Quiet Walking

It all sounds like marketing-speak. We can never just be left to do what we enjoy, some bastard always needs to get some cash out if it... just wait for the "join the quiet walking revolution" magazine articles and all the charlatans who realise "forest bathing" is too mainstream so they need to have "quiet walking" groups, courses....etc.

. Like "wild swimming" is a Thing now - where before people would just swim in the loch because they enjoy it, now its a Lifestyle (probably with magazines and forums etc).

I used to walk 2 miles to school singing because I didn't want the bulk and awkwardness of my walkman and headphones were the only option then.
I'm not sure if that counts as quiet walking or not. I don't think I missed out by overriding the noise of traffic congestion. There were no passers-by on that route anyway.

I'll listen to music and podcasts on most runs (singing can still happen when the mile 8+ insanity kicks in), but I do a lot of functional walking and CBA to grab earphones and set it up for practical walking.

Bone conducting earphones are great for letting the ambient sound through.

It's ridiculous to give it a name, but no one thinks they invented it. No one believes headphones have been around forever.

Going for a walk, not specifically to get somewhere, by yourself without listening to music/podcasts/audiobooks probably is unusual for a lot of people.

I thought this thread was going to be about getting children to stop stomping around loudly and instead walk more quietly!

Only if you were at parkrun and remembered your barcode 😂

Yes, but if you didn't Strava your run, did it really happen? 🤔

Ooh, I'm already there! I tend to keep my phone on silent anyway

I don’t care what it’s called, it is A Good Thing. I live on a lane where lots of people walk ( not to ‘get anywhere’) and it is sad to me how many are closing themselves off with headphones, so they can’t respond to other people greeting them, they are unaware of the birds ( and the cows complaining about the late arrival of the lunch truck) , or thé imminence of speeding cyclists and the mad DHL driver bombing up behind them.

As for those who shout into their phone whilst walking past my garden, yes, that’s very interesting about your office reorganisation, I wonder if I could pass the information on to your competitors? Also, look where you’re going, the ditch is brimming at the moment…..

glad I got that off my chest…..

@BarbaraofSeville 'semi sentient walking?'

I think young people having grown up with technology are 'plugged in' a lot, I think it's great there are enough of them to give an activity away from technology a name.so they can encourage others to try it.

to us old people, giving walking without technology (our norm) a name sounds a bit daft, but if it encourages other youngsters to give it a go, I'll just roll my eyes & carry on ignoring the way the world has changed.

im regularly (out of view!!) rolling my eyes at 'youth speak'. No doubt ever generation before us has done the same!

I totally agree - I heard another one recently - babies having a ‘contact nap’ ffs when mine were babies it was just having a nap, now it has to have an official name, like holding your baby when they sleep has just been invented….

@BarbaraofSeville I use headphones that you wear outside of the ear, they're called bone conduction headphones and they do exactly what you mean - you hear the music or podcast but can still hear everything that's going on around you.

The sound quality is great. Mine are AfterShokz

To elaborate, I notice now if I'm waiting for a friend or something and a few moments pass, I immediately feel the need to get out my phone. What's wrong with just waiting and doing nothing for 5 minutes. Thw amount of people who walk around like zombies with their head in their phone is truly disturbing

What about "silent retreats", paying to go and stay in a crappy hostel, maybe doing an hours yoga, silently, a day, and spending the rest of the time bumbling around silently, with other silent people........ The boredom. The awkwardness. Why spend time silently with randomers, never to be seen again, and never heard or interacted with.

See also: naked running

This isn't as it would seem, a case of indecency. No, it just means running without any tech to track your stats. FFS 🤦‍♀️

Ha ha, I heard of this today and thought it was hilarious. But then thought it's good people are recognising how we live now is a real problem, constantly busy but not actually present or effective

Yay. I've been ahead of my time for decades. 🤣

I use one earbud because I like to listen to podcasts, but also want to keep an ear out for traffic, muggers, people who might be wanting to get past etc.

I need to come up with a name for my little known hack that lets you listen to music while you're out and about but not be one of those twats who has no awareness of their surroundings so can't hear traffic, cyclist bells, etc (deaf people and those who wear headphones for sensory reasons excluded, obviously).

Said hack was use the spin function to do an extra spin

SIL did this when her (now aged 30) DD was a baby. She didn't have a washing machine and used the launderette opposite her house. But the launderette washing machines had a really half arsed attempt at spinning, so it cost a fortune to use the launderette tumble dryers to dry the still wet washing.

She got a cheap spin dryer off whatever the offline version of Facebook marketplace was and used to take her wet washing home, put it in the spinner, then either hang it on an airer or take it back to tumble dry. A bit of a faff, but it saved her a few much needed pounds each time.

I never have headphones in when I take the dogs for a walk as I like to listen to what's going on non around me for nice reasons and also for fear of muggers! So I've been quiet walking or maybe we could call it 'safe walking', forever really....

This kind of thread is why I love Mumsnet

A beacon of rational scepticism in an increasingly nonsensical and credulous world

( A quiet beacon obviously )

There are some people completely lacking in common sense @BarbaraofSeville.

On another thread one poster said she wasn't taught to put on an extra jumper when it was cold!

That's right up there with the little known function I read about that turned your oven into an air fryer.

Which, if you can believe it, was to use the fan setting on your fan oven. Which is the only function I've ever used, since fan ovens became standard. And also defeats the main benefit of an air fryer which is to cook your food quicker and hence cheaper than using your oven.

I do wonder if the people who say/write this shit are stupid enough to believe what they are writing or if it's all just clickbait and they don't care what people think as long as they just open the link.

Which reminds me <resists the temptation to go on all day now I've got started> of the BBC journalist of all people, who made a video telling us about his revolutionary discovery that it was possible to make your own sandwiches rather than buying them and that it was cheaper and they were usually nicer than nasty chilled factory sandwiches.

A cheaper, tastier way to eat lunch at work? - BBC News

Wow, I can give lessons and class myself as an expert in this field! I hate taking calls and have never listened to music etc walking! So this is the only walk I have ever done. I am a quiet walking expert if anyone needs a tutor

Agree with you
DH and I always agree that we will never have headphones in or a phone out if we are walking the dog or pushing DS in his pram. That is time spent bonding with our child and dog and we don’t need extra stimulation. We both love having music on when working or exercising.

What about mindful quiet walking - looking out for dog 💩