Take a hike and enjoy Portsmouth's walkability | Matt Mohan-Hickson

It is probably because I grew up in the Scouting system, joining as a Beaver and lasting all the way to Explorers.

Walks and camping are a staple of being a Scout – but my love of going for a stroll extends beyond trips to the countryside and the great outdoors.

I will happily take a leisurely walk through the city streets as an excuse to break up the day. Fortunately, since moving to Portsmouth two years ago, I’ve found that it is a truly great walking city.

You’ve got the obvious things like strolling down the seafront or exploring the streets of Old Portsmouth.

But there are plenty of parks as well – from Victoria Park to Milton Common, as well as the smaller gems like Kingston Park, in Fratton, or Milton Park.

The city is so densely packed together you can get to any part of it by foot easily and find new places to explore.

If you are fond of indulging in a daily walk you have endless opportunities here – whether you fancy seeing the city centre, historic buildings, parks, or the seafront.

As a non-native citizen, it is one of the reasons Portsmouth is such a special place. There is no way you could walk round a place like Manchester or Birmingham in one day!

It has meant my daily expeditions out of the house during this Covid-crisis haven’t become monotonous.

I grew up in the suburbs of Middlesbrough and there are only so many times you can see the same leafy streets over and over before the prospect of a walk becomes far less appealing.

Hopefully those of you reading this who are Pompey natives don’t take the walkability of the city for granted.

It is something to really be appreciated and you should be proud of it. I don’t mean that in a condescending way.

The best part about the city’s walkability is it means you are never too far from home if you decide to abandon your walk, if the weather takes a turn for the worst.

Amazon, you’re great, but we have a little bit of a problem

Amazon makes life so easy...sort of. You can order pretty much anything with the touch of a button and have it brought to your door the next day.

But despite the simplicity of ordering, I’ve had quite a few issues. Unlike other delivery services, they don’t let you add an option for the delivery driver to call you when the parcel has arrived – if it is too large to fit through the letter box, for example.

We don’t have a porch and our doorbell is temperamental, so I’ve missed a few parcels in recent weeks – despite being at home when the delivery was supposed to happen. It seems bizarre that for all its advances, Amazon doesn't have the option for delivery drivers to contact you. Unless I’m missing something?

Will the silver screen help get rid of my pandemic anxiety?

I have long loved going to the pictures. The tedium of the pre-show adverts, the intrigue of the trailers, then the excitement of the moment the lights go down.

Before lockdown I enjoyed watching Parasite, Waves and The Lighthouse.

Yet now they are opening again, I find myself anxious about returning. The thought of being trapped in a stuffy room with other people right now sort of terrifies me.

It is the same for going to the pub and restaurants or even a shop that isn’t the supermarket.

At some point I am going to have to overcome this fear, if I want a normal life. And I figure the lure of watching a film on the big screen might help me start to chip away at my pandemic anxiety.

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