwell Bay.
Curvy downs and huge skies.


Standing on the ridge looking North we could see the various wind-farms and watched their huge blades moving around in the distance, we could clearly locate the city of Canterbury and along to the east we pinpointed the solitary block of flats in Margate and a more traditional smock windmill near Sandwich.
Distant views and wind-farms.


For me this orientation on walks is imperative. I like to know where I am and for this reason I enjoy poring over a OS map either before or after a walk to put it into context. I like to trace where I have been or plan to go, look at the surrounding landscape, visualise the contour heights and pathways, landmarks and roads to get an idea of what feel a walk will have.
Going up the hill to gain a better view.

Once on the top orientation is easier.

OSmaps are beautiful products. The model has been copied all over the world and there are many OS fans that have set up websites, written books or regularly post about their use. Even the 'trig points' (that the Royal Engineers constructed to take their measurements from to survey the landscape) have a loyal fan base. Their history has been lovingly recorded and even though they are now decommissioned they stand as markers in their own right in the landscape around the British Isles.

Plough marks.


Walking to form a community.
It was with great interest that we saw another two figures walking in the distance. One had the slow gait of a leisurely dog walker, the other had a backpack on and was walking slightly bent forward and moving at quite a pace towards the other. After a few seconds of wondering who they were and where they were going we were once again attracted by the ghostly cry of the buzzards and looked up to try and spot them. When we remembered the other people in the landscape we looked again but could not see them.
The path ahead and less sky.



As a woman walking alone I would have been slightly anxious to know where they had gone, would they be nearer me now, would I be safe? But walking with others, even with one other woman allays that fear. It may be just a personal view but I like to walk in company as I feel safer and can therefore enjoy the experience without any anxiety. It is also more enjoyable to share the experience of observing, discovering and being outside together.
The expansiveness of land and sky.



I would like to create a walking community that encourages others to experience this basic enjoyment, to find joy in the simple pleasure of being outside throughout the seasons, recognising the changes in nature, ourselves and each other.

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Walking as a community

Walking as a community.

This time of year is a great time to scour the woodland floor looking for fungi. It feels like a treasure hunt, even if the aim is not to forage for food it can become obsessive, looking down or across the leaf litter hoping for a glimpse of a hidden gem.

A beautiful 'fairy kingdom'?

The fungi that stand out the best in this environment are one of the most obvious poisonous ones the 'Fly Agaric'. It looks pretty but its bright red colour is a warning. There are many other poisonous fungi that do not warn you with their colouring, often they look quite harmless even very similar to edible varieties, so I would never encourage anyone to forage for fungi unless they knew exactly what, where and when and how to pick.

Poisonous 'Fly Agaric' toadstools.


I think that exploring the woodland floor for glimpses of fungi is similar to beach combing as it involves looking down and tracking along without too many upward glances. This is OK on the beach as the position of the sea and coastline are fixed and therefore navigation is obvious, but looking down for too long in a wood can be disorientating and make a short walk a much further one as you try and relocate the main path. But this delay is often priceless as you discover the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Today I could hear the wind move the higher branches of the trees causing loud heavy raindrops to penetrate the lower canopy, birds sang, twigs broke and yet again my friend and I called to each other to confirm our positions and share our finds.

Looking down, this time at a mobile fungi recognition app.


Fungi foragers are pretty canny at keeping their treasures their own. On an earlier woodland walk we encountered mutual friends who carried a basket and seemed to try and hide their finds as we approached. At this time of year there must be a whole community of walkers who scour the woodland areas across Europe looking for fungi treasures, lost in their common purpose and passion for this most primitive form of natural harvesting.

We came across wood sculptures too in this area.


Netwalking

A couple of weeks ago I led the first Blue Banana business groups netwalking event. It was a bright clear day, this was a welcome surprise after the previous day full of downpours and dark grey skies.

The first 'Blue Banana' netwalking event.


We walked along the slopes overlooking the sea, along the prom by the beach huts, up into the tea gardens, around the castle grounds and back to The Marine Hotel for refreshments.
It was great, very productive and enjoyable, everyone said they are looking forward to the next one on the 20th of November, all are welcome.

And along the prom....


Netwalking allows the two pleasures of walking and networking to be combined. The act of walking creates a forward motion to the conversations too that can be had.

Walking new paths creates a brilliant sense of curiosity.


Friedrich Nietzsche is quoted as saying that 'All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.'