Walking
One of my favourite pass-times is walking. I find it very therapeutic just to get away from the hustle and bustle of the City, and just enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Britain's countryside.

It's hard to believe that sometimes I can go a mile or two during a walk without consciously thinking of anything in particular (apart from how to put one leg in front of the other to propel me in the right direction!) Other times it can be used for thinking time, and it's easier to find solutions for any projects I may be having problems with.

I get jealous of the people who live North of where I do, also in the West Country, as they seem better served by nature, especially their hills and areas of great natural beauty.
You can find glimpses of these in some of London's "home counties" though. Some time ago, I went on a documented ramble just a short distance outside London (Waltham Abbey.) Looking on the local OS map I had, it showed a fairly steep hill path which wasn't part of the walk. At the appropriate point during the walk I took a detour up this path and was rewarded with a really splendid panoramic view of North London, including "The City" in the distant background. There is an observation bunker there which survives to this day. The reason it's there is patently obvious! By chance, it happens that this location is on the fringe of the Greenwich Meridian.

I have to say that most of my walking is done in Essex. This is an area of the Country I know pretty well, as I moved there for work in my late teens. I lived in a small Town in the North-West of the County, and within a couple of minutes you could be out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

Some walks I do are documented. By this I mean they come out of books. One of my most memorable in the recent past is an 11 mile walk that takes in the ancient Chapel of "St. Peter's on the wall" on the Dengie peninsular in Essex. This ancient Chapel was built in the 7th century believe it or not, by the Saxons. For some while in recent times it was used as a warehouse! It's now been reverted to its original status as a Chapel. The inside is very austere, but you do get some sort of sense of its history. St. Peters on the wall is pretty close to the now defunct Bradwell Nuclear power station. This station was decommissioned in 2002, after living out its originally planned 40 year life-span. The power station was built in a pretty subtle way, as it never really intruded on this enjoyable walk.

Other walks are ones I've worked out for myself. The ones here are my own. After moving to London, I tried to work out how to get far enough into the country for a decent walk, without spending too much on petrol!!! The directives for one of these walks will satisfy any curiosity you had about the two Churches on the home page! I do, from time to time look at the OS maps I have for new ideas for walks. If I find any that I consider worthwhile sharing, they will be posted here in due course. There are a couple more I'm working on right now, but at the moment they involve some walking along country roads (one of them was formulated during the Foot and Mouth crisis, early in 2001!) I try to avoid too much road walking normally, as country walking is, in my humble opinion all about what it says; walking across country!

Some while ago I bought a digital camera. I take it out sometimes to record some of the interesting or more unusual aspects of the walks I go on. From the home page you can select "Photo Gallery". This takes you to some photos taken during various walks.        
Walks I've worked out
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