Did you manage to enjoy the recent hot spell? I revelled in the chance to wear my cotton sundress with summer sandals and a sun hat. I walked in Bushy Park, staying under the trees as much as possible. My daily walk is vital to my well being so only the most extreme weather will deter me – I’m not a fan of wind. I hate the sensation that a sudden gust is going to lift me right off my feet. I know, I know! It would take a very strong gust to actually lift me up but we have had gusts recently that have almost knocked me over.
Walking is the easiest way to exercise, especially if you have access to a beach or park. It is not so easy to motivate oneself to pound city streets, especially when the pavements are radiating summer heat, but it is still possible to take a walk early morning or late evening. The trick is to take in the local landmarks to encourage oneself to keep going. Are they actually building a house in that narrow tract of land that has been wasteland forever? Why are they pounding the driveway of that house with a jackhammer? Who stole the Victorian bricks from this wall? I am fortunate: ten minutes from my home and I am walking along the wide cliff top promenade overlooking the Thames estuary.
As I have already written, while staying with my son and daughter-in-law recently I walked in Bushy Park. Despite the heat there was a slight breeze and I could hear the wind whispering through the wild grasses. Wandering through the Park you inevitably meet deer. I am always bit daunted by the deer because they are wild creatures and it’s their territory, but they continue grazing unperturbed. 
The best bit about walking is meeting people – especially during this pandemic when social activities are so severely curtailed. It might just be a polite nod of the head or a brief greeting with a smile. Sometimes it is a socially distanced exchange of a few words. The other day I talked to a dog owner who was exercising his two Shiatsus on the grass because the pavements were too hot for their tiny paws. Then, as I sat down on a bench I chatted to a walker who was cooling down before continuing to the cafe to buy an ice-cream. As I neared the gate, I passed a man futilely commanding his dog. “Banshee! Come back!” Great name for a dog intent on chasing a squirrel up a tree and determined to keep leaping at the trunk until he reached it.
Is there a worst bit about walking? Considering how important it is to well-being I’d like to answer, “Of course not!” But to be fair I need to mention the wheeled hazards. It is not funny when a cyclist or electric scooter whizzes past on the pavement at speed. Would it help if a law were introduced that all users of wheeled vehicles had to ring their bell on approaching pedestrians from behind?
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Only if you have perfect hearing/are not wearing AirPods and listening to an audiobook or music/don’t mind leaping out of your skin with fright when you’re deep in your own thoughts abs they ding a ling at you… Many more ideas. How about just not riding at speed, or on the pavement at all?
Glad you’re getting out and enjoying your walks still.
I totally agree about “not riding at speed”. On many occasions I have lept out of my skin in shock as a rider whizzed past. Of course riders should not be on the pavement but since there is no-one policing them I was trying to think of ways to improve the safety of pedestrians. A friend suggested using different coloured paving slabs to divide the pavement into walking/riding sections. I wondered about the feasibility of designating one pavement as “walkers only” and the pavement on the other side of the road as “mixed walkers and riders”.
Here it can be like the Tour de France, so often pavements have a dividing line painted with a symbol of a walker one side, a cyclist the other. It kind of works if people realise or care enough to stay on the right side. There are issues when the verges become overgrown and encroach too…
So much for the concept of “shared space”! The biggest risk to walkers in this town’s pedestrianised High Street is groups of boy cyclists whizzing by on their rear wheels.