A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Saturday 23 June 2007

First Post, First Step

Keats did it, Coleridge did it, Shelley did it and Hazlitt did it. Thomas De Quincey did it eating opium and Robert Louis Stevenson did it with a donkey. George Borrow did it in Hungary and Romania and Spain and Wales. Bill Bryson did it in the Appalachians and Patrick Leigh Fermor did it on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube. Wainwright did it in the North Country, Edward Thomas did it in the South Country and Wordsworth did it all over the place - A favourite pleasure hath it been with me - sometimes with his sister Dorothy. Hilaire Belloc did it on the way to Rome and Shirley MacLaine did it destined for Santiago de Compostela. John Hillaby did it on country paths and byways and Ian Botham did it for charity on tarmac roads. Spud Talbot-Ponsonby did it beside the coast and Hamish Brown did it over the high hills of Scotland. What did they all do? They went for a walk...

4 comments:

Kay said...

Stumbled across your walking blog today. Particularly enjoy the industrial history bits (walker and life-long resident of copper mining-smelting region).

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks so much for your comments. The industrial legacy is all part of our lives - and I suppose we tend to romanticize the old industries (eg lead mining in the UK's Peak District from long ago, canal building in the 18th century, steam railways in the 19th century etc.) Mmmm... wonder if nuclear power stations, wind farms and car production plants will have the same appeal under the patina of time?

Val said...

Well, I wasn't here for the first post but I'm sure I would have been hooked if I had been. : )

Dominic Rivron said...

Perhaps this post could be adapted into a song to the tune of "Let's do it, let's fall in love"? :)