Exercising locally is the rule we all now need to follow and local here is so local that “Grand Day Out” walks with their Northern Ireland wide focus are not appropriate.

However the principle of finding walks in places others might once have considered too ordinary, too close to home – (not Instagram or social media worthy) is at the core of my purpose for “Grand Day Out (NI)”. That same principle works just as well for all our immediate neighbourhoods.

In recent times many have sadly come to view parochial as a term of derision or even abuse – yet really coming to truly know your own “parish” is a lifetime work. Patrick Kavanagh once wrote:

A gap in a hedge, a smooth rock surfacing a narrow lane, a view of a woody meadow, the stream at the junction of four small fields, these are as much as a man can fully experience.

Patrick Kavanagh from “Kavanagh’s Weekly” 24th May 1952

Also in coming to know our parish we should also come to care for and improve it, for ourselves, our neighbours and future visitors.

So as you walk local these difficult days, look and appreciate what is around you already and think and plan how we all working together it could make it even better in the future.

Stay safe – walk well

Charlie Reid

Updated 3rd June

The official NI COVID strapline is still “Stay Home – Keep Distance – Wash Hands”. However we are encouraged to go outside for daily exercise and now also allowed to drive short distances to facilitate this.  It is undisputed that outdoor exercise in nature plays a major role in maintaining physical and mental health and boosting our immune systems.

However as we collectively relax this is a time of great danger.  Complacency and indeed stupidity, are real threats to us all. On sunny days in popular areas groups of people now walk in bunches, blocking paths ignoring social distances and subjecting themselves and everyone they meet to unnecessary extra risks. No-one yet knows how great these extra risks are, but we will have a good idea in a few weeks when impacts, or not, will become apparent in the infection and death statistics. In the meantime I avoid such areas and if I find my daily walk becoming congested I turn back. Completing a planned route is unimportant – maximising our collective health is essential! 

Some of the walks described in “Grand Day Out”  may be appropriate for you as daily local exercise. Please use the maps and modify the routes to avoid hot-spots or places where the paths are too narrow. Turn back if unsure, practice social distancing and step off paths if they are narrow when passing others.

Do not over-stretch yourself physically or explore beyond your comfort zone.

Stay local, stay careful.

Charlie Reid