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Have you ever heard a rattlesnake use its rattle in anger? I have, and it is LOUD. It doesn't sound like it does in films, like a delicate castanet, slow and threatening. It is a harsh whirring, a vibrating, oscillating, terrifying VRWRWRWRWRW sound that fills every empty inch
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Writing this from the tent about three miles up from 'scissors crossing', a place name which meant nothing to me a week ago but which I now know well. It is eerily still, though just an hour ago it was gusty and the sky is threatening rain later.
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"It's starting to get real now." How many times have I said that in the last 3 months? At least three times since arriving at Scout and Frodo's place; once when we filled in the remaining gear-gaps needed for the trail (tent stakes, hiking
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The Amtrak Pacific surfliner drinking a light bodied Californian pinot noir. +++ Landed at LAX and made it through customs. Vindicated that I could finally say "I told you so" to Grace that the loose Nurofen I had in my washbag would not be a problem for homeland security
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Left the UK on Thursday 18th April and flew straight to Barcelona with friends. Every time I fly Ryanair I say that it will be the last time, but just as the delirium of parenthood comes to overshadow the pain of childbirth I cannot help but find myself back in
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Location: Southwest London, UK Distance: 12.6km Route: https://strava-embeds.com/embed.js Woke up on Saturday and went for a walk around a busy Richmond Park. Saw some deer, looked at the deer, and bought a cappuccino from the little café. It was a beautiful morning and the paths
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Location: North America Distance: 4,265km Route: [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1ULrH9H1I47-2NfRzo3m1osepeaY4yt8&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480] What is the Pacific Crest Trail? This summer Grace and I are going to walk 2,650 miles from Campo (the border of Mexico
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Location: Brecon Beacons, Wales Distance: 11.6km Route: [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=140BE-8EsubSiJUGW-Fta-tQYh4JzVCU&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480] Started the day right with a breakdown on the A40. Having pulled over into a layby around 20 minutes from trailhead for something
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This was originally published in EYESORE issue #3 in May 2016. The Alma estate regeneration is not due for completion until 2028. The four towers of The Alma Estate, in Enfield, North London, will soon be demolished. Built in the 1960s, and at 23 storeys high, the blocks loom over
Walking
Location: Lochaber, Scotland Distance: 35.0km Route: [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1GnbRikde8Ore8bQN-di7FJ4VszRTiCE&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480] For a period of time toward the end of 2021 I could not stop talking about The Hermit Of Treig, a documentary exploring the
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Location: Dartmoor, England Distance: 39.2km Route: [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1PQb6ztOFl0oJFEvEuaTXdMiTSfk94lo&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480] Though I’d already caught sight of the whitewashed walls and packed picnic tables, it was the smell of smoke that made it real.
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This was originally published in EYESORE issue #4 in December 2018. It was 7am and January, and though the puddles in Hackney were frozen, Colm the night baker of Church Street was awake too. “You’re what? A walk? Like a hike?” He eyed me warily, before handing me a