A couple of weeks ago my school reader volunteering didn’t go according to plan. It was careers day and the flow of children dried up so I called it a day. The weather was gorgeous and sunny so I chose to walk the long way home.

Surprisingly I met very view people along the way so I didn’t have many opportunities for a cheery hello. Whilst sitting on a bench enjoying the sunshine a dog carrying a large stick in its mouth bounded over to greet me much to the surprise of its owners. One of them passed a remark to the other ‘he never walks that way’. I suspect he was showing off his stick to me. The dog certainly brought a smile to my face.

This chapter discusses the benefits of walking with purpose as opposed to walking for leisure. Studies have found that when walking for a purpose people tend to walk faster. Some of the studies concluded this led to better health and wellbeing.

I don’t know about the conclusions to the studies I can only say how I feel after ‘walking with purpose’.

I walk faster when I have a destination in mind, I don’t want to be late. Having a goal boosts my mental state and feeling of wellbeing. I often set off later than I intend which means I have to walk faster to get to my destination on time.

During term time I have a weekly purposeful walk to a local school. I volunteer as a school reader providing one-to-one reading support for children helping them improve their reading skills and boost their confidence.

Returning home after a recent visit to the school I found that one of my favourite benches to ’sit and rest a while’ had been replaced over the summer holidays. Of course I chose to ’sit and rest a while’ and enjoy the view before returning home.

I recently obtained the North Telford Coronation walks booklet and I am hoping to tick off all the walks before the end of 2025.

I started with one of my local walks where I could walk from home. I started the walk from the pedestrian crossing rather than Leegomery Community Centre. Along the way I detoured taking in Apley pool and Leegomery pools extending my walk to around 4 miles.

You might recall that I attempted this walk last Friday (27 June). Due to setting off late and the ominous looking weather that appeared as I was walking I took a shortcut home.

Today, 2nd July 2025, I walked the complete route starting the walk from the nearest place to my home which is the underpass near to Leegomery Pools. I enjoyed the walk in this order because it started and finished on some of the best bits of the route. I took my time and sampled many of the benches that line the walk

I am not sure what is happening with the historic locks on this route. Not long after they had been (recently) repaired and reinstalled they were walled off with wire barricades and allowed to become completely overgrown! Not the best way to showcase or preserve the towns history.

The photos are in the order I walked the route and from both of my walks.

My next walking challenge involves a weekly 5K (3 miles)  walk with a group of local ladies. I won’t be able to join them for the group walk every week due to other commitments. When I am unable to join the group walk due to other commitments I will still walk in step with the challenge.

I was unable to join the ladies for the first walk due to volunteering at a local school. I walked to and from the school walking home the long way round.

My ultimate destination was Apley Woods and when I arrived, I was disappointed. I know at this time of year the trees are mostly bare with maybe a few buds emerging. This type of scenery has a beauty all of its own. On this visit I found that many trees and bushes had been cut down leaving parts of the woods quite barren.

On my way to the woods I detoured, taking a route from one of the newly mapped Coronation walks that I was unfamiliar with. I walked it from memory after reading the walking guide to the route. I found this an interesting small detour from the routes I am familiar with.

I also detoured to find a car park in the local hospital. On my walks over the years, I had observed the car park from below and was never sure if it was part of the hospital car park. During mum’s recent stay in hospital, I was able to view the car park from above. One of the rooms she stayed in had the perfect view over the helipad and the car park beyond. Thankfully mum is home now.

Before returning home I decided to visit Leegomery Pool only to find that it too was not what it used to be. A large ‘metal’ handrail added to the steps down to the pool now dominates the view.

This afternoon I went in search of a giant spider. My quest took me to Leegomery Pool where I found two swans. It was a pleasant surprise, I have not seen swans on this pool before. It would be lovely if they took up residence there.

I was successful in my search for the giant spider he was lurking in the location I thought he would be.

I chose a local route to complete my memorial walk in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.  The walk was perfect with both sunshine and showers.

I will now retrace my steps on my virtual route from London back to Windsor (just under 29 miles), concluding with a ‘real’ walk along the ‘Long Walk’ from Windsor Castle to the Copper Horse statue of King George III.