Solo Walker

Before this site completely transforms itself into a blog about trees rather than a blog about walking, I figured it was time to get back to my original topic. Although the thought did come to me last time I was walking through the wood, ha ha. Actually I’m not planning on being too prescriptive about what content I share on here – as you may have already noticed! My ideas do come to me when I’m walking so that will always be the underlying inspiration for this blog and then whatever happens after that is anyone’s guess.

You see even when I plan to write about walking my mind decides to go off on a little wander of its own, now where were we? Ah yes, solo walking. This is something that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while but then forget until the next time I’m out for a walk by myself. It seems solo walkers are a rare breed, at least that’s the impression I get. I know a lot of people, myself included, enjoy walking with others and use it as an opportunity to reconnect away from other distractions. However if I only went walking when someone else was available to join me, I wouldn’t be able to walk as often as I like to.

This means that usually when I go out for a walk it is by myself, which I have no problems with, far from it, I love solo walking. However I’ve noticed other people seem to find it puzzling. No one has outright said anything but I do tend to get a quizzical look from other walkers when we pass each other. It never feels critical or pitying just genuinely baffled as if the idea of walking on their own had never occurred to them. Perhaps I’m misinterpreting the look and I happen to pass by people just as they are wondering if they left the iron on but it’s happened often enough that I’m reasonably confident I’m right. Unless I just look a bit odd but generally people only decide I’m strange once they’ve started to get to know me 😉

At this point I should probably clarify that the above only refers to leisure walks. When I’m walking as part of my commute, then I see plenty of other individuals, all of us walking with a sense of purpose as we have somewhere to get to. However on a ‘just-for-the-sake-of-it’ walk I generally only see couples, small groups or people with a four-legged companion. The confused looks don’t bother me but the reason I thought I should write a post about it is that it occurred to me that some people would be put off by this. Some people do care what others think of them, even if it is only a passing glance. Once this thought dawned on me I couldn’t help feeling sad, the idea that someone would miss out on going for a walk because others might think that odd is such a waste.

Or maybe it’s not that people find it odd they just assume it would be boring? If people enjoy going for a walk for the shared experience and a chance to chat perhaps they don’t see the point of going out without someone else? I hadn’t really thought of this before, maybe because I’ve never been bored on a walk so it wouldn’t occur to me to think it could be dull. If that is the concern then why not just give it a go and see what happens? Have a route in mind that you know you can do in 20 minutes, that way even if you do get a bit bored it won’ be for long. However you may find that far from being boring, a solo walk actually offers the same benefits as a shared walk but instead of connecting with someone else, it’s a chance to reconnect with yourself – whether that’s taking stock of how things are going, enjoying a moment of calm or simply being in the moment instead of planning ahead.

If you’ve been tempted to go for a walk by yourself but are worried you will look odd or concerned you’ll be bored then I urge you to give it a go. Go for a shortish walk to see how you get on and while you may decide it’s not for you, I think it’s more likely that you’ll find something enjoyable about the experience. You may prefer walking with a chum but equally if solo strolls mean you can do more walking than that’s got to be a good thing.

That’s how I stroll.