Time for Walkies.


Today, I went for an epic walk; my longest since my pledge to get more exercise.

(Epic may be an exaggeration, though I did walk quite a way.)

It happened by accident. I went into town first thing to do a spot of banking (not a euphemism), then decided to go for a wander afterwards, rather than heading home like I'd originally intended.

I started by climbing Windmill Hill; stopping briefly to admire the view, before cutting down an alley past the Girls’ School, coming out on Highbury Road. I then made my way up to Pinehill Hospital, changing direction every so often to see where I’d end up.

(I won’t keep naming roads, as they'll mean nothing to the uninitiated.)

I hadn’t realised how affluent some of Hitchin is, until I've started nosing around it. It’s also very sprawling. I'm surprised how much is unfamiliar, despite me having lived here for so long.

Just as I was considering going home, I remembered having lunch a few months back, in a pub in Ickleford.

“I should go back sometime”, I thought to myself. “Actually, sod it: I’ll go there now.”

So I did. Forty minutes later, I was there; reading the paper while I ate a cheddar ploughman's and nursed a pint of Guinness. The stout may not have been the healthiest option, but I felt like I deserved it.

Tomorrow, I might walk to Norfolk.

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