Column
It’s a funny old world
THIS WEEK’S COLUMNIST Architect and TV presenter George Clarke
There’s a reason people tell you to go for a walk when you’re feeling grumpy. One, it probably gets you out of the way, and two, they know it’s good for you. I have always enjoyed walking. If there was a bus that could get me from A to B in 15 minutes, but I could walk it in 45 minutes, I’d walk every time.
When I was 15, I lived in Sunderland. The Lake District was only a couple of hours away and one weekend my uncle drove me there to go on a long walk. I was hooked.
I thought, and still think, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the UK.
Visiting the Lakes became an addiction. Every Sunday, we’d get up at 6.30am and be there by 8.30am, finding different walks each week. The year I turned 18, I didn’t miss one of them. Even if my uncle couldn’t make it, I’d go in my rusty Fiat Uno. For my physical and mental wellbeing, walking is as essential as breathing fresh air.
There are so many beautiful places to visit. My friend Mark and I go on a walking weekend in Northumberland every year. We’ll just walk, talk and put the world to rights. It’s like therapy. It’s the process of putting one foot in front of another and exploring a place – to feel, see and breathe it. I’m obsessed with history, and in this country, you feel you’re walking through it wherever you go.
Whenever I’m in a new town or city, the first thing I do when I arrive at a hotel is check in, drop off my suitcase and go straight back out again. I take a brief look at a map and get a feel for the heart of the place, then saunter around for two hours. I always take pictures – it’s my way of remembering everything I’ve seen.
I am a bit of a romantic and find beauty in the most underrated places. I love coming across a preserved medieval alley, a hidden blue plaque or a row of Victorian terraces that may have seen better days – they have so many stories to
