Count me in

I have been away recently and therefore not had a chance to get going with the plan (procrastinating already, heh?!) but today I went out and bought my pedometer.

I bought it locally (as I encourage you all to do) at Finches Ski Emporium, who also do biking and walking stuff.

This is really basic stuff, but it seems to do a reasonable job of counting my steps, so all I have to do is measure my average step, and get an idea of how far I travel. I might just kep it around for the next few days to see how many (or how few) steps I take normally. I was surprised that even the short distance from Finches to my house is already about 500 steps.

The other thing to work on is to find a decent map of the actual postcode area. To be honest I am not sure how big a task this is going to be yet. However, long journeys always start with the first step (cliché alert) and from now on I will be able to count each and every one of them.

A challenge for 2007

Although I have a car, I aim to walk or take public transport whenever I can. It is not just that it makes OK to have a drink out and not worry about where you are going to leave the car, it is more that when you live in the city, it is easier and more convenient.

Walking home recently I realised that there were many streets in my immediate vicinity that I had never walked along. Unless they are "on the way" to the station, shops or other locations like the beautiful Horniman Museum and Gardens, then we just ignore them.

It occurred to me that when I moved here two years ago I read that Forest Hill (SE23) had an eclectic mix of architecture, a subject which interests me and I have little or no knowledge of.

I therefore have resolved to walk EVERY street in SE23 between now and the end of next year, measuring the walks (note to self, buy a pedometer), and maybe commenting on interesting architectural features in the area.

Hopefully this will inspire other locals, or others looking for an interesting part of London to move to, to do the same.