Slow walking

Julia ♦ March 22, 2025 ♦ 2 Comments

This path leads to one entry point of the York Wall, great for slow walking.
York, England, July 2023

“…as a pilgrim, travel is made holy in its slowness. I see things that neither the passengers of the train nor the drivers of the automobiles see. I feel things that they will never feel. I have time to ponder, imagine, daydream. I tire. I thirst. In my slow walking, I find me.” ― Kevin A. Codd

For me, walking is an activity that never grows old. I hope to be able to indulge my love of walking for many years to come, but at my age, I rejoice in every day that I’m able to do it easily and without pain.

One reason I so love England is that it’s a wonderful place to go walking. Even with the difficulties of those charming cobblestones so often found there, or the frequency of rainy weather, or the temptation to use their wonderful train and bus systems, my favorite memories are of the times I’ve spent there walking as slowly as I like, taking pictures and loving the feeling of simply being there.

The ancient city of York has a wall that circles the town, and in 2023 I decided to walk it again. I had walked part of it during my visit there in 2001, but didn’t remember much of it. On walking the entire two miles on my recent trip, I realized I had only seen a relatively short part of it before. There was a light rain, and terrified as I was of falling off the steeper and more precarious areas, I kept going even where there were no protective railings or anything to hold to for safety. One thing that kept me going was realizing that turning back was likely to be just as risky as going forward! So I pressed on, praying for safety and pausing frequently to snap a picture or two. I wouldn’t do it again, but I was glad to be able to complete that walk and see things from a vantage point unavailable any other way. And I have some great photos to prove I lived to tell the tale!

But I don’t have to be walking some challenging path such as the York Wall to enjoy the energizing effect of a good walk. I don’t even need to be in England. My own neighborhood is perhaps my favorite walk of all, and I felt the same way about the long walks I took daily from our Yorktown home. Just as you can’t step in the same river twice, you can never take exactly the same walk twice. And while you’re walking, you’ll be experiencing new thoughts and daydreams, making the walk more than just a routine. If you’re not a fan of walking, I invite you to try it. It may be an acquired taste for you, but there’s no telling what you’ll discover– outside or inside your mind!

This marker is a few steps from the path pictured above.
These informative signs are placed at several points along the wall.