12 hours with just me and my thoughts
This time last week I was in the middle of a 12-hour walk. 12 hours on my feet, travelling on my own (no conversations), disconnected from technology (no music, no podcasts, no quick looks at my email). 12 hours to spend just with my own thoughts. Sound brilliant to you? Or completely unbearable?
It is both a Thing, and also self-explanatory. You can read more about it here from a chap who's written a book and created an app, but you don't have to. When I first heard about the concept my immediate reaction was "I definitely want to do that!" A few other people have said exactly the same thing to me when I’ve mentioned this to them. (If you’re one of them then why not pick your date now and put it in the diary?)
I walk a lot and the idea of a walking challenge, while actively not involving my phone, was right up my street. I was maaaaybe a bit over-confident about tackling 12 hours compared to my usual 2-4, but mostly I was excited about having a whole day out of the house and seeing how far I could travel under my own steam. The idea of walking from my own house right into central London also really appealed.
And it was both brilliant and hard! I went out with food, drink, a map, a bank card, and my phone set to 'do not disturb' while running a GPS tracker. And yes I managed to go the 12-hours without looking at it (other than to plug it into an external battery after a while), and no I wasn't going to leave it at home (it was set so that my husband could contact me in case of an emergency).
“Honestly those first 6 hours were a total pleasure.”
Here’s part of the Wandle Trail. Not taken during my 12-hour walk, obvs, as phone usage is strictly verboten - but luckily for me I’ve done this walk a few times and have plenty of photos to show it off.
I did have a plan for the first half - I wanted to visit the various addresses where I've lived in South London over the last 20-something years, so that's what I did. Honestly those first 6 hours were a total pleasure. I managed a useful stop in Morden Hall Park for a mid-morning snack and comfort break, and lots of the morning was me following the Wandle Trail - i.e. meandering through green spaces alongside a river which is just a glorious thing to do. I ended up on Wandsworth Common eating my lunch - an old haunt from a previous job - and that was when various ideas sparked (for work and home) and I spent a good twenty minutes scribbling down notes.
My much vaguer plan for the second half was to find my way to various London parks. I managed Battersea and Hyde but didn't make it as far as Regents - I hadn't properly factored in how much more tired I'd be later on, and (alas) quite how much my feet would hurt towards the end. However! Seeing how easily places in London join up when you're on foot is always satisfying, and the moment I crossed the river was especially pleasing. I spent a happy hour slowly walking around the Serpentine in the sunshine, surrounded by people out having a lovely time in the Easter holidays.
One of the very best things, in hindsight, was having that permission to be unshackled from time. Normally when I'm working out how to get from A to Z I also have to factor in how long it'll take me and whether or not I’ll get there ‘in time’. But when I was deciding to go from Battersea to Victoria to Hyde Park, the duration wasn't even a factor. That whole day was literally about the journey not the destination, and definitely not about the speed. So that element made me feel incredibly zen (at least when I forgot about my sore feet).
“One of the very best things was that permission to be unshackled from time.”
Another photo from a different walk along some of the same route. When you’re in no rush you find all sorts of mesmerising sights. Or maybe it’s that you find everyday sights more mesmerising.
My final leg took me - increasingly gingerly by this stage - through Green Park and St James' Park before crossing Hungerford Bridge to take me to the South Bank. This was a bit of a low point tbh - I'd had the Royal Festival Hall in my mind as somewhere to take a lovely indoor break before the final walk along the river to London Bridge (and my train home). I made it! I found a seat looking out over the Thames! I gratefully sank down and enjoyed giving my poor feet a rest!
And then five minutes later the stewards came around asking everyone to leave (because, I assume, there was a private event happening - normally you can rely on the RFH as somewhere safe to hang out well into the evening).
So! I swore quietly to myself, then went out and sat on a bench instead, and gave myself a solid 20 minutes of sitting in the evening sunshine instead. And finally I picked my way along the river to London Bridge. Being stubborn, I wouldn't let myself stop until I'd reached the full 12 hours, which necessitated walking up and down the street outside the station for 10 minutes. And then finally, blissfully, I went into the station and before too long caught my train home.
Actual worst bit of the entire day was the walk from my local station to my house - usually takes 3 minutes, but after my legs had seized up and my feet had got used to no pressure, probably took me closer to 10. It entertained my husband when I hobbled through the front door, at least.
Is there a sensible professional conclusion to this opening blog? Perhaps - in that it gave me space to think, away from work, and that has benefited me professionally as well as personally. And I'd recommend it to anyone who's feeling overwhelmed by the day-to-day at work and needs that forcible break from routine and screens. One of the reasons I went self-employed back in 2018 was to give myself control over my work-life balance, and the 12-hour walk was an excellent reset.
Also I proved to myself that I could go for 12 hours without my phone, and I honestly didn’t miss it. (But then I did go straight onto Instagram on the train home. Old habits, etc.)
Useful things for next time:
Libraries are VERY helpful places with public toilets where you can legitimately sit down quietly for a while without feeling obliged to buy anything.
All the big train stations (and maybe some of the small ones) in London have places where you can fill up your water bottle.
I should probably have waited until I'd broken in my new walking shoes (which I didn't wear, because I knew they'd give me blisters). Instead I wore my old, worn-out shoes without much of a supportive sole. The right footwear is a non-negotiable next time.
I definitely need to pace myself more early on. I found almost impossible not to walk at my normal pace in the first six hours, but I should have slowed down so I'd have more in the tank for the second half.
Also it turns out that even when my feet are in agony I still can't walk as slowly as tourists in central London (truly, how do they do it without tripping over their own feet?).
I didn't need as many things as I thought! Next time I'd give myself the gift of buying tea while out so that I don't need to take a flask with me. And I had a nifty heat-retaining device so I could have a hot lunch, but I think next time sandwiches would be just fine.
Here’s that link again if you want to read some enthusiastic copy on living your best life, but truthfully if you’re feeling inspired then I’d just go ahead and do it. Wear the right shoes, bring a bottle of water, and don’t walk too fast.