Writing by Ken Wilson, author of Walking the Bypass: Notes on Place from the Side of the Road (University of Regina Press, 2025) and Walking Well: Trails, Paths, Pilgrimages (forthcoming from Wolsak & Wynn in October 2026)
Long walks can be magical, if you have the time and ability to go on one, and this article describes 13 possibilities. Some I knew about; some I’ve completed; some are completely new to me. One thought: I can’t imagine paying for a guided tour of the Camino de Santiago. That’s not necessary, in my experience, and the suggestion that it is makes me wonder if some of the advice here makes sense. You be the judge.
My walks these days are not that exciting: around Regina, running errands, going to work and back. I love them, but I’m not sure anyone wants to read about them.
But my friend Geoff Travers–he goes interesting places, and he writes about his adventures so the rest of us can experience them vicariously. He also posts photographs–lots of photographs!–to go along with his words.
He’s just about to head off for south-east Asia, and he’s planning to blog about that trip. You can find his first post about that experience here.
I should have known this already, but he writes that his favourite walk, of all the long walks he’s made, is the 88 Temple walk on the island of Shikoku in Japan. That’s on my bucket list, but whether I get there before bucket time arrives is anybody’s guess. Who knows? Maybe I’ll figure out a way to make that walk with Geoff somehow. You never know–it could happen!