I’ve walked at some pivotal points my life. When I first moved to Edinburgh my Saturday afternoons were often spent walking, exploring the pages of my street map.  Yes I was really living the wild student life.  I noticed that the houses preening from the hillside beyond Morningside road reminded me of home. Even though those ones were large detacheds in Fairmilehead rather than small terraces clinging on the valley.  I plodded about the town,  plotting my routes in coloured inks,  searching in vain for Haymarket Ice Rink;  that book was out of date several years before I found it.   It paid off though, I got to know my adopted city beyond the student and tourist hubs.

It’s Edinburgh Jim, but not as you know it

Walking.  Displacement activity,  filling up the day before the  5pm Finals posting   or later walking the night away through  a break up and  I just had to be away from the house.

Walking can be sociable, even when I’m on my own, my (almost) daily walk takes me past friends and gives me a chance to catch up on news. And walking with DogS never fails to make me smile.

And who could resist that smile?

We have a local walking group too where people and dogs can socialise and explore.

Even if sometimes our feet get so wet there’s no point avoiding the puddles! (The walk which went with the snowy photo).   Walking helps me think, plan, calm down when I need to.

Three different types of walks and walkers have their left footprints recently.

The first,  walking as art  Alexander and Susan Maris’  The Well at the World’s End  a journey from Schiehallion to Iona passed fairly close by,  the second and third  pilgrimages but of different kinds came even closer. Charles Compton walking around the British mainland coastline* raising money for The Mental Health Foundation  arrived in the morning and then after lunch (and my own much shorter walk) the third group, actual  pilgrims walked and waded nearby.

So today, I’ve done my 10,000 steps and been standing a while so I’m giving my stripily suntanned feet a rest.

Marina x

*including islands linked  by bridges or non tidal causeways