Marie wrote; >I beg to differ - Christchurch is definitely not within walking distance of > Poole. I know because I come from Christchurch. > Hello Marie Sorry but I beg to differ. At the time in question Christchurch would have been regarded as being within walking distance of Poole. For most people that would have been the only option. Even after the coming of the railways financial considerations would have meant shanks's pony was the preferred option. I know from remembered conversations many years ago with elderly relatives that people had an entirely different view of how far they could walk 100+ years ago. Even in the 1950's I know of one family in Dorchester who would walk to Weymouth (8 miles) to visit relatives. It is only very recently that the car has been regarded as essential for going more than a few hundred yards. Ray Collins Weymouth, Dorset

I should have said WHEN I considered that Christchurch was not in walking distance. I was thinking back to when I was a child of 10 (1950) when my walk from Bargates to Hurn was what I considered a long walk. I do believe you when you quote a family in the 1950's walking 8 miles to see relatives but that would not have been a daily exercise. Ok folks I concede . My idea of walking is not what most people call walking - so I guess I have either never wanted to see my relatives that much or was just plain lazy! Marie -----Original Message----- From: Ray Collins [mailto:Ray.Collins@btinternet.com] Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 1:47 AM To: ENG-DORSET-LIFE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [DOR-LIFE] CURTIS FAMILY Marie wrote; >I beg to differ - Christchurch is definitely not within walking distance of > Poole. I know because I come from Christchurch. > Hello Marie Sorry but I beg to differ. At the time in question Christchurch would have been regarded as being within walking distance of Poole. For most people that would have been the only option. Even after the coming of the railways financial considerations would have meant shanks's pony was the preferred option. I know from remembered conversations many years ago with elderly relatives that people had an entirely different view of how far they could walk 100+ years ago. Even in the 1950's I know of one family in Dorchester who would walk to Weymouth (8 miles) to visit relatives. It is only very recently that the car has been regarded as essential for going more than a few hundred yards. Ray Collins Weymouth, Dorset ==== ENG-DORSET-LIFE Mailing List ==== The Dorset Genweb pages can be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~engdor/ ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx

Hi List Glad to see we're coming back to life. Just as an example, Thomas Hardy walked from Bockhampton to Weymouth in the morning and back in the evening. In my book that would be about 12 miles a day, six days a week. Admitting of course that he would have walked across fields, "as the crow flies" as far as possible! At the age of 8 my aunt walked in from Upwey to go to the cinema and then back after the film. Total about 8 miles. So "walking distance" is purely relative, and as Ray says cars and (what's left of) public transport are making us lazy and destroying our health. (Hardy lived to over 80)! According to Darwin, we should lose the use of our legs in less than a million years. Be Warned!! Geoff