This weekend I went to a friend’s wedding near Milton Keynes, and stayed in an AirBnB in Bletchley on Saturday night. In my review of the AirBnB I said that it was “within walking distance” of the centre of Bletchley. After writing this, I started thinking that the phrase walking distance probably means quite different things to different people.
I walk a lot – at least 3 or 4 miles a day, so ‘within walking distance’ to me means up to 4 miles, or further. I walk to get around, to keep fit, and also because I enjoy exploring places on foot.
On Saturday afternoon I decided to walk from Bletchley to Newton Longville, the village where the wedding reception took place. On the map the distance was 3 to 3.5 miles, depending on the route. However, part of the route went through an area where a lot of new houses are being built, and some of the roads and paths were blocked off, and I got a bit lost. After asking for directions I found the right road, and ended up walking 5 or 6 miles in total. I got there in the end and had a wonderful time, and got a lift back with the bride’s granddad.
What does “within walking distance” mean to you?
Or do you use another phrase?
(The photo is the fabulous lego-based wedding cake)
Like you, I enjoy walking and will happily walk 3 or 4 miles to a destination, weather and time permitting – further, if I am just walking for its own sake. But if somewhere advertises itself as ‘within walking distance’, I would probably assume that it was not much more than a mile. A healthy person may be capable of walking much further – perhaps 30 or 40 miles in a day if really determined – but I would assume that ‘walking distance’ meant that the time spent walking would not impinge significantly on the day as a whole. 3 to 3.5 miles – about an hour’s walk – is stretching the definition, to my mind.
It also depends on age, health and fitness. I’m 71 and reasonably fit, and today walked over seven miles (including several steep ascents and descents) in the glorious Manx sunshine. However, I reckon that this would have been beyond the capability of many younger people. I tend to agree with David’s contention that a distance of around a mile would nowadays qualify as ‘walking distance’.
I think estate agents nowadays have to quantify if using ” within walking distance from” viz. “about a ten minute walk from….” Shorter distances might be described as “within a short distance from”; “round the corner from”; “close to”. I had great linguistic fun when writing the description of my London flat, including in it an element of parody of the stock phrases. Of course, the potential buyers would have been unaware of of my pretentious to parody and the flat sold within one day! Crazy.
The comedian, Steven Wright, used to say, “Everywhere is walking distance–if you’ve got the time.”