My Boots Are Made for Walkin': The First 3,000 Miles

By Chris Ambrose

My Boots Are Made For Walkin'
The First 3,000 Miles
by
Chris Ambrose

...And that's exactly what Chris Ambrose, author of My Boots Are Made For Walkin' does in his boots! Follow Chris as he takes you on his personal journeys through Australia, The United States, Europe, Tahiti, New Zealand, and of course, his homeland of England. To date he has walked over 3,000 miles! As his adventures unfold, learn about the varying jobs he experienced, the areas activities and history, and some fairly odd risks he has taken along the way, in the spirit of new adventures! But you will laugh, roll your eyes and cry with Chris Ambrose, wondering where he walks next...will it be up a mountainside...sandy beaches, muddy muck or rock beds? Come find out for yourself, but be assured his boots will never walk all over you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781999889548

Book preview

Mortensen

Chapter 1

Exploring New Pathways

What Will You Find?

Are You Ready Boots? Start Walkin!

Chapter 1

Exploring New Pathways

What Will You Find?

Are you ready boots? Start walkin.’

Salisbury

My life has taken me many places throughout England, but I must admit, I have my favorite locations. I have lived, worked and played in many locations in England and Australia. Several years ago, I began walking as a means for therapy and relaxation. Although I have been accused of being a dawdler, I quite enjoy walking at my tortoise pace, turning over every pebble with a slightly different appearance or smelling each new flower I’ve not seen before or new smell, rank or otherwise!

Salisbury, has a nice ring to it, so shall we take a walk? Okay, I suppose you would like to know where to head out first, so in light of planning, let’s look at a few facts of interest first. Salisbury has a population of only 45,000, (census from 2006) but still large enough to offer activities of interest, yet perfectly sized so that one can get to know their neighbors without much effort!

When I think of the name Salisbury, I immediately think of the movie, The Sound of Music, (but then remember that was Salzburg) or the meat dish but of course, that’s the wrong country and in this case, nothing you can eat!

Salisbury, is located 9 miles south of the iconic prehistoric stone circle at Stonehenge, which stands on the grassland of Salisbury Plain. It is located in the southern English  county of Wiltshire, and is a very fascinating, medieval cathedral city.

An elaborately embellished 13th century cathedral belonging to the city, has a 123m spire, with a working 14th-century clock. It also has an original copy of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter), which is a crucial document from 1215 A.D.

You guessed it! A fantastic opportunity to walk…with a city that is relatively flat, providing you with either a choice of short or long distance walking paths. The city is known as the city in the countryside, and is surrounded by a landscape so quintessentially English, it’s almost too perfect to be true. How can you not want to walk in an area dubbed to be so impeccable?

Come on Boots, start walkin’…!

One walk is along the River Anton to Salisbury’s former settlement, Old Sarum. You can go to the library and pick up the trail upstream, following the river and walking past Five Rivers Community Campus, headed toward Old Sarum. Here you can explore the ruins of the old Cathedral, as well as enjoy the spectacular views of the city.

It was in 2015, when Lonely Planet, named it as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit. If gazing from the edge of the water-meadows to take in the awesome sight of the Cathedral rising up from these lush green fields, it’s no wonder! If looking for activities to blend in with your walking, there are many places to visit, making this area a top destination for any tourist.

Salisbury offers a variety of exhilarating new adventures and unusual architectural designs to explore. It also offers a vast and thriving marketplace, museums and art scenes, all enticing to the new or returning explorer.

The one place you just simply must not miss is the Cathedral Close, where you can learn about the history of Salisbury, to include the nearby ever sought after, Stonehenge. Many other museums are located inside the cathedral for your viewing such as, the Salisbury Museum, located in the King’s house. In 2014, a gallery housing one of Europe’s most extensive archaeology collections and prehistoric artifacts of Stonehenge can be found for viewing and even handling.

Other museums include, the Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum, which is strong and rich in history, representing 250 years of military history, from two local infantry regiments providing a military presence, and all located in The Wardrobe, one of the oldest buildings, within the Cathedral Close

The Rifles Berkshire Museum, is located on the ground floor and again, the walking feels endless but it is another fine location to enjoy a break from outdoor elements of walking. Here, the history is fascinating and displays, very impressive. The photograph is taken from: https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/4573/The-Rifles-Berkshire-and-Wiltshire-Museum.htm Here the medieval building offers their collection of the history of the County Regiments of the Berkshire and Wiltshire and their more recent successors. You’ll also find on the grounds a well stocked riverside garden.

As I have said, this is a perfect destination vacation for everyone, perhaps especially for a walker like myself, because of the fact that I do mosey along. Walking, has to definitely be your way of enjoying the area, as these museums and cathedral will afford you hours of dawdling pleasures! These Boots Are Made For Walkin’…And That’s Just What They’ll Do!

FUN FACTS ABOUT SALISBURY

Did you know?

Did you know that at 404 feet the spire at Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest spire in Britain and its tallest masonry structure? It was at one time the tallest spire in all Europe. The spire was built in 1320, a century after the foundation stone of the main building was laid.

Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture. ... Since 1549, the cathedral has had the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, at 404 feet (123m).

The Salisbury Cathedral has 365 separate windows (the number of days in the year) and 8,760 marble pillars (the number of hours in a year). Constructed from 60,000 tons of Chilmark Stone and 10,000 tons of Purbeck ‘Marble’, over 420 tons of lead sheeting covers the cathedral’s four acres of roof. https://someinterestingfacts.net/history-of-salisbury-cathedral/

Come On Boots, it’s time for the outdoors…So, start walkin’…!

As you likely remember, the coastline is my favorite place on earth but here we can select paths of interest and mystery, moving on later, to areas that follow the coastline.

I found an area business in Salisbury, that offers short strolls or up to 5 mile hikes called Treasure Trails. Here, for a fee, you can partake in fun activity walks that allow you to explore villages, towns and cities, solving clues posted on buildings, statues and monuments, that reveal the enthralling history and alluring scenery. There, they offer theme walks such as a Treasure Hunt, Murder Mystery or Spy Mission, and with each trail being a self-guided tour, completed with a booklet. It caters to the ages from 6 to 106! Now, that’s quite an offer, so why not do a walk, out of the norm?

Well, enough of mostly flat land walks, it’s time to get back to roughing it and suffer the agony of a beautiful coast line terrain!

Returning towards home, I just had to share with you my home town of Poole, with its surrounding areas, and its outstanding terrain, and of course, the coastline. Poole, has a population of 147,645, and is a coastal town in Dorset, southern England, known for its large natural harbor and sandy beaches.

FUN FACTS ABOUT

JURASSIC COAST PATH

Did you know?

●  On the Jurassic Coast. The red rocks exposed in the cliffs of East Devon formed in deserts here between 252 and 201 million years ago, during the Triassic Period. Fossils from these rocks are rare but give us glimpses of how life evolved following the devastating mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period. https://jurassiccoast.org/about/what-is...jurassic-coast/earth-history-and-the-jurassic-coast/

●  Do you know if dinosaurs live in the Jurassic period? Non-bird dinosaurs lived between about 245 and 66 million years ago, in a time known as the Mesozoic Era. This was many millions of years before the first modern humans, Homo sapiens, appeared. Scientists divide the Mesozoic Era into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/when-did-dinosaurs-live.html

The Jurassic Coast Path area coastlines have always been on the front line for warding off invaders since the Iron Age, there is evidence of this along the way including forts and castles dotting the route. Makes for interesting walking, don’t you think? https://www.macsadventure.com/walking-holidays/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-south-west-coast-path/

Poole, is a large coastal and seaport resort town for all year tourism, in the county of Dorset, located on the south coast of England, whose also known for it being a refuge for sailors and water-sports. It’s also the gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and the perfect base for exploring Dorset, for all its natural wonders.Their history is from Georgian times and where you still find homes of that time period. It’s local history is rich and known for their walking and bike trails and it’s having Europe’s largest natural harbor, award winning blue flag beaches, including the world famous Sandbanks Beach. It is really no wonder for why I love this entire area for living out my