I took walking further than my local park for granted. Now the only way to escape is a stroll down memory lane

I miss the variety of walks, says Jenny Eclair. Even the boring ones like changing platforms on a busy commute

I miss seeing the world outside my London borough (AFP/Getty)

I have never been much of a walker and, despite having reached the grand old age of 60, I am yet to cave in to the regulation gilet and set of Nordic walking poles.

Walking has never been my exercise of choice, I prefer mat-based classes such as yoga or pilates. In fact, there was a time in my thirties when I practiced what I can only describe as a form of highly competitive “show-off” yoga, which was all about the headstands and the “one-handed spinning crow”. By comparison, walking always seemed a bit … well, pedestrian.

But needs must and although I still roll gently around a mat now and again, during a pandemic, we must walk. We must walk every day – but only locally – and God, I’m bored of walking locally.