I've never owned a sleeping bag...

I've never owned a sleeping bag  

Let alone a mountain bike

Over the last few months I’ve been on some long, long walks. A few of them have been organised – hello Kiltwalkers! – and some have just been the best way to see cities and towns that I was visiting. I was never really an outdoorsman (can’t start a fire with a flint or anything like that) nor was I a rambler and like running, walking is something I’ve come to slightly later in life. But I do like it very much. One of the main features for me, in that differentiates from running, is that I walk without headphones and tend to spend my time more engaged in chat with those I’m walking with or just more aware of my surroundings.

As I said, never been an outdoorsman, can’t tell what tree is which or where North is. However I recently downloaded an app that allows you to record birdcalls and it quickly identifies them. It is fun and I find myself quickly switching it on to record when out walking on a regular basis.

So, have I learned one bird call from another? Can I cup my ear and make an informed guess? Well, no. There’s a lot of different birds out there and maybe through time I’ll start to get a slightly better ear for it…but the only thing I’ve learned so far is that Robins are noisy wee fellows… and that if you think it’s a Dove it’s probably a Wood-Pigeon…

I really can’t claim walking is helping me to expert naturalist level — but it does get me out – and sometimes it gets me paying attention.

If your group is supporting wellbeing in local communities you might be interested in our Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund https://engagerenfrewshire.org/engage-support/community-mental-health-wellbeing-fund.html

All the best

Alan