Navigation App Update

Since the demise of Viewranger, I am trialling other apps until I find one I feel happy with. It seems that people are gradually moving over to Outdooractive, although they are asking Viewranger users like myself to waive their right to sue over the loss of their legacy map purchases. I signed this and it is fair to say that I have regretted it ever since, so keep an eye on the sidebar of this blog for changes to my other site links.

I have not done much route recording during the pandemic anyway, except some short strolls around Edinburgh. At present there are over 60 published routes on Outdooractive, arranged into 5 different collections, including Edinburgh, Leith, the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, but I may move to a different app.

Routes.

Bad Apples

One of the things that my discussions with various people about trolling has made me realise, is that it is important to remember why you started writing.

So, the reasons for starting this blog in 2012 were manifold; I love walking and the countryside, where my walking started over 20 years ago. I also wanted to learn about wild camping, to set myself some outdoor challenges and to celebrate the lives of friends and family I had lost.

Because of a little gang of hill trolls on Twitter, who targeted every walk I did – to remember my mum, my cousins, my aunt and my tutor – with malicious tweets and emails, my aims are now more selfish. I am focusing on work, self care, and rediscovering my love of the outdoors, without censoriousness from these trolls who seem to flourish on Twitter. They believe they know best about everything. but I can’t help noticing that the people who really do know best about the outdoors hardly ever behave like this. 

I have struggled to name the people involved for some reason, so, in the interests of other women and girls in the outdoor community, the ringleaders were retired “family man” Geoff Crowther (FarnotFast, geoffcrowther1), “retired teacher” Chrissie Crowther (ChrissieDixie, Woofbags, chrissiepebbles) and “homelessness advocacy worker” James Boulter (Backpackingbongos, bpackingbongos). Other names and screenshots available on request.

Changes

Because I need to focus on work after a period of settling in to my new home in Scotland, I will be shifting back to the free WordPress plan, so you may notice some changes when my domain reverts to rucksackrosie.wordpress.com. All being well I hope to continue writing up my long distance walking here in this beautiful country.

Rucksack Rosie – First Avatars 2012.

..and breathe

Finally, after months of lockdown walking in and around the city (see Edinburgh Exploits, City Strolls and Leith Loping)) I finally made it back into the hills outwith Edinburgh for the first time since the end of February last year, and what a relief it was! My cabin fever had become really severe, and I did often dream of just taking off with my backpack. Sense finally prevailed following a nightmare in which I was featured in the tabloid papers as a dangerous miscreant.

Anyway, I hope you are surviving, and here are some pics of my walk with friends in Midlothian this week – which is a start.

Seizing the day

Although this continues to be a terrible period for many people, the vaccines and the lockdowns seem to be giving the people in Edinburgh an opportunity to reclaim their city for a while. Last week I realised that I may never see places like the Royal Mile without crowds again, so I have been exploring the old town.

Old town explorations

I hope you will enjoy these short walks as the restrictions are lifted from tomorrow. Remember to follow the guidelines and leave no trace.

Rosie 🌹

International Women’s Day

Happy hiking to women walkers on this International Women’s Day 🌹

Rob Roy Way near Aberfoyle, Scotland

Walking on the Wild Side

For out of town readers, Edinburgh and most of Scotland is in full lockdown again. All residents must stay at home and only go out for essential journeys and local exercise. I would like to assure readers that ALL photos posted since the first lockdown, and any posted in the coming weeks, are taken during permitted exercise in my local area, as I don’t have a car, and haven’t used buses for quite a while.

As a distraction, these are some pics of the city gradually being reclaimed or re-wilded by nature, as ground maintenance contracts ground to a halt last Spring. I have found something uplifting about watching this process and seeing the distinction between town and country blurring just a little.

Please stay as safe as you can and follow the guidelines. 🌹

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Wild Edinburgh

Respite Routes

I have added two new sections to my Edinburgh walks called City Strolls and Leith Loping which began with some of my lockdown walks around the city. They are mainly linear routes under 5 miles which could be made longer by returning to your starting point. They would suit anyone who just wants to get out of the house for exercise and a bit of vitamin D. These routes avoid busy roads as much as possible, and are all accessible by public transport or on foot.

Hopefully following the rules until we get the vaccine will mean that walkers and outdoor users can expect a return to some kind of normality soon.

Don’t forget to refresh your website links with my new domain rucksackrosie.wordpress.com with an i.

Rosie with an i

FYI I am now Rucksack Rosie with an i, rather than Rucksack Rose on all my sites, so the link to my website has changed to rucksackrosie.wordpress.com just because it feels friendlier somehow. I am not a tech specialist but this may mean you will need to refresh your website links. My YouTube site is also now named Rucksack Rosie, although the link to it remains the same. Otherwise I am gradually editing the links in my blog so that they continue to work. If you find any broken links let me know. Thanks very much for your continued company.

Exploring Edinburgh

Although these are strange and difficult times, there is some consolation in having the time to explore Edinburgh more – away from the main thoroughfares. It is a such a good way of getting to know and love my new home, as well as keeping things in perspective.

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