Hello Toggers!
Walking with a dog
I love taking our family dog out for a walk. Walking with our dog is a very different experience to walking on my own. I always have an eye on what’s ahead and what I need to try and keep them away from. I’m always curious about what captures their attention – sometimes a scent, a sound or a subtle movement I perhaps hadn’t already spotted.
As a dog owner, especially at this time of year, it’s important to think of their needs and how to best keep them comfortable. Whilst dogs do need regular walks – during heat waves like the one we’re currently experiencing it’s often better to either skip a walk or make sure you’re doing it early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are lower. There’s a simple test you can do in order to find out whether it’s too hot for your dog – the pavement test. Go to a part of the pavement that is in the sun and place the back of your hand against it for 5 seconds. If it’s too hot for your hand – it’s too hot for your dogs paws.
Every summer the RSPCA and other animal welfare organisations have to run the same campaign – reminding us that dogs (and other animals) die in hot cars. Sadly every year people still think it’ll be ok, that they won’t be long and every year more animals succumb to the heat. Not long is always too long. Please don’t risk it with your beloved family pets. And if you spot an animal in discomfort having been left alone in a car – please call 999.
More than just a festival
This week we’re headed to Somerset for our walk at the Glastonbury Circular. With the festival taking a fallow year to allow the land time to recover, it’s a great opportunity to explore a town that is filled with myths, legends and is thought to be the birthplace of Christianity in Britain. It’s a walk that does require some physical fitness as it includes going up to see Glastonbury Tor.
There Are Places You Can Only Find on Foot
Some of them are the obvious ones: the summit after a long climb, or a hidden cove at the end of a cliff path. But some of the best places you find on foot are not geographic at all; they are moments of pure attention. It’s the particular quality of winter light falling across moorland, or the rich copper of bracken in October, that you would pass right by from a car window.
Walking simply trains you to see differently. It teaches you to slow down, to notice what is actually in front of you, and to let the landscape come to you.
This is a philosophy our partners at HF Holidays have understood for decades. It is exactly why, alongside their famous guided walking programmes, they offer immersive Special Interest holidays built on this very principle. Whether you want to explore creative hobbies like arts, crafts, photography, choir, and yoga & Pilates, or prefer sightseeing breaks featuring expert-led garden tours and historic landmark visits, these breaks bring the same mindful presence to your passions that you already bring to a hillside.
A Relaxed, Creative Sanctuary
These creative breaks run in small groups of no more than fifteen, led by experienced tutors with Britain’s finest countryside right outside the door. In a relaxed atmosphere, beginners trying something new and experienced creators looking to refresh their practice are equally at home.
Our TOG team picks!
Come and Craft Weekends: A beautifully unstructured approach. There are no timetables; instead, like-minded people gather to knit, crochet, or needle-felt with free-flowing tea, coffee, and easy conversation. You store your work overnight, pick it back up in the morning, and leave, having swapped skills
with new friends.
Tutored Craft Workshops: Led by subject experts, these half-day sessions cover heritage skills like print making, embroidery, and willow weaving. They share the same slow, deliberate, deeply satisfying pace that a great walk teaches us.
Heritage Houses & Full-Board Comfort
All of this takes place across HF Holidays’ collection of Country Houses located in the most beautiful corners of England, Scotland, and Wales. From historic Victorian manors and Georgian farmhouses to lakeside retreats, these premium, comfortable spaces feel like home the moment you arrive.
To help everyone connect and settle in, every country house stay is completely full-board. Your experience includes a warm welcome cream tea on arrival, followed by hearty breakfasts, picnic lunches for your day’s adventures, and relaxed three-course dinners each evening.
These are unique houses that feel like they have always held good stories, and they are more than happy to let you add yours to the collection.
Sometimes the path leads you somewhere entirely new. And sometimes, it simply teaches you how to truly see once you arrive.
Four Things For You
BRADDER’S BONUS!
WIN a Gorgeous Gateaway, enjoy a three-night walking break for two
We’ve teamed up with our friends at HF Holidays to give you the chance to win an unforgettable short break!
Imagine escaping to one of their characterful, premium country houses nestled in the UK’s most beautiful landscapes, with a fantastic choice of guided walks to choose from every single day of your stay. Whether you want an invigorating hill climb or a gentle, scenic stroll, everything is taken care of.
The clock is ticking! Entry closes on 1st July, so don’t miss out on your chance to win!
Before you lace up your boots, a quick reminder from all of us to stay sun-smart in this record-breaking heat!
Make sure to pack extra water to stay fully hydrated, plan your routes to include plenty of shade, avoid peak heat hours, and take things a little slower than usual.
Don’t forget to check in on your walking buddies, neighbours, and loved ones to ensure they’re staying cool, too. Whether you are walking with your dog, your friends, your family, or taking a solo wander, I hope you walk yourself happy!
