‘The only way to have a friend is to be one.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson I am on my way to see one of the natural wonders of Europe, it’s biggest sand dune, and a jewel in the crown of the Gironde region; Grande Dune du Pilat, sixty million cubic metres of sand, five hundred metres …

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‘In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble.’ Yun-men, 9th century Chinese Chan master   There is no doubt any longer. As I ride, the smell of smoke is quite distinct in the air, the result of the recent fires, particularly around Hostens, an area only fifty kilometres east of where …

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‘What cannot be cured, must be endured. Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy My nightly ablutions always involve a walk in my PJs past my fellow campers, bearing wash kit and towel, to a communal concrete building that is generally uninviting. The wash blocks are all the same and all different in a way that …

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engulfing sorrow sly tide on a shallow shore submerge me alone! Considering the cycle path runs pretty straight, south to north, with few branches in other directions to confuse me, I often stop to check the map just for a break. I take the chance to be consciously present in the moment by noting, quite …

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‘Hope is a waking dream.’ Aristotle I was well aware that camping was likely to be challenging after so long sleeping in a double bed with many pillows and a generous duvet. I had thought the ten days with my daughters might act as a kind of boot camp, even allowing for the fact that …

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