It funny how different it is going somewhere on purpose as
opposed to going through it with purpose. If you’re moving through a landscape,
say you’re running, you often want to get from a to b, do it quickly, pace
yourself, speed up here, slow down here, you’re very inward focussed and your
surroundings aren’t really a part of the picture, they aren’t a part of the
narrative. But when you’re walking or going for a stroll, all of your senses
pick up, you don’t necessarily think about yourself and think about how fit you’re
getting or whatever, but what you can hear, what you can see, what you can
smell.  A cyclist sort of went past me,
and he bombed past so fast I doubt he really took in any of his surroundings. Probably
noticed me, and a couple of people with a  couple of dogs but he didn’t notice the little
bow tie which is tied to the fence on the barbed wire, or the fact there is a
lot of hawthorn and dogrose along here. That further ahead there’s not a very nice
smell which kicks up in winter, drains, which isn’t around today luckily. Or the
texture of the bright yellow and orange lichen on the concrete post and how
much that stands out against the sky. Because he’s gone and he’s probably about
a quarter of a mile away by now, and I’m still stood here, I haven’t gained
ground but I’ve seen a lot. And heard a lot. And experienced it in a different way.