In April, while much of the world was in strict lockdown, artists and writers in Cumbria were being invited to contribute to a book that would help document this unique period in history.

Since lockdown eased, the number of people walking in the countryside seems to have sky-rocketed. Strangely though, everyone’s flocking to the same places – honeypots such as Buttermere, Snowdon, the Jurassic Coast … 

“Sissy sticks!” I’d never heard this expression used to describe walking poles until I got chatting to a couple of walkers in the Lake District a few years ago. We were just …