the coastline called and i put in my notice
Hi, my name’s Emma. One day I quit my job, bought a tent, and announced I was going to walk around the entire coast of Britain. No training. No real plan. Just me, a pair of boots I hadn’t broken in, and the deep sense that I didn’t want to be looking out of an office window anymore.
beige cuisine for the spiritually lost
Most days looked like this: walk until hungry, eat something beige, walk a bit more, then find somewhere to camp that wasn’t actively cursed, although saying that I did inadventently camp on an actual graveyard once. Once was enough. I had the weight of the world on my shoulders (including a Magic-8 Ball and signed photograph of Kim Woodburn), but I kept going. At first out of stubbornness. Then because I genuinely wanted to see what was around the next corner.
my best self is slightly damp and hard to reach
There were beaches that looked like postcards and others that looked like crime scenes. Some days I got golden light and dolphins, others sideways rain and terrifyingly narrow cliff-top paths. But the landscape never stopped offering something up. Once I started paying attention I couldn’t stop.
hang this up and pretend it’s a window
I took thousands of photos. Some to remember where I’d been, others just to prove I wasn’t making it all up. Now I’m selling them as prints. If you like the look of one, you can buy it. Hang it on your wall. Say, “I know someone who walked around Britain and all I got was this lousy photograph.” It also helps fund my next questionable life decision. So yeah, cheers for that.
oh also i am writing a book
i should have it finished by the end of 2025, so pop your e-mail here if you're interested in getting an update on that.
