If you’ve been following my progress with the #walk1000miles challenge this year, you’ll know that I already completed the challenge (by a single mile) at the end of November.

For me, the pressure was off during December. I was free to walk as few or as many miles as I would choose; every weekend or not.

02/12 – 16 miles – Severn Way and Berkeley Vale
03/12 – 6 miles – Bath Skyline (led by Brunel 20s & 30s)
10/12 – 11.25 miles – Burrowbridge and the River Parrett
17/12 – 7.75 miles – The Cat’s Back (walk leading)
23/12 – 5.25 miles – Wrington, North Somerset
24/12 – 7.75 miles – Priddy, Somerset
26/12 – 9.25 miles – Axbridge to Crook Peak
28/12 – 15 miles – Quantock Hills
31/12 – 13.5 miles – Mendip Hills

Total for December 2017 = 91.75 miles

(Strangely, this perfectly matches my total from December 2016!)

Even though I’ve had a full Christmas week off work, which has gone a long way towards helping, I am staggered by the fact that I came close to walking one-hundred miles in the final month of the year. What an achievement in itself! To think of how many people would rather shut themselves indoors and switch the TV on or stare endlessly at their phones and tablets…

Most of my walks from this final month have been local ones, particularly around Christmas time. I had plans and an intention to travel further afield on a couple of occasions but I decided to stay play it ‘sensibly’ as I’m very aware that the clutch on my car will soon need replacing.

Saying that, I’ve found myself able to explore footpaths that were new to me in each area.

Even better, perhaps, I’ve been able to experience hiking in the snow for the first time. It was a harsh introduction, as the snow was more than knee-deep in places, while my second experience was more comfortable and not even up to my ankles.

As I’ve said previously on this site; I won’t be looking to repeat or better this achievement in 2018. It’s been a great commitment to achieve this in “boots on” fashion. I would recommend this challenge to anyone who’s yet to give it a go. I look forward to simply logging my miles next year, with less pressure.

If one-thousand seems too great, there is also the #walk500miles option… Which I’ll probably complete without intention!

I may still sign up for the #EverestAnywhere challenge… Watch this space!

Total for 2017 = 1,092.75 miles

Thank you for reading through 2017.

I hope you all have a great 2018 and spend lots of it outside.