My response to people who tease me for my occasional nerdish ways is very simple. It is (according to my definition) more fabulous to do a lot of different and unexpected things, than to do the same reliably 'cool' thing all the time. So on a recent long weekend, I froliced on both sides of the entertainment spectrum by both parting hard at an awesome Hed Kandi party, and then going on a 20 km walk through the English countryside! I thoroughly enjoyed both, probably helped by the fact that I was accompanied in both pursuits by Debbie, my fabulous friend, who similarly enjoys such varied adventures like dancing in Ibiza and hiking in Bhutan.
To those still in doubt as to the virtues of long country walks, to those who still think my grey hairs surely by now must be showing... well, you just have to try it. I don't do it very often, but when I do, there is something so beautiful, inspiring and settling about not hearing cars buses sirens people air-conditioning dish-washers radios tv.... just rustling leaves, bird calls and our steady plodding, for hours.
The final argument to convince you of how this is a viable weekend alternative, is that our directions were given to us by the TimeOut Country Walks book, aimed for Londoners our age who don't have cars, get lost easily, can't read Ordinance Survey Maps, and don't have hiking supplies. Each walk is graded, is superbly instructed (we didn't get lost once in the 6 hours we walked!), with advice on which train to get, what time to go, what landmarks to look out for. But the best bit - they give recommendations on a pub to go to mid-walk! There is nothing like a good gin and tonic in the middle of a country ramble!
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