Time alone
I spend a lot of time walking and running in the hills with friends and I value the camaraderie and bonhomie this brings. However it dawned on my this summer that I very rarely spend prolonged periods in nature by myself. I therefore made an effort to have three periods alone in the mountains. This blog is an opportunity for me to reflect on how it felt to have time alone.
In the spring I formulated vague plans to drive to the Italian Alps alone in my van. However it quickly became clear that because of commitments at home this would not be possible. Instead I planned three separate solo trips for three or four days each to the Lake District. I'm not going to go into detail about where I stayed and even where I walked because that is not the purpose of this blog. I want to focus on how the expeditions felt.
I was slightly disappointed how uncomfortable I was with silence while alone in the huts I was staying in. I almost constantly had the radio on listening to spoken word. I found this was greatly re assuring although I wasn't really paying much attention to what was being said. The background sound was something I needed although I was apparently unable to pay close attention to it. I think that the background noise gave me the settled mind to be able to delve into my own thoughts about my plans for my time away and other aspects of life at home.
On the hill however I was completely comfortable with silence. I massively valued the opportunity to make my own decisions while on the hill in terms of route choice (planned and improvised) and location and timings of food stops and reflective pauses. I felt in control and this was re assuring as so often at home I feel out of control of obligations placed on me. It also generated a lot of satisfaction that the decisions I made proved to be good ones.
I also very much enjoyed being able to plan objectives for each day. When I am with friends my natural demeanor is to let others make the plans. I feel it is too much effort to think quickly enough and be assertive enough to shape these plans so I let others do this and I just chip in. When with clients the objective is usually set by them and tweaked by me. I took great strength from the fact that the plans I made were challenging interesting and coherent. I settled on a recurring structure of cycling a short distance (no more than 4 miles) to the start of my walk or run, secreting my bike (fun in itself - there is something thrilling about finding a hiding place) before embarking on foot. This added variety and meant that I had more scope to explore without having to resort to using the van. I have never done this before and its a winner.
I was able to take reassurance and confidence from my inner resources. For example one of my trips coincided with Storm Amy. I was able to make plans that were safe but at the same time not too restricted by the weather. I ran to the summit of Glaramara in 80 mile an hour winds (photo) and although I felt challenged and was aware of the potential peril if the wrong decisions were made, I had the skills to make sure the expedition was completed safely. This is something I can take strength from in life generally.
I noticed how when strangers turned up at the huts I was staying at I was pleased for the company and instinctively made an effort to find out about them and find some common ground. This came naturally and was something I enjoyed. It was great to meet Dave and John from the Black Country and find out that Dave was a West Brom fan and John was a big fan of Led Zeppelin. I noticed how I was able to hold a conversation on these topics and enjoyed doing so although I would rather be discussing Sheffield Wednesday and Billy Bragg! In three evenings we became friends. I suspect I would not have done this had I been with friends as I would have been happy to let my friends take the lead in being sociable.
I enjoyed the knowledge that no one would ever know completely where I went, what I saw or how I felt. There were lots of very private moments that were intimate between me and myself. I was excited about telling friends and family about my time away but I knew that, however hard I tried to give them a full account, much of it would inevitably remain only known to myself. It was time spent being a soul mate to both my past self and present self.
I would recommend time alone to anyone. I came back feeling stronger and more self aware.
Have you spent prolonged periods alone? What are your reflections?
Open Gates Outdoors - November 2025
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