Est. February 2026 · Dorset
RUNNER.KALICA

The Anglo-Italian Runner

Running · Photography · Europe Volume I · 68 routes logged
Combe Keynes. The Run That Started a Conversation. Coombe Keynes, Dorset, UK · 14 June 2026

Featured run

Combe Keynes. The Run That Started a Conversation.

Some races you run. Some races you actually do. This was the fourth time I’ve lined up at the Coombe Keynes 10k. The eleventh time the village has put it…

Run stats
6.38Distance
56:44Time
525 ftElevation
8:53 /miAvg pace /mi
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Featured routes
01
★ Featured
Coombe Keynes, Dorset, UK · 14 June 2026 Run

Combe Keynes. The Run That Started a Conversation.

Some races you run. Some races you actually do. This was the fourth time I’ve lined up at the Coombe Keynes 10k.…

6.38Distance
56:44Time
525 ftElevation
Read →
Combe Keynes. The Run That Started a Conversation.
02
★ Featured
Viareggio, Tuscany · 07 February 2026 Walk

Viareggio. The Night the Street Became the Show.

Viareggio wasn’t the plan. We landed in Verona, caught the train to Florence, checked in, showered the travel off, and within an…

2.74Distance
1:03:04Duration
0 ftElevation
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Viareggio. The Night the Street Became the Show.
03
★ Featured
Milan, Lombardy · 01 May 2025 Walk

Milano. First Steps on Italian Soil.

We landed at Linate, dropped the bags, and walked straight out the door. No plan to rest. No easing in. This was…

7.91Distance
3:02:26Duration
95 ftElevation
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Milano. First Steps on Italian Soil.
04
★ Featured
Ferrara, Italy · 18 September 2025 Run

Running the walls of Ferrara

Ferrara was Sarah’s idea, and she was right. We’d jumped on the train down from our night in Venice and had a…

4.46Distance
43:25Time
31 ftElevation
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Running the walls of Ferrara
05
★ Featured
Siena, Tuscany · Run

Out of Siena, Into the Hills

It was just after seven in the morning and Siena was still asleep. The hotel door clicked shut behind me and the…

5.95Distance
54:48Time
551 ftElevation
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Out of Siena, Into the Hills
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02
Bridport, Dorset, UK · 17 June 2026 Run

Bridport, Waypoint by Waypoint. The Fog Had Other Plans.

The plan, on paper, was a good one. A loop out of Bridport taking in both nature reserves, the old railway line…

7.37Distance
1:11:21Time
361 ftElevation
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Bridport, Waypoint by Waypoint. The Fog Had Other Plans.
03
Salou, Spain · 09 May 2026 Walk

Salou. The Bit Between the Coasters.

We came for the coasters. That was the deal — birthday trip, PortAventura, two days of screaming and queueing and eating theme…

7.10Distance
284 ftElevation
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Salou. The Bit Between the Coasters.
04
PortAventura World, Salou, Spain · 07 May 2026 Walk

PortAventura. Two Days, Five Worlds, Arms Up on Everything.

The free hotel shuttle drops you at the gate before the park opens. There’s something about walking through before the crowds arrive…

2.90Distance
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PortAventura. Two Days, Five Worlds, Arms Up on Everything.
05
Salou, Spain · 09 May 2026 Run

Salou. The Watch Needed Testing. The Triathlon Had Other Ideas.

There is a very specific kind of morning that follows an evening of birthday drinks. The new Garmin Venu 3 was sitting…

6.63Distance
1:00:01Time
92 ftElevation
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Salou. The Watch Needed Testing. The Triathlon Had Other Ideas.
06
Salou, Spain · 07 May 2026 Run

Salou. The Birthday Run Goes Looking for a Cliff.

Every birthday gets a run. That’s just how it works now. The park opens later, the day stretches out ahead, and there’s…

6.08Distance
1:02:22Time
387 ftElevation
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Salou. The Birthday Run Goes Looking for a Cliff.
07
Sarnen, Switzerland · 28 September 2021 Run

Lake Sarnen Loop and a suspected broken toe.

It was a work trip. An IT Summit — the first one after the acquisition, when the UK teams came to Maxon…

10.84Distance
1:39:02Time
408 ftElevation
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Lake Sarnen Loop and a suspected broken toe.
08
Alpnach, Switzerland · 18 March 2023 Run

Switzerland – Drop dead gorgeous views, a friend for life.

There are some friendships that arrive through work and stay long after the work is done. Thomas is one of those. We…

5.58Distance
55:44Time
80 ftElevation
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Switzerland – Drop dead gorgeous views, a friend for life.
09
Siena, Tuscany · 10 February 2026 Walk

Siena. The night was a different city entirely.

We had already walked some of Siena the previous evening — a short recce from the hotel, just getting our bearings. This…

5.00Distance
1:45:20Duration
351 ftElevation
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Siena. The night was a different city entirely.
10
Siena, Tuscany · 11 February 2026 Walk

Siena. The Fortress, the Cathedral, and the Fontebranda.

Siena does not ease you in. The bus from Florence drops you at the foot of the city and from there, it…

4.55Distance
1:10:43Duration
163 ftElevation
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Siena. The Fortress, the Cathedral, and the Fontebranda.
11
Fiesole, Tuscany · 09 February 2026 Walk

Fiesole. Someone Said We Had to Go.

Fiesole was a recommendation. Someone our son knows said: you have to go, the views are something else. We were in Florence…

0.89Distance
20:46Duration
139 ftElevation
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Fiesole. Someone Said We Had to Go.
12
Florence, Tuscany · 08 February 2026 Walk

Florence. The City Doesn’t Let You Off Lightly.

We’d already walked Florence once in the dark and the rain, the night before. The city hadn’t quite shown us its face…

8.36Distance
3:16:00Duration
318 ftElevation
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Florence. The City Doesn’t Let You Off Lightly.
13
Florence, Tuscany · 08 February 2026 Walk

Florence. The night was wet and it did not matter one bit

We had already walked eight miles. The afternoon had taken us up through the Oltrarno, across the river, back again — every…

4.27Distance
1:40:43Duration
98 ftElevation
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Florence. The night was wet and it did not matter one bit
14
Ferrara, Emilia Romagna · 17 September 2025 Walk

Ferrara. The City of Bicycles.

Ferrara arrives quietly. The train from Venice pulls in, you walk out of the station and into streets that are wide and…

4.24Distance
1:48:04Duration
44 ftElevation
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Ferrara. The City of Bicycles.
15
Bridport, England · 23 March 2026 Run

Introducing Nellie – An extra kalica running buddy!

She pulled the entire way. Every step, every field, every pavement stretch through Bothenhampton and down to West Bay — the lead…

5.94Distance
59:27Time
168 ftElevation
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Introducing Nellie – An extra kalica running buddy!
16
London, England · 02 April 2023 Run

The London Landmarks Half Marathon.

There is a version of this race I could have run — head down, chasing a time, treating London as a backdrop…

13.25Distance
1:42:43Time
261 ftElevation
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The London Landmarks Half Marathon.
17
London, England · 22 April 2018 Run

London Marathon 2018 – Where the running bug started!

The ballot place arrived in the post and I knew immediately what I was going to do with it. I didn’t need…

27.19Distance
4:00:36Time
1,283 ftElevation
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London Marathon 2018 – Where the running bug started!
18
Mount Etna, Sicily · 11 October 2025 Walk

Etna, because you don’t turn down climbing a volcano!

This one is filed under Italy. It counts. But I should be honest with you from the start — this is not…

3.14Distance
1:58:18Duration
1,320 ftElevation
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Etna, because you don’t turn down climbing a volcano!
19
Poggibonsi, Tuscany · 12 February 2026 Walk

Poggibonsi – An unexpected treasure trove of a town.

Poggibonsi was two hours between trains. We knew nothing about it. We got off at the station, looked at the map, saw…

4.83Distance
2:04:36Duration
563 ftElevation
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Poggibonsi – An unexpected treasure trove of a town.
20
San Gimignano, Tuscany · 12 February 2026 Walk

San Gimignano – Hilltop Village with the most amazing views.

San Gimignano requires a bus. Not because of any failure of ambition, but because the hill from Poggibonsi — where the train…

3.47Distance
1:36:24Duration
320 ftElevation
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San Gimignano – Hilltop Village with the most amazing views.
21
Pisa, Tuscany · 09 February 2026 Walk

Pisa – We had to while in Tuscany?

Pisa wasn’t really on the list. It was on the list in the way that things end up there — because we…

3.75Distance
1:26:30Duration
35 ftElevation
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Pisa – We had to while in Tuscany?
22
Gardaland, Veneto, Italy · 04 May 2025 Walk

Gardaland – An excellent Theme Park

We were already at the lake. Sirmione in the evenings, Peschiera in the mornings, and Gardaland somewhere in the middle — not…

0.94Distance
23:00Duration
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Gardaland – An excellent Theme Park
23
Mirabilandia, Nr. Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna · 20 September 2025 Walk

Mirabilandia – Italys Second biggest theme park.

We were already in the region. Ravenna was four days away. Mirabilandia sits on the Adriatic coast just south of the city…

2.16Distance
23:00Duration
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Mirabilandia – Italys Second biggest theme park.
24
Rust, Germany · 07 May 2024 Run

Birthday run before the rollercoasters

There is something quietly absurd about running past a rollercoaster before it opens. The track sits above the treeline at a slight…

4.00Distance
32:58Time
34 ftElevation
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Birthday run before the rollercoasters
25
Rust, Germany · 07 May 2024 Walk

Europa Park, Rust. The best day out in Europe.

We had two days. You need two days. The park runs across nineteen themed zones and no amount of early starts fixes…

9.74Distance
3:34:20Duration
118 ftElevation
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Europa Park, Rust. The best day out in Europe.
26
Dubrovnik, Croatia · 28 October 2019 Run

Hilly in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik does the old city brilliantly, and it knows it. The walls, the limestone, the Stradun — all of it polished to…

3.52Distance
31:35Time
344 ftElevation
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Hilly in Dubrovnik
27
Bodrum, Turkey · 04 June 2019 Run

Bodrum. Fourteen kilometres of yes.

This was before everything. Before Italy, before Lisbon, before the plan had a name. We were in Bodrum on a family holiday…

8.68Distance
1:17:31Time
624 ftElevation
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Bodrum. Fourteen kilometres of yes.
28
Benalmedena, Spain · 24 January 2024 Walk

Someone else’s Benalmádena

Castillo Colomares from the gardens below. A monument to Columbus's voyage, built by one man between 1987 and 1994. Still a private…

7.00Distance
2:46:18Duration
291 ftElevation
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Someone else’s Benalmádena
29
Malaga, Andalucia · 20 January 2024 Walk

Málaga, January. Days and Nights.

We walked to the centre and back. Then we did it again. Then we did it at night. The day after, we…

14.54Distance
5hr 03mDuration
415 ftElevation
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Málaga, January. Days and Nights.
30
Malaga, Spain · Run

Málaga, January. The Long Way Round.

There was a half marathon on in Málaga that morning. We didn’t enter it. We just ran one anyway. Thirteen miles, give…

13.12Distance
2:05:08Time
781 ftElevation
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Málaga, January. The Long Way Round.
31
Malaga, Spain · 20 January 2024 Run

Málaga. First morning. Couldn’t not.

We were in Málaga with Kara and Tom. A proper trip — four of us, a good apartment, the kind of January…

9.13Distance
1:19:06Time
147 ftElevation
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Málaga. First morning. Couldn’t not.
32
Alicante, Spain · 17 April 2024 Walk

Alicante: Up to the Fort

The castle had been watching us since we arrived. You can’t not see it — the rock face of Monte Benacantil rising…

5.03Distance
2:29:16Duration
639 ftElevation
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Alicante: Up to the Fort
33
Alicante, Spain · 18 April 2024 Run

Alicante: Last One. On to Valencia.

We’d been here three days. Long enough to feel like we knew the shape of the place — the rambla, the castle…

4.65Distance
43:57Time
149 ftElevation
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Alicante: Last One. On to Valencia.
34
Benalmedena, Spain · 24 January 2024 Run

Benalmedena to Torremelinos at dawn.

It was still dark when we left the marina. Not the romantic dark of a clear night — the particular dark of…

10.84Distance
1:39:25Time
796 ftElevation
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Benalmedena to Torremelinos at dawn.
35
Valencia, Spain · 18 April 2024 Walk

Valencia – Beautiful at every turn

Valencia wasn’t on the original itinerary. A colleague at work — his parents are from here — heard we were heading to…

15.58Distance
5hrs 37mDuration
298 ftElevation
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Valencia – Beautiful at every turn
36
Girona, Spain · 03 July 2023 Run

Girona – The final chance to stretch my legs.

The last morning. Clear head. Different direction. The previous two runs had gone north and east and up into the old city.…

6.21Distance
54:42Time
245 ftElevation
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Girona – The final chance to stretch my legs.
37
Girona, Spain · 02 July 2023 Run

Girona – Domeny, Torre Gironella and La Devesa

La Devesa. Plane trees, long avenue, dappled shade. The finish line you didn’t know you needed. Domeny The route headed east out…

5.40 miDistance
52:19Time
293 ftElevation
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Girona – Domeny, Torre Gironella and La Devesa
38
Girona, Catalonia · 01 July 2023 Run

Girona – A little part of all of the city.

Sarah doesn’t always run. When she does, you pick a good one. We’d already spent days on foot in Girona by this…

4.45 miDistance
48:30Time
53 ftElevation
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Girona – A little part of all of the city.
39
Santa Eulalia des Riu, Ibiza · 03 October 2023 Run

Ibiza. Round the Mound.

A couple of days before, I’d run the Santa Eulàlia promenade in roughly the state you’d expect after Sarah’s fiftieth birthday celebrations.…

5,64 miDistance
46:18Time
295 ftElevation
Read →
Ibiza. Round the Mound.
40
Santa Eularia des Riu, Ibiza · 01 October 2023 Run

Ibiza. Not Bad With a Massive Hangover.

The night before, we’d been at Chinois. Franky Wah was playing his SHEN residency — Sarah has a thing for Mr. Wah…

6.85 miDistance
1:01:11Time
210 ftElevation
Read →
Ibiza. Not Bad With a Massive Hangover.
41
Imlil, Atlas Mountains, Morocco · 31 October 2022 Walk

Imlil. Sometimes You Need a Guide.

We don’t usually do this. Organised excursions, shared minibuses, someone else deciding where we stop and for how long — it’s not…

2.47 miDistance
1:21:59Duration
452 ftElevation
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Imlil. Sometimes You Need a Guide.
42
Marrakesh, Morocco · Run

Marrakesh. The City Before It Wakes.

Marrakesh by day is an assault. That’s not a criticism — it’s the point. The souks press in from every direction. Mopeds…

13.20 miDistance
2:01:32Time
239 ftElevation
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Marrakesh. The City Before It Wakes.
43
Vilnius, Lithuania · 27 October 2024 Run

Vilnius – A foggy, chilly “with nature” run.

The window gave it away. Pull back the curtain on a Vilnius October morning and the city has disappeared — replaced by…

5.85 miDistance
59:42Time
181 ftElevation
Read →
Vilnius – A foggy, chilly “with nature” run.
44
Vilnius, Lithuania · 28 October 2024 Walk

Vilnius. Grey and Warm and Nothing Like We Expected.

V​ilnius arrived grey. Not the dramatic grey of a storm coming in but the settled, committed grey of a northern European October…

18.08 mi (combined)Distance
5hr 50m (combined)Duration
382 ft (combined)Elevation
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Vilnius. Grey and Warm and Nothing Like We Expected.
45
Kaunas, Lithuania · 29 October 2024 Walk

Kaunas. Could We Do This Anywhere?

K​aunas was a Ryanair decision. Bristol to Kaunas, cheap enough to feel slightly implausible, booked on the basis that we’d never been…

13.25 mi (combined)Distance
4hr 42m (combined)Duration
191 ft (combined)Elevation
Read →
Kaunas. Could We Do This Anywhere?
46
Padova, Lombardy · 07 May 2025 Walk

Padova. The Rain Was Part of It.

We came to Padova at the end of a long trip. Gardaland the day before — James’s birthday, the theme park tradition…

9.94Distance
3hr 52mDuration
86 ftElevation
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Padova. The Rain Was Part of It.
47
Peschiera del Garda, Lombardy · 07 May 2025 Walk

Peschiera del Garda. We’ll Stop for a Drink Later.

We said it in the morning, somewhere between the station and the Gardaland shuttle stop, walking along the edge of a fortress…

1.72Distance
41:29Duration
29 ftElevation
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Peschiera del Garda. We’ll Stop for a Drink Later.
48
Verona. Lombardy · 06 May 2025 Walk

Verona. Busy, Beautiful, and Almost a Birthday.

We had a birthday to get to. Gardaland was booked for the 7th — James’s birthday, the theme park tradition running unbroken…

10.65Distance
3:34:44 (combined)Duration
184ft (combined)Elevation
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Verona. Busy, Beautiful, and Almost a Birthday.
49
Freiburg, Germany · 09 May 2024 Walk

Freiburg. The City We Almost Missed!

We had a plan. A proper one — trains looked up, timings worked out, three countries in four days. Europa Park on…

8.41 mi (Combined)Distance
3:11:56Duration
Read →
Freiburg. The City We Almost Missed!
50
Barcelona, Spain · 02 July 2023 Walk

Barcelona: Hot Hot Hot

“It’s forty minutes on the AVE. You’d be mad not to.” — said by nobody, but implied by the timetable We were…

13.65 miDistance
4:53:07Duration
576 ftElevation
Read →
Barcelona: Hot Hot Hot
51
Girona, Spain · 30 June 2023 Walk

Girona. We Flew Into the Right Airport.

We flew into Girona airport. Not Barcelona. Girona. Because the Ryanair flight from Bournemouth was forty quid and we are exactly who…

17.62 mi (Over 4 days)Distance
7hr 16m (Approx)Duration
633 ftElevation
Read →
Girona. We Flew Into the Right Airport.
52
Lisbon, Portugal · 09 May 2022 Walk

Lisbon, Before Everything

There is a walk I did before I knew I was going to be a walker. May 2022. Sarah and I had…

18 mi (approx)Distance
8h 44 (approx)Duration
1,072 ftElevation
Read →
Lisbon, Before Everything
53
Europe · 03 May 2025 Walk

Sirmione in Daylight: The Peninsula Before the Boat

We had seen Sirmione at midnight, exhausted and dragging luggage. Now we were seeing it properly. It was even better. Breakfast at…

3.25Distance
Read →
Sirmione in Daylight: The Peninsula Before the Boat
54
Sirmione, Lake Garda · 02 May 2025 Walk

Castellan in Sirmione at Night

We arrived late, weighed down with luggage, having navigated a train, a bus, and a walk we hadn’t planned for. Then we…

1.13Distance
29:59Duration
54 ftElevation
Read →
Castellan in Sirmione at Night
55
Bergamo, Lombardy · 02 May 2025 Walk

Bergamo: Absolutely Stunning

We weren’t supposed to fall for Bergamo. It was a stopover. It turned out to be one of the finest places we’ve…

4.80Distance
2:03:45Duration
484 ftElevation
Read →
Bergamo: Absolutely Stunning
56
Milan, Lombardy · 01 May 2025 Walk

Milan After Dark. The Navigli Comes Alive.

A Swiss colleague had said: go to the Navigli at night. We went. He was right. Milan had been spectacular in the…

2.53Distance
59:01Duration
29 ftElevation
Read →
Milan After Dark. The Navigli Comes Alive.
57
Venice, Italy · 17 September 2025 Walk

Venice in the morning light.

September 17, 2025 · 1.59 miles · Venice, Italy The night had been Venice at its most cinematic. The morning was something…

1.59Distance
39:45Duration
Read →
Venice in the morning light.
58
Venice, Italy · 16 September 2025 Walk

Venice at night.

September 16, 2025 · 0.84 miles · Venice, Italy We were back. Four months since we’d stood on these bridges in the…

0.84Distance
19:45Duration
Read →
Venice at night.
59
Venice, Italy · 09 May 2025 Walk

Venice. Crammed that in well.

May 9, 2025 · 6.2 miles · Venice, Italy Most people visit Venice once and tick it off the list. We went…

6.2Distance
Read →
Venice. Crammed that in well.
60
Punta Marina Terme, Ravenna · 22 September 2025 Walk

Ten minutes on the bus — Our first look at the Adriatic

September 22, 2025 · 0.84 miles · Punta Marina Terme, Ravenna Ten minutes. That’s all it takes. One bus from the centre…

0.84Distance
19:31Duration
9 ftElevation
Read →
Ten minutes on the bus — Our first look at the Adriatic
61
Bologna, Italy · 19 September 2025 Walk

Up to the Madonna — 666 Arches and a very welcome beer

September 19, 2025 · 3.05 miles · 687ft elevation · Bologna The number is not an accident. Six hundred and sixty-six arches…

3.05Distance
1:09:01Duration
687 ftElevation
Read →
Up to the Madonna — 666 Arches and a very welcome beer
62
Rimini, Italy · 21 September 2025 Walk

One Night in Rimini

We almost skipped Rimini. It was one night on the way south from Ferrara — somewhere to sleep before the next train.…

8.94Distance
3:42:37 (combined)Duration
63 ft (combined)Elevation
Read →
One Night in Rimini
63
Ravenna, Italy · 22 September 2025 Walk

Ravenna, a new possible home?

Ravenna wasn’t on the list. It was a day trip from Ferrara — somewhere to fill a morning before we got the…

5.01 mi (combined)Distance
2:04:00 (combined)Duration
78 ft (combined)Elevation
Read →
Ravenna, a new possible home?
64
Florence, Tuscany · 10 February 2026 Run

The Parks of Florence

We were leaving for Siena at midday. That gave me the morning. I was out of the door at quarter past seven,…

7.13Distance
1:06:06Time
262 ftElevation
Read →
The Parks of Florence

About

I’m a runner who carries a camera. Every time I visit somewhere new — whether that’s the Dorset coast path, a Spanish city at dawn, or a Swiss lake at an unreasonable hour — I lace up and go. Not to race, not to train, but to see.

Running gives you a place at a pace cars can’t, and a perspective most visitors never find. This journal is where I write it all down.

Thinking Out Loud Runners

Run with us in Dorset

A running and walking group for the over 50s. No pace requirement, no kit list, no lecture about your heart rate zones. Just good routes, good company, and somewhere decent for a coffee at the end.