The Optimistic Walker: how to be a "can do" walker...

Optimists tend to be “can do” people. In other words, they’re more prone to see what they “can do” in a particular situation rather than what they can’t.

It’s very tempting in our current situation to place the emphasis on “can’t do.” Can’t go on holiday, can’t attend sport, can’t go to the cinema or theatre. Even with some relaxation in lockdown restrictions in place, and more relaxations hopefully on the way, the list of things we “can’t do” seems endless.

One of the great pleasures of walking is stopping for lunch at a pub or for coffee at a café. Cafes may not just offer a coffee but other goodies as well, such as a cake or scone or two, and when you’re sitting in the shade of a tea garden, listening to the bird song and enjoying the variety of trees, flowers and shrubs around you, you feel that every step of your walk has been rewarded and this experience itself has made the walk worthwhile.

At first sight you might think that experience is just another one for the “can’t do” list. But actually, there’s no reason why you have to miss out on the experience, even with the restrictions that are on us at the moment.

It’s very easy – all you need is a thermos and a trip to the kitchen cupboard. Pack up a treat, such as a slice of cake, being careful to place it in a hard-sided container; make your favourite hot drink and pour it into the thermos; bring also your sealable reusable cup; and seek out your favourite countryside spot. If you can walk all the way there, so much the better, but if you have to drive part way, no problem – just observe the distancing rules. Then enjoy your walk to that spot.

Since lockdown began I’ve found “my” spot – just a few metres off a field-edge path at the top of a bank overlooking a narrow channel of water with fine downland views beyond. The ground is covered in lush grass, softer than cushions, and the heat of afternoon sun is tempered by the shade of the surrounding trees. Some walkers venture here, but never very many, and there is a real sense of peace and tranquillity. Out will come the thermos: my hot drink is soon reposing in the reusable cup, to stay good and hot for however long I want to stay. Out also comes the treat, and within a minute or two I’m enjoying the sensation of what is my very own café in my very favourite spot. It has become, for me, a walking objective in itself.

It doesn’t have to be a solitary thing: you and those you live with can enjoy it together, or, providing you keep your social distancing, you can enjoy it with a good and close friend.

So yes – replicating the café experience is something we “can do.”

Living in a low-lying area, all of my walks during the early weeks of lockdown were necessarily on low ground. But the relaxation of rules on exercising has now allowed me to venture by bicycle and then on foot to the very highest point of the South Downs in West Sussex, just above Upwaltham between Chichester and Petworth. The experience was astonishing: from the tops of the hills I could enjoy views to the Isle of Wight and a large section of the South Downs extending well beyond Chanctonbury Ring. There were no “can’t do” thoughts in me as I surveyed that scene. I was truly grateful for what I had been able to do. And I’m now asking myself what I “can do” next.

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