How about La Via Dolorosa then?

At this point VR has not yet reached the circuit proper

Others walk, some heroically: Sir Hugh up and down Scots mountains, Lucy along Brittany's craggy coastline. To say we (VR and I) have joined them might constitute hubris.

Adjacent to our house is an expanse of grass which triggers the same query from our infrequent guests: when are developers going to cover that with houses? The answer is never.

A quarter of a century ago the area was called - not to put too fine a point on it - The Tip. Or, if you like, The Dump. Along came the city council, stretched a huge plastic membrane over the rubbish, piled half a meter of earth on top and, for all I know, seeded it. The tip became the landfill. As a gesture of gentility the parish council arranged a christening and the vote was for Abbey View Park. The rationale being that euphemism settles the nerves of those selling their houses and the estate agents who manage the transactions.

Quite soon every local man and his dog had one thing on their minds - defecation. Sternly the parish council issued demands regarding plastic bags and when soiling had been reduced from Toxic to Almost Tolerable a gravel path was installed. It is round this ignobly contrived route we now walk.

I believe the path is three-quarters of a mile long and we are now up to two circuits. Our walk does not compete with the Pennine Way or the Appalachian Trail but then either of those - were we to attempt it - would end fatally. The trick when walking is to adopt a mindset devoid of history. We have yet to christen the path; I have in mind La Piste Sordide but that will require discussion.

This too is the final detour away from the main circuit; like the parish council I too can manipulate reality