The compact between writing and walking is almost as old as literature - a walk is only a step away from a story, and every path tells.
(Robert Macfarlane)
Enjoy our ramblings about walking and the great outdoors. From accounts of our adventures to interesting notes and stories about the special places and things we discover on our walks, plus a few tips to help you enjoy your time outdoors.
Join our Perambulations from the Sofa to celebrate the Chilterns Walking Festival and World Nordic Walking Day. Sit back and enjoy this amazing walk as we take our Nordic walking poles to explore the Ridgeway National Trail and the Chilterns escarpment in Oxfordshire. It’s one of our favourites and you can expect butterflies, orchids and awesome views!
Read MoreStroll away, this sweet month of May
May is National Walking Month and a time when many walking festivals would have been held across the UK, including here in the Chilterns. We are proud to have been part of the Chilterns Walking Festival since it began and it saddens us that, in today’s climate of social distancing, the Festival has had to be stopped in its tracks. But all is not lost... Join us for an amble down Memory Lane of our past festival walks.!
Read MoreFair Maids of February
Late January into February is the time of year when tiny humble snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis or ‘Milkflower of the snow’), symbols of hope and purity, burst in clusters of white blooms from the frozen winter soil. Some of our favourite Snowdrops walks take us to the tiny Norman church of St Botolph, by the Ridgeway National Trail at Swyncombe and famed for its snowdrops and teas!
Read MoreA perfect walk for Remembrance weekend. Along the way we discovered mediaeval fresco paintings, an unfinished sculpture by the renowned war artist Eric Kennington, stunning glass windows by Laurence Whistler and John Hayward, and a haunting sculpture by John Buckley. There were also our usual nature notes and other discoveries along the way, and of course some yummy refreshment at the Blue Tin Farm Shop!
Read MoreI recently came across The Rather Cheeky Map of Great British Bottoms (published by Strumpshaw, Tincleton & Giggleswick). It features nearly 300 Great British place names all involving the word 'Bottom'.
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