Halfway Musings ...

Shortly after setting out on my next stretch of the Cotswold Way I’ll pass through the halfway point - so, it seems like a good time to take stock and gather together some of my thoughts from along the way. You can tell I’m not a literary type. My thoughts here are bullet points rather than well connected and flowing prose!

• I’m enjoying it more than I expected – and I’m looking forward to what the next half will bring, particularly as I’m not at all familiar with what’s to come. Contrast that with the first half where I’ve had at least some knowledge of some the route.
• If I continue at the same rate I’ll have completed the walk before the end of the year – much sooner than I anticipated though I never had a specific target. Looking back I do recall thinking that I would have the opportunity to photograph throughout a year so availing myself of every season’s weather and light. So, I’m now thinking of starting again as soon as I finish so that I get to photograph the route in winter and spring as well as just the summer and autumn as looks likely with my current progress. I’m particularly keen to photograph in the beech woods in the springtime when the foliage is light and fresh. If I do this and complete it I will have walked ‘The Way’ four times – 408 miles in total. It sounds a lot but it’s only 8 miles a week for a year.
• B&W photographs don’t just spring up all the time begging to be taken. I knew that of course but at times I’m finding it frustrating. I often photograph in the countryside but I’m wondering whether the additional need to cover some distance each time is a slight distraction from the more important task of seeking pictures. There are times when I catch myself head down hiking rather than head up looking.
• The Cotswold countryside is beautiful. Not at all rugged and dramatic but rather it is quiet and understated. Whilst the occasional point along the way is busy, that is only so in relative terms. Most of the time I see no one for hours on end. Most walkers are friendly with a cheery ‘hello’ with only the occasional opportunity for a longer chat. My sampling suggest that there are very few people doing the full walk, most being out for a day or half day ramble.
• My mind covers a lot of topics whilst walking – many of them not at all to do with photography. One thing keeps coming to mind though is just how thankful I am that I have the freedom to enjoy the countryside here in this country. I’m prompted in those thoughts by my pondering on the daily reporting of world events that put into perspective the value of this and all of the other aspects of freedom that we enjoy. I could say that I’m lucky, but that would be to overlook the history of the path we’ve taken for us to now be able to enjoy our freedoms.
• I have three different pairs of walking boots which I have alternated to try to find the most comfortable. My conclusion – I need another pair! All are more or less ok, except that one pair is too heavy, on another the sole is too flimsy and the third are a fraction too tight on my toes, and they are no longer waterproof. So starts the quest for the perfect boot. And my other walking aids are walking poles. I bought a pair several years ago and used them on some rugged walking in Utah. But I then put them on one side and only rediscovered them soon after I started this walk. And I now find them invaluable and won’t now set off without them. My knees are pretty ropey (not at all pretty) so the support afforded by poles, especially when walking or scrambling down a slope is something I no longer wish to be without.
• Along the way there are many stiles, kissing gates, and other assorted obstacles to keep in the livestock whilst allowing passage to us walkers. Most are easy to negotiate however there is one form of kissing gate that is almost impossible to get through whilst wearing the Cotswold Way hiker's normal kit - a good sized backpack. There have been several examples of this tricky contraption so far. The space inside the gate is practically impossible to accommodate one average sized hiker plus backpack. The only thing to do is take off the backpack and heave it over the gate then shimmy through the gate and reload. You have to wonder whether it's designer ever tried it out.
• I had an email the other day from the Assistant Editor at Cotswold Life magazine who’d come across this blog. Resulting from that contact hopefully there will be a photo spread of my pictures taken along the Cotswold Way in a forthcoming issue of the magazine, possibly the October issue. No promises, but I’ve supplied them with a set of image files to consider. Fingers crossed.

Now, stop musing and start walking ...