And for a ceremonial start to all of this, I’ll just… go for a walk. Nothing extreme (oh, how I long for a day when I could call something “extreme walking” and then choke at my own near-twattish copywriting). It will be a walk abundant in great scenery, unforgettable adventures, new sights and budget-friendly entertainments, not to mention the summer weather in all its forms and glory. Um… wait.
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What I’ll actually do is the Lea Valley Walk. And it will incorporate some of the above keywords, but probably not all. Never say never, though. The Lea Valley Walk is a long distance walk covering roughly 50 miles (80 km), starting where the River Lea starts (not very far from the Luton airport) and ending in the Thames at Limehouse. Amongst others, the walk passes an agreeable number of towns and valleys, many locks on the river/canal and trendy London suburbs. There is also semi-proper nature involved.
I know that for now and for the next year I won’t have the time or means to go off on long expeditions. That’s why I’m doing everything I can very close to home. Like setting traps for squirrels in my garden for that close-to-home bushcraft experience.
Ok. Here goes. My fifth blog. And completely different from all the other ones of the past. This one will not contain vague poetry, even vaguer references to my personal life, meta-intellectual literary criticism and opinions on culture (I think). This one will be straightforward and muddy.
Institute of Wander is made for research purposes and research purposes only: for interviewing people, recording the findings, taking notes, going on field trips. And for offering insights and some musings for those mortals who find themselves to be similarly configured. (“They are a bit towards the forest” – goes the saying in my mother tongue.)
Mostly, I shall be recording my longer walks in order to shape some of those steps into an essay form as I go along. So, technically, it’s adventure writing but in a cultured (here it is again!) manner. Because adventure is everywhere. Really. Even if you don’t have the time, means or stamina to camp on the Cape Wrath Trail at the very moment, you can just sleep in a tent in your garden. (Which I’m doing right now.) One does not just plummet half-way in the middle of an epic adventure. One will sleep under the stars first, and then decide.
Institute of Wander 