New Year, New Walking Trousers
Well yes, but I’ll bet it’s the first that’s been written by a Welsh resident of Todmorden who is allergic to parsnips and has a cat called Hinksey. So there. Todmorden, for those unlucky enough to live outside of the People’s Republic of The North, lies on the West Yorkshire/Lancashire border within walking distance *cough* of the Pennine Way. It isn’t the prettiest of mill towns but it’s very handy for Leeds and Manchester and is surrounded by wild moors and dramatic landscapes. If you’re an outdoors type, the town is pretty near perfect for all of your needs although it does lack a coastline so any opportunity to surf is a bit tricky…..
Although I would dearly love to be a true outdoorsy kind of gal myself, a pathetic fear of heights and general lack of fitness mean I tend to stick to walking. Before I moved to Tod, walking was limited to the streets and canal paths of Oxford which were mostly wonderfully horizontal. Apart from the path that follows the Rochdale Canal, the streets and lanes of Tod are mostly vertical and that’s just in town. It may seem relatively flat up on the tops of the Pennine Way, Pennine Bridleway, Mary Towneley Loop and Calderdale Way but the walk up to those tops are crucifying if you’re a bit out of practice (which I still appear to be even after 5 years here….).
So why bother? After all, Tod has a perfectly good leisure centre with aqua aerobic and yoga classes and a cafe that sells hot chocolate and muffins. Well, as much as I love cake and cocoa, they both taste so much more satisfying when eaten in the middle of a rain lashed 10 mile hike around Blackstone Edge, don’t you think? Also, this townie would love to be able to join her local Mountain Rescue team as a volunteer – something that isn’t going to happen while she’s so unfit she may just need to call them to get her off the sofa at the moment. So, I’m giving myself a year to see if I can get hill fit enough to make the grade.
Tags: Walking, Weight Loss
