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A collection of 7 stories

The Fragments

In 2020, the world ground to a halt. My walking did too. There were a series of walks which scattered between periods of lockdown which went unrecorded. Writing about walking seemed fruitless and almost like a form of self-torture. Where I can, I've revived these excerpts and their associated maps and photographs. Some are long and almost done, some are barely there at all.

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In this collection

  1. The Fragments

    When I walked dejectedly out of my office on 12th March 2020, I didn't realise that both personal and global change was afoot. We were approaching the end of a two-week-long regulatory inspection…

  2. Isolation Drills: The Forest and the Angel - A Fragment

    I ventured out into the wider world in August 2020 for the first time in four months. It felt daring, a little foolish and somewhat risky - but after months of watching the numbers, managing…

  3. The Shining City - A Fragment

    This is odd. I remember this walk well - even now, in 2026. It was a beautiful sunny day. Unexpected for February. I'd had nothing particularly planned, but had decided that a walk in from Kent was always a winning option.

  4. The Paddington Arm - A Fragment

    It's not clear to me why I didn't finish this fairly advanced piece, which describes a wet but fulfilling walk along the canal from the far western edge of London into the city.

  5. The A5 - A Fragment

    This fragment dates back to the Spring of 2019 - which seems like a lifetime ago. I had completed the London Ordinal walks, heading into the city along each of the ordinal routes, via a walk along the A5.

  6. Western Avenue - A Fragment

    This fragment was nothing more than a placeholder. It spoke of intentions, expectations and sadly, presumptions which would be unfulfilled. The memory of it is stronger now, not least because of the…

  7. The Ikea Prophesies & The Chingford Conspiracy Bin - A Fragment

    By the middle of 2021, life felt like it was returning to normal. At least, a strangely attenuated existence which we were encouraged to regard as the 'new normal'.