i'm reading a book at the moment, its a record of a 3500 mile walk, trying to 'bag' every 'county top' ie highest mountain/hill of every historic county on the UK mainland. not really the sort of thing i would normally read, but its quite interesting. basically john o groats to lands end, but with the additional criss-cross of the country to visit all the high points.. crazy aim really, as she acknowledges herself. but in the section i've just read, she talks about it being necessary for her as a way of orienting herself in the world, like aboriginal songlines. and cos its an 8 month project, it suitably tells her the state of the country: mainly very wet and difficult to get dry, and curious/rude people she encounters along the way.