The Conclusions of 2018

Wrapping the 2018 Season 

at Morley Hole.

Another Walking Season has resolved, my seventh, and still doing this with such regularity is something that my 2012 self surely wouldn't have believed possible, and as 2018 passes into memory, we're all still here too, which would surprise my 2017 self just as much as it does me now, and with that thought still our heads we have to ponder the question that always comes to mind at this time of the year, What Have We Learned in 2018? As ever, the season has to be regarded as a whole, and the thought pondered, Was it a Success or Not? and as ever, the answer is a resounding yes, with the important qualification for next year being Don't Plan So Much as the itinerary that I walked though the year has ended up looking little like the list that I compiled back in February. That's just as much Don't Add So Much to Your Schedule as it is Spend A Lot Less Time Plotting, as both of them are issues that have come up during the 2018 season, as my plans for last year totalled more than ten bullet points, which was far more than needed as new plans arrived on my schedule as the season progressed while others got dropped and forgotten about. So despite best intentions, a six week tour in and around Malhamdale never got onto the schedule, and I never got close to doing anything around Bradford and the territories around, while the failure to do the Witton Weavers Way should come as no surprise at all, but on the other hand, I never had any intention to head into the Washburn valley until I became familiar with the Dalesbus timetable and so many other schemes ended up taking many more weekends than had been expected. Seven years in an I still seem to be surprised how few walking days I have in a season, really not many more than 40, and thus having a lot less time to utilise than I always anticipate, especially with a quarter of them being away from home, thus the planning is necessary to get the season off the ground, projecting the long walks for the high season, and plotting the logistics for holidays away, but otherwise, the plan needs to be to relax and just let the season take you where you fancy, not to spend your time trying to fit as many routes into far too few days annually.