Ramblings


A toy robot looking at the Royal Crescent, Bath
I mentioned in my 'Making do and mending' post that I planned to walk more and lay off the beer. And what do you know, I have actually managed to do both! The beer is the hard part; I like beer, and I like the warm friendliness of pubs. Pubs struggle nowadays, so I actually feel a bit guilty for not supporting my locals. I haven't given up beer totally, so maybe I'll allow myself a trip to the pub this weekend. The walking, however, has been easy. We drive in to Bath each day - it's cheaper than getting the train for two of us, and if we got the train we'd be at the mercy of Worst Late Western and their delays and cancellations - and so we drive in early in order to find a parking space. I start work at 9:30, so instead of coming into the office and bimbling around for ages, I've started taking a morning walk, fitting easy exercise into time that would otherwise be frittered away.

Bath is at its best first thing in the morning, I reckon. Actually, that's true of most cities. The busloads of tourists haven't arrived, so the pavements are fairly empty, and everything is fresh and just waking up, the shops and stalls are just opening and the council workers making everything clean and fresh for the new day. There are certainly worse places than Bath to go for a walk. I've got a walkmeter app on my phone so I can track my routes and see how much extra I've walked. One day I took my camera and toy robot with me and had a great time taking photos. That might sound odd, and it raised a few eyebrows with passers-by, but if the walking becomes a chore I'll stop doing it, so it's important to have fun at the same time. When you work in a place, you don't always look at it, and in plodding around the Royal Crescent, Circus, Pultney Bridge and other places I've rediscovered the city.

I've only been doing the morning walks/ less beer thing for a fortnight. I was going to write, 'it doesn't seem to have done anything other than make me hungry', but that's a fib as I haven't had any pain in my hips/lower back, so it's clearly keeping those mobile too. My husband reckons the extra mile I'm averaging each day should have an effect in the long run, so I'll stick with it and see if it does.

Anyone else enjoy cities first thing in the morning?

A toy robot enjoying a cup of tea at Society Cafe, Bath

Comments

  1. The cutting down on the beer and that extra walking should make a big difference but these things take time. I think I'd go mad if i had to rely on the trains. I can't drive but find buses loads more reliable. The Walsall line is always being vandalised. xxx

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    1. There are NO TRAINS out of Trow for the whole of August because the line is being electrified. It's ridiculous.

      I keep telling myself that it took years to put on the weight, it's not going to disappear in a couple of weeks. I just need to keep on walking!

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  2. That's a good idea, I'm sure you'll feel the benefit (though giving up beer altogether would be a sad loss!) Yes, cities when they're quieter are great, and I do try to take time to look at my home town as a visitor might, you see things differently then. xxx

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    1. Deffo not giving up beer altogether. But not going out midweek and sloping into a takeaway on the way home will help stop the expansion round my middle.

      I realised I could end up doing more exercise this way than I did when I had a gym membership, so it could work...

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  3. Walking can be unbelievably effective in weight loss. I started a new job some years back, and went from walking 30 minutes each way to the swimming pool twice a week (continuous walking that is, I did move around during the day) to walking approximately one hour a day to get to train stations, and I lost quite a lot of weight. Kept it off as well.

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    1. Yes, it seems to be working already. I'm amazed.

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  4. I can't say my walks have done much for my waistline, but they do loads for my brain. When I don't get out, it really feels like a deprivation.

    Funny true story-when we still lived on the farm, I was out walking along the county road when people kept stopping to see if my car had broken down, and I needed a ride to town. Finally a police officer slowed to check on me and seemed genuinely shocked that anyone would go for a walk in the country if they didn't need to! Middle Americans love their cars/trucks, that's for certain. After that, I got in the car and drove to parks if I felt the need for a walk so as not to concern anyone.

    Good luck with the routine-I know I'll enjoy seeing the photos of Bath.

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    1. Heh, my husband had that problem as a boy - he and his mum were visiting the US and decided to walk from the motel to a nearby food place. He said it was pretty nigh impossible as there were no paths.

      Getting out into the countryside is definitely good for the mind, though it's probably safer over here - America has a lot of larger carnivores.

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  5. My sister lives by the sea and goes for a beach walk every morning before work she says it sets her up for the day. You get a lot of thinking done when you walk, so even if it doesn't have any great effect on the waistline it can be good for the soul. I'm all about being a bit more mobile these days, use it or lose it as they say.

    It's so unfair beer is such a waistline expander like you I've had to reign in the pints bah.

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    1. The walking is working! I didn't think I'd be able to wear my Mode O' Day dress to Vintage Nostalgia, but I tried it on at the weekend and it fitted much better. I think I shall wear it on the Friday, though, before I fill my boots at the beer tent and hotdog stalls...

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  6. That's great that you set your mind to it and did it, it takes some willpower! I love going for walks, and I particularly like early morning walks, whether they're in the city or the countryside.

    Looking forward to seeing your dress on Friday, though we can't get there until evening so hope we don't miss too much fun x

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  7. Good luck with the weight loss :)

    I like Bath, though I have only ever seen it swarming with tourists xx

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  8. It sounds like a great way to fit a walk into your day and I like being out and about in a city when it hasn't quite geared up for the day yet. I have a dog so am out for a walk nearly every day. I haven't found it helpful to loose weight but I do find it valuable as 'empty your head' time!

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