A walk not taken: a Peterborough Ramblers mystery!

By Tony Attwood

Our website now contains over 180 articles, of which about 160 are related to walks we have undertaken.  And from the start, pictures have been a main part of most pieces – indeed when we started they were the only thing we published (the first walk report was “The Walk from Helpston in Pictures” – it is still on the site, of course – just click on the link to take you back to those ancient times – well, 6 July 2021).

But what are we to do when there is a walk, but no one produces any pictures, nor any report?  How are we to know what went on?  Or if it even existed?

Well, one of our number, and it would be wrong of me to tell you who, but it wasn’t me, decided in response to produce a set of pictures which were not from one of our walks!

Now of course I could try to persuade you that these were indeed taken in Cambridgeshire or perchance Rutland or Northants but I think there might be an element of disbelief, although

one of the pictures within this selection was taken in one of those counties…

Of course, it could be argued that the water that can be seen in some of the pics could be one of the lakes that we have occasionally walked around, but I suspect that might be pushing the credulity a bit, even for one of my commentaries.

And indeed as the sequence of pictures continued even I, bemused as I so often am by all that is going on around me, began to realize that was not a scene from one of the walks that of late of which I have been unable to partake due to an annoying injury caused by the local council moving the edge of the pavement without telling me.

Now of course I can’t be sure, but I really don’t think this is one of our local rivers nor even Rutland Water which we have once or twice passed near.

And in fact, the lack of Ramblers heading up those steps is also something of a giveaway.

But anyway back to my main point.   If I’m on a walk (and I do hope to be back very soon, as I had a trial short meander yesterday and managed to survive, meaning the back seems to be recovering) I will normally take “pictures” (as we creative types like to call them), with my mobile phone type thing, which my five-year-old granddaughter has recently kindly shown me how to use.  And of course, we do have several fellow walkers who will take photographs with your proper photographic equipment that adjusts for light, shade, altitude, background, colouring, depth, vision, range, contrast and other stuff of that ilk of which I know nothing.

But if no one sends me any “pics” (as we professionals say) I can’t publish any of them.  Of course I could put up a blank to make the point, but then you can see one of those just by looking at the wall.  I’ve tried it, it works, but it is not very exciting.

So, anyway, I’m going to end with a picture of five of us “off piste” as the saying goes – we’ve been for a couple of strolls around Cambridge, a diminutive principality of which I know little being a London man myself.  A passing lady was kind enough to “shoot” this “shot” (to use the technical terms).  Notice the clever way the little people are at one end and the big people are at the other.  Now that is art.

But to return to my theme: please send me pictures of walks – preferably involving members of Peterborough Ramblers, including the Sunday walks of which I don’t think I have ever received a single one.   Although photographs of turtles, airplanes, and wildebeest are acceptable if all else fails.   Email to Tony@schools.co.uk.  And if you want to add a commentary to stop me from writing one, please do.