Seven walks inspired by artists | The Spectator spectator.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectator.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There was a time when the thought of walking made me shudder.
I grew up in Merstham, a one-pub village in England s south-east that sits on the motorway border between London and Surrey. My school was at the top of a wooded hill, accessible to vehicles only by two narrow country roads. But my school commute, a journey where I was more likely to encounter a bushy-tailed squirrel than another human being, was a little different. A new national network of walking routes will soon connect every town, city and thousands of villages across Britain
Most days after class, I would swap my school shoes for mud-encrusted wellies, watching with envy as my friends were whisked away in their parents warm, dry cars. My mum was working long hours in the city and there were no public buses plying the school s narrow access roads, so I had two options: walk the two-mile bridleway that connected my village to the school; or wait until dinnertime to be picked up. The decision, despite having to tr
South Downs Way, Hampshire to East Sussex
Situated within the South Downs National Park, this walk is deceptively close to London and yet is tranquil enough to feel like its own little island. Running along white cliffs dotted with various rest stops to take in views of the English Channel, South Downs Way feels like a quintessentially British guide to its most famous coastal region.
A sign for the South Downs Way in Cheesefoot Head, WinchesterAnnie Spratt / Unsplash
There is something for everyone along the trail, including the Amberley working museum, a lively re-imagining of the South-East’s industrial past, and the Alfriston Clergy House, a rare glimpse into 14th-century architecture.