Walks and general thoughts
I often combine my passion of photography with walking in the countryside and I thought it might be of interest to record some of those walks so that others may follow them if they so wish. Walks are to the best of my knowledge all on public footpaths and most of them are local to Nottingham and the surrounding counties. They are generally circular and may include a pub on route which is always an advantage. If you find any errors in the walks please let me know.
The local area is certainly not wild country but nonetheless some obvious preparation can help to make a country walk a pleasurable experience. We normally wear or carry Gore Tex jackets which are breathable and not too heavy with a fleece if it is cold. Walking poles are useful to help balance, check out the depth of puddles and to fend off inquisitive dogs, and we normally wear leather or breathable walking boots, rarely trainers, depending on ground conditions. If rain is expected it's unwise to wear jeans as they take a long time to dry out and are uncomfortable when wet.
I carry my camera kit in a Lowepro Mini Trekker backpack which I find ideal for day walks. My very understanding wife carries a normal rucksack with food and drink which often get consumed far earlier in the walk than they should do. The camera bag typically includes a 24mm - 105mm zoom lens, a 70m - 200m telephoto zoom lens and binoculars; but rarely a tripod. Other items in the bag include filters, cleaning cloth a compass and a hand held GPS, which I switch on at the start of the walk to make sure I can navigate back!!
Finally I refer to the relevant Ordnance Survey map and quote approximate grid references at key points. If you are not sure what a grid reference is - it is all explained on the OS map.
I often combine my passion of photography with walking in the countryside and I thought it might be of interest to record some of those walks so that others may follow them if they so wish. Walks are to the best of my knowledge all on public footpaths and most of them are local to Nottingham and the surrounding counties. They are generally circular and may include a pub on route which is always an advantage. If you find any errors in the walks please let me know.
The local area is certainly not wild country but nonetheless some obvious preparation can help to make a country walk a pleasurable experience. We normally wear or carry Gore Tex jackets which are breathable and not too heavy with a fleece if it is cold. Walking poles are useful to help balance, check out the depth of puddles and to fend off inquisitive dogs, and we normally wear leather or breathable walking boots, rarely trainers, depending on ground conditions. If rain is expected it's unwise to wear jeans as they take a long time to dry out and are uncomfortable when wet.
I carry my camera kit in a Lowepro Mini Trekker backpack which I find ideal for day walks. My very understanding wife carries a normal rucksack with food and drink which often get consumed far earlier in the walk than they should do. The camera bag typically includes a 24mm - 105mm zoom lens, a 70m - 200m telephoto zoom lens and binoculars; but rarely a tripod. Other items in the bag include filters, cleaning cloth a compass and a hand held GPS, which I switch on at the start of the walk to make sure I can navigate back!!
Finally I refer to the relevant Ordnance Survey map and quote approximate grid references at key points. If you are not sure what a grid reference is - it is all explained on the OS map.