Mostly Walking ...
... with Kel and Ann
We are two Australians who love walking. We
have long enjoyed walking in the landscapes of
Australia but in 1986 we discovered the Grandes
Randonnées of France and our lives were
changed.
Since then, interspersed with further explorations
in Australia, we have walked many kilometres
through the European countryside, sometimes on
long walks of up to a fortnight and sometimes on
shorter day walks when based in a particular
region.
We love meandering from place to place in the
countryside and are fascinated by the layers of
history encountered in the countries of Europe.
We love clambering over ruins and are intrigued
by buildings that have stood since, perhaps, the
12th century. And we enjoy discovering linguistic
oddities, cultural practices and good food and
wine.
We have set up this site to share our
experiences with those of similar mind and with
those who are just discovering the joys of
walking.
Walking with us
About walking and How we got hooked
Walking from place to place means different things to different people.
Some want walking to be a challenge, like walking across the Simpson Desert or Antarctica. Others add an altruistic purpose and walk
to raise money for charity. Some do it for exercise. In some cultures walking is simply the way you get from one place to another.
Many of us walk for pleasure - to enjoy nature and to get away from the city into wild, deserted places where we like to imagine we are
far from a regimented world.
But there is walking of another kind. It is the walking of discovery, the walking of travellers whose sole purpose is to discover places,
slowly on foot. It is the walking described in classic books like Hilaire Belloc's The Path to Rome, Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of
Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water, John Hillaby's Journey through Europe or Bernard Levin's Hannibal's Footsteps.
Over the years we had read and enjoyed these books. Then, one day we came across another book which seemed to make some of
this experience possible for us. Although there are now many more books about walking just about everywhere, Adam Nicholson's
Long Walks in France, published in 1983, seductively described nine long walks in different regions of France. He wrote about the
beautiful French countryside but he also wrote about the towns and villages, the people in the towns and on the farms and some of the
historical events, even turning points in history, that had taken place right where he walked.
A seed was sown and in 1986, we decided to pick a few ideas out of the book and try walking in France. We were hooked. And so
began an addiction that continues to this day.
About our walking
This is unashamedly a personal account of our walking experiences.
We began our walking in the south of France and that's where most of
our French walks are, simply because we've loved it so much and
haven't yet exhausted its possibilities. In Spain and Portugal we have
been attracted to remote mountain areas. In Italy classical landscapes
and mountains have been equally enticing. Then, looking for
somewhere different, we found Romania.
We haven't always restricted ourselves to walking, sometimes renting
accommodation and hiring a car to get around when staying for a
while. That is why we have called the site Mostly Walking.
© K. Stillman and A. Pugh
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Read about our travels in