Footnotes

Miles walked this month: 64

With my mid-year mile count on the wane, I’ve been looking for ways to get back to January levels of motivation.

I’d love to lay the blame on the weather, work, a tin of baked beans landing on my foot, but really there’s no excuse. It turns out that circular routes from a car park aren’t enough to get me on my feet these days. Instead, I’m spurred on by a destination. And one type of destination in particular – the pub. The Forum for British Pubs says at least 2000 pubs have closed permanently since we boarded the lockdown roller coaster last year, and many more need significant help to survive. Enter me and family, doing our bit for the local boozers that have weathered the storm and reopened their beer gardens this year. It has taken very little effort in the planning to find routes close to home with a mile or two between pub stops – and those miles are my favourites.

Note to self: Think of adding a tally of packets of Scampi Fries alongside the mileage count. I’m smashing the target for those.

It has taken little effort to find routes with a mile or two between pubs.