catch-up

I went for a walk the other day by myself. It was very cold and there was ice everywhere...I followed the old medieval path over the fields again.

There are footpaths over the fields everywhere. They're not usually an actual path, just a stile in the fence and maybe a sign. You can spend hours walking over all sorts of people's land.

There's some thing called the 'right to roam'. I reached the village of Hurstwood and then headed out along a reservoir. There were a few other people there, walking dogs - there are dogs everywhere. One man turned round and said to me, "Have you no dog?" in a surprised tone. After leaving the reservoire, I climbed a deceptively steep hill and arrived puffing at the top. If you look at the photo you can see the ribbon of path I followed around the edge of the reservoire.

The air is very bracing and the views are beautiful, though a bit brooding. I'm looking forward to some sunny NZ weather.

Worsthorne, United Kingdom