SWICS (See What I Can See)
There's a lot, an awful lot, written just about everywhere about Walking (you know why it has a capital w !).
Where to go … How to go ... What to wear … What To Take With You ... let alone the screeds on the benefits of Walking. Great stuff all of it.
Here’s a development in Walking practices that’s new to me but may be very old school for you... now known to me as a SWICS (See What I/We Can See) walk ? If you’ve not tried it then please consider it an End Of The Year gift
I owe this new-to-me-walking-practice to a tiddler and a tiddler who’s just getting to grips with toddling at that. But he likes to get out and about, toddling that is; he generally frowns on time spent in a car unless he can snooze and does all this while speaking a language entirely of his own.
Recently his trusting parents have let me and The Tiddler spend time together. So we start off at the front door (yes, even on days when the weather is a bit inclement) and we just head off. I decide on the timing (well I think I do), he decides on the direction. We’ve seen some pretty interesting things as a result. And so the SWICS was born.
Now, I often go on one of these without The Tiddler, and it’s made me think less about going somewhere for a walk and just getting out walking. A bit like the effect of a veg box when you’ve previously just bought the veg you wanted when you wanted it.
Sometimes I decide in advance on things I’ll look out for – a beautiful plant (weed or other), a tree that I like the look of, my fave house/field/hedgerow for the walk, the number of people I’ve exchanged a greeting with. That’s it.
Sometimes I’m walking with others (not just The Tiddler) sometimes on my own. The thing is I rarely feel disappointed with a SWICS. And, even though I’ve lived around here a while, there always seems to be something that gives me pause for thought. So maybe over Twixtmas (that lovely time between Christmas and New Year) you’ll try a SWICS for yourself and who knows we may even pass one another and exchange a greeting !
On New Years Day in the years BC (Before Covid) Sustainable Wells used to arrange a walk a bit like a SWICS one.
We would meet up at the Town Hall and just head off around the City for a couple of hours and then gather back at a pub. We haven’t organised one for Jan 1st 2024. But if you fancy one for 2025 pop a message to sustwells@gmail.com and it’s a date !