Why I hate pedestrians

You know what I hate? Pedestrians. That self-satisfied, striding, boot-bedecked bunch of scum. Is it just me, or does the country suddenly seem to be full of them? I've never tried walking anywhere myself -- why would I? I'm a successful adult -- but it seems I can hardly travel down the street these days without one of them stepping off the pavement in front of me without looking, their face set in a holier-than-thou expression as they jump out of the way of my car in a burst of expletives. Something clearly needs to be done, and it's good that the government are starting to realise this.

The thing is, it's not just that pedestrians are all smug and annoying when they bang on about "health" and "pollution". That's sickening enough, but if their smugness was the only problem I could just ignore them - after all, they and their silly 'shoes' flash past quick enough when I get going, and their smugness can't penetrate my car's tinted windows. But the thing is there's more to it than that, because have you noticed that even though pedestrians walk millions of miles on our road system every single day, they contribute nothing at all to the cost of that road system? They have thousands and thousands of miles of dedicated pedestrian-only travel routes -- pavements, they're called, or sidewalks if you're that way inclined -- which they don't pay a penny for! Whilst honest motorists are taxed left, right and centre, they don't pay anything at all for all these facilities they enjoy. It beggars belief.

And recently, of course, it's got worse. As I'm driving up the street I constantly come across pedestrians walking across my part of the road to get from one of these pavements to another. I mean, what the hell...? Do they want the shirt off my back as well? They've been given vast tracts of pedestrian-only routes, where I'm certainly not allowed to drive, but apparently this isn't enough for them. Oh no, they want to keep encroaching into my space as well. Sure, we've all heard these walking zealots who say that it's because the 'pavements' don't form a joined-up network, meaning they can't walk to where they want to go without having to step onto the road from time to time. Aw, bless their little hearts. To pedestrians I say this: get off my part of the road. If you walk there when I'm coming along then I'll happily run you down, that's all.

In the long term there's clearly only one solution to all this. If pedestrians want to walk on our streets, which we pay for with all our driving taxes, then they need to pay their share and take their part of the responsibility. Anybody who walks anywhere should undergo training, should have to pay an annual tax towards the facilities they enjoy, should display a license plate so they can be identified, and should each be made to carry insurance in case they are ever involved in any accidents. Until then, they can sod off back to Shoeville or wherever it is they go when they aren't freeloading off the rest of us.

Back to Snowdonia

I spent this last weekend back up in Snowdonia with a couple of other people (just visible as black dots in this photo - that's right, my friends: I'd left them for dust...). We climbed Cadair Idris from the north, along a totally different route to my last trip, which meant other than the very summit, the whole thing was new to me - it's wonderful how one can experience the same mountain in two totally different ways.

Having just looked at the Wikipedia entry for Cadair Idris, I see the line:

In recent years, the Fox's Path has degraded sufficiently to make it a dangerous descent for any other than experienced hikers and scramblers

which I wish I'd seen before doing it! It wasn't as bad as some other descents I did on the Cambrian Way, but you'd certainly want a bit of confidence in your skills if you're going that way.

The Cambrian Way

A couple of days ago I came back from a week walking the northern section of the Cambrian Way, an unofficial high-level mountain trail through Wales, which involved around 90 miles of walking and over 9,000m of climbing. You can see more photographs if you like - I'm quite proud of some of them.

The Cambrian Way has had a tricky history. When first proposed, there was a lot of opposition to the route. Some of this came from land owners worried about extra walkers strolling over their property, but with the advent of the Right to Roam, this is no longer such an issue as the vast bulk of the walk falls within the CRoW agreement.

More interesting is the second original objection to the walk: that giving it official status, like that enjoyed by its better-known cousin the Pennine Way, would encourage people onto the route who are not experienced enough to do it safely. Having spent a week doing the northern section, I have to say I now have a lot of sympathy with this view. The Cambrian Way through the Rhinogs and Snowdonia was one of the most enjoyable, breathtaking and rewarding walks I have done, but I'm certain that it was only thanks to years of hill-walking experience - including several other long-distance trails - that I was able to enjoy it properly. Indeed, had I not had well-developed navigation, scrambling and emergency skills, I know I'd have spent a considerable amount of the time blundering around in circles in almost zero visibility, or clinging to slippery rocks half-way down cliffs and grimly waiting for the icy kiss of hypothermia to put me out of my misery. Yes, Cnicht, I'm thinking of you...

It's an odd idea for a holiday, when you think about it. Can't wait until next time.