Urban Escapes

I’ve noticed my last few posts have drifted back into being about nature or woodland walks but the beauty of walking as a hobby is that you don’t need any special equipment, no membership required and location doesn’t matter either. All you need is a comfortable pair of shoes and away you go.

I’m fortunate enough to live within a short walking distance of a lovely park and the countryside isn’t far away either. However even if this wasn’t the case, I would still walk a lot. City streets can be transformed into opportunities for peaceful reflection during a stroll, as whether it’s a walk in the park or stepping past an industrial estate you can still feel the benefits.

If something is routine or regular then it is often dismissed as boring but routines can be your friend. If you’re looking to change your lifestyle in any way, such as introducing more walking, then the best way to do it is to incorporate it into your routine. Odds on that is going to be an urban walk rather than a woodland stroll which is way it’s just as important to learn to love walking in any location as it is to love walking in all weathers.

While I’ve never been one of those people that are relieved to get back to the normal routine after the festive break & I’ve certainly never fretted over the thought of retirement as there are plenty of things I’d rather do than work. That being said I do still find myself slipping into a routine even when I’m not at work. I guess we’re all creatures of habit, finding comfort in patterns. I remember going on holiday to Lanzarote and after spending the first day finding our barings, we slipped into a daily routine of going for a walk along the coast in the morning, lunch by the pool then the afternoon was spent reading & relaxing before freshening up for dinner. Even though we were on holiday, with no set pressures on our time we still fell back into developing a routine and it’s this behaviour that can help you make changes to your lifestyle.

If you are looking to introduce walking into your life then the best way to start is to have a look at your routine and see what opportunites there are for adding more walks into day-to-day activities. Even though I live close to a park and the countryside, the walk I do the most is the one that is a part of my commute. That’s because it’s a walk I don’t have to plan for, or to think about, it’s just habit now. Twice-a-week I go into the office and while my home and office are both about 10 minutes walk from the nearest train station, I get off the train earlier and extend the walk from 10 to 30 minutes. Admittedly that means having to get an earlier train than I would otherwise need to but the walk is worth it.

The first part of the walk takes me from a university campus and past an industrial estate. It’s far from picturesque but I love it. For one it gets me off the train sooner and away from the other forlorn commuters. But because it’s a route I’ve done so many times, I pretty much go off muscle memory and don’t have to give it a moment’s thought. This frees up my mind for quiet reflection, whether it’s working out what’s on the to-do list for the day or musing on ideas for my next blog post.

While it’s not the prettiest walk I do, my walking commute is the one I rely on the most, it’s the one I do most regularly and therefore the one that helps to keep me healthy – both physically and mentally. Without that urban escape I would still walk but it would be more sporadic so I’m grateful to that dreary, industrial estate as it helps to keep me grounded (pun intended!).

Even walks that seem dull initially will reveal moments of joy and you’ll discover there’s beauty in the banal. So my advice is see if you can add walking to your routine and learn to embrace the little joys of the everyday.

That’s how I stroll.