Take a hike
By Steve Sharp
Going for a brisk walk is well-known to be, “free, and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier,” as states the NHS website.
“Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories, and make your heart healthier.”
It seems that younger people prefer the gym, cycling, yoga. Something organised or mechanical, leaving walking to those of us a little longer in the tooth. Apparently not so.
My daughter, 26, encouraged me to watch a film called “End to End,” singer songwriter George Ezra's charming Cross-Britain hike.
After months of isolation during COVID Lockdown, and anxious about touring again, Ezra and two friends walk the length of the UK, meeting musicians in this uplifting documentary.
George Ezra's reputation as the nicest man in pop emerges intact from his easy-going documentary. That follows his 95-day, 1200 mile walk from Land's End to John O’Groats. He is joined by two old mates from his uni days in Bristol, Adam Scarborough, and Christie Tattershall.
Cath Clark’s review of the film in The Guardian, says, “It's impossible not to be charmed by Ezra. He may be one of the most successful singer songwriters in recent years, but if he's got an ego, it clearly doesn't need feeding that often. He's positive, sunny, and upbeat, even in a swirl of midges in the Highlands.”
It's hard to disagree, and really refreshing to see three friends still in their twenties appreciating epic views, the natural world, chatting animatedly and walking, day after day after day.
At one of the very few low points, George calls his dad and asked how he can carry on with this folly. The advice was “just put one foot on front of the other….and smile,” so he did.
If I have one criticism of George, Adam, and Christie, it’s that in the dark recesses of my memory I could picture Dr Barbara Moore who in the 1960’s walked in the opposite direction, but she only took 23 days!
She was a vegetarian and breatharian, believing it possible for people to survive without food. She walked with only nuts, honey, raw fruit, and vegetable juice for nourishment.
Moore held the belief that people could live to be 200 years old by abstaining from smoking, drinking alcohol, and sex.
To test her health theories, she planned to build a laboratory next to her home in Frimley. She was soon drawn into a lengthy legal battle over a sewer and access road for a nearby housing estate.
She spent years and her life savings fighting the case, but ultimately lost in the High Court of Justice. She was jailed for contempt of court after she refused to accept the ruling.
She died in 1977 aged 74, somewhat short of 200, bankrupt and near starvation because of her refusal to eat.
I know who I would rather go for a walk to the pub with!
Steve