20 March 2020

Humble

I just finished reading "Thinking on My Feet" by the British TV presenter Kate Humble. She has always specialised in programmes about the natural world. The book was not a novel but a homage to walking. That is why I picked it.

It is a kind of diary of the writer's varied walking experiences over the period of a single year. The walks range from morning strolls with her dogs to rambles through the concrete canyons of New York City and a challenging long distance walk following the course of The River Wye from its source in the mountains of mid-Wales.

Kate Humble is neither pretentious nor especially intellectually gifted but she really understands the joys and the benefits of walking. She writes simply and honestly, noting the world around her - the birds, the trees, changes in the weather, rivers, mountains and farmland.

She appreciates that walking can help us to get troubles into perspective and it can help us to think creatively.  The rhythms of walking are etched into our very DNA. We were walking for thousands of years before motorised transport appeared on the scene.

"Thinking on My Feet" provides a pleasant, undemanding read about an activity that is so often overlooked or undervalued. When you walk, your feet take you from A to B so that you can stand on a hillock and see where you came from, happy in the obvious knowledge that your legs carried you there. Furthermore,  when you walk - you never know what you might see. The world around us is filled with wonder just as it always was.

38 comments:

  1. I think cycling comes a good second to walking. We cycled for years and you see so much more than when you are in a car. Sadly walking and cycling are over for us now but we have our memories. We all had bikes and we were a convoy of five when we went out, the neighbours often used to comment, lol
    Briony
    x

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    1. "Bloody hell Ted! They are off cycling again! Just look at that Briony's arse - all clad in figure hugging lycra! She's like the ruddy Green Goddess!"

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  2. I will have to look for this book. I like walking and like to walk by myself.

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    1. Given what has been going on in the world, it was a very pleasant diversion.

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  3. I used to love walking and I remember a particular 20 minute walk i used to do through a poor area of Sydney. It was part of my commute so I did it every day and watched the seasons unfold through the gardens etc.
    I know what I'm talking about is not a new idea but it was the first time I'd ever done a walk so repetitively. I found that there is something to gain from the repetition as well as the walking itself.

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    1. Kate Humble would agree with you about that and so do I. Nearby I have a one hour walking route that I have undertaken countless times.

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  4. It almost sounds as if this book was written just for you!

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    1. That is what I thought when I spotted it Bonnie!

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  5. I went on walks, proper walks, mainly with my grandfather who loved the outdoors, from the day I could walk (ten months). And yes, I lived with my grandparents so it was part of my daily experiences. A habit ingrained.

    You mention it in your penultimate sentence: "See". Unfortunately, as in so many spheres of life, people Walk, run, whatever, blinkers on. They don't "see", they don't look. An observation of mine, hence anecdotal. And I sincerely hope I am wrong.

    Some years ago, a friend came to visit me in a city I had just moved to. The city doesn't have the best reputation other than home to one of the country's best University Hospitals with the most respected consultants in their field. Oh yes, and the shopping is great. If you like shopping.

    Anyway, so we met in town and walked back to where I live. Like you she was a teacher. Last time I saw her, dead now, younger than me. As we were walking I asked her to look up. People rarely look UP. Yet some of the finest architecture (and the sky) you can only see if and when you look up. We are not rats/mice scurrying along the bottom of the remnants of this particular city's walls.

    As to the rhythm you mention. Absolutely. Want to learn a poem by heart? A script? Think? Mull over? Walk. It'll all fall into place. One of the best pieces of advice my father gave me. Already instilled in me by my grandfather.

    U

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    1. I am so pleased that this blogpost rang bells for you Ursula and I agree with you that we should remember to look up. We should also remember to look behind us.

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    2. Indeed, YP. We do not have eyes in the back of our heads. More is the pity. Even if not paranoid.

      To the risk averse? Do not get born considering the vicissitudes of life.

      U

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  6. I have the book. You definitely observe a lot more when you walk. Charles Dickens use to walk twenty miles a day.

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    1. Many great thinkers and writers used to walk a lot - such as Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche.

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  7. My kind of book! (You knew I was going to say that.)
    Like Ursula, I started to walk at 10 months old, and haven't stopped since. Both my parents and my grandparents took us for walks and hikes, and taught us about the animals, trees and landscape around us.
    And also like Ursula, I want to encourage everyone to look UP! (With caution, of course - don't want anyone to bang against a lamp post or stumble on an uneven field track because they weren't looking where they were walking.)
    Also, whenever I am inside a building such as a surgery, an office or even a friend's home, I make sure to look out of the windows. That change of perspective, a different view at the street I have just walked along on foot, is always interesting.

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    1. Yes. I knew you would appreciate a book like this Meike. When we are walking it is sometimes good to turn and look back. A different perspective.

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  8. I loved walking, but somehow it faded away the last few years. I am blessed with a dog who is reluctant to walk as well. But it is so true that walking leaves our troubles behind, the very essence of life vibrates round you as you walk. And of course it is always a pleasure to come and read some of the walks you do.

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    1. If you have no mobility issues Thelma, I challenge you to take a walk via public footpaths from Normanby to Salton via White Thorn Farm and Highfield Farm. Alernatively, for a longer walk follow paths east of Normanby to Pickering. Photos and blogpost to be published as evidence.

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    2. Well I can cry wolf because of a rickety ankle (fractured a couple of years ago). There maybe public footpaths marked, but the farmers round here use barbed wire across the paths as they are not too welcoming to ramblers sadly.

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    3. If the paths are present on Ordnance Survey maps then they must be accessible by law. In my experience it is extremely rare to find a public right of way blocked. Most farmers are law abiding citizens. Sorry about the ankle but comfortable boots will give the necessary support.

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  9. Thank you YP, I'll look out for the book - it sounds like a good read. I don't always comment, but I always read about your walks, which are always enhanced by your excellent photos.
    I, too have always enjoyed walking, from a very early age. Latterly I belonged to a walking group, here in Spain, and was able to walk through parts of the countryside I would never have otherwise seen.
    Do I still walk? Well, I'm about to take my dog out, though with the lockdown I'm not supposed to go far!

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    1. I doubt that off-road footpaths in Spain are as well defined by maps as they are in England and Wales. It's good that your dog is still giving you a perfect excuse to stroll about.

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  10. Would like to read this book Getting into a steady walking rhythm is a bit like meditation for clearing the mind. A lot of writers say that their most productive time is spent while doing 'nothing' - ie walking.

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    1. Walking is also good for one's mental health - like a medicine.

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  11. I am just about to depart for my morning walk in the woods. Unfortunately it will not be followed with coffee in The Woodlands with a friend or on my own. Sad times. However there is not a single cloud in the sky.

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    1. How wonderful - the sky I mean. After the walk you should consider donning your swimming trunks, grabbing a towel and heading down to the beach.

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  12. Now that the sun is out and the wind has dropped I am tempted to go out for a walk. I feel a craving for some fresh air and to get more exercise than just popping out into the garden for a cup of coffee on the bench.

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    1. Then do it JayCee but watch out for The Virus Police.

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  13. I wonder how many miles I've walked in my life. And I don't regret a second of walking I've done. I doubt you do either.

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    1. Sometimes I walk a mile up the hill on a Tuesday evening to visit "The Hammer and Pincers" and that is one walk I don't like but none of the rest are tinged with regret.

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  14. Interesting! I don't know Kate Humble but I'm a firm believer in walking. I oughta check out that book. Better than the one I'm reading now, I'm sure.

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    1. You will have read better books but with what we are going through right now it was a very pleasant diversion on a subject I am passionate about.

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  15. I love walking. About 2 miles a day is what I do. On my mountain, it was the same route every day. Every day I saw new and interesting things. Now I city walk. With other people on the same trails. With other kinds of dogs. I still see interesting and new things every day. At the moment, when I am not walking or painting or cooking or sewing, I am reading "I am the Messenger". Next read is "Sold on a Monday".

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    1. And, I enjoy immensely walking with you, Mr Pudding! I have discovered a lot of England with you and my trusty Google map!

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    2. Doing the same walk can bring subtle pleasures as you suggest. Nothing is ever quite the same even though the route may not waver. It's always nice to ramble with my big sister at my side. I will take you other places real soon. Love to Big Bear. Prince Bear and Princess Lovebird.

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  16. My mum was English and a great believer in the benefits of a good walk. We used to walk together which I miss. The book sounds interesting. I'll have to take a look for it. Walking always makes me feel better.

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    1. When I have had issues with my knees I have felt as miserable as hell. The idea of not walking is depressing. In the time of The Virus we should all walk more if we are able to do so.

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