Following on from Blog 52, here is a slightly shortened version of my diary for the fourth quarter of 2023:
Sunday, 8th October – Walked along the River Kent from Sedgwick to Hawes Bridge and took photographs of various things. There were people canoeing on the river.
Thursday, 12th October – Walked from Brigsteer Woods to Sizergh Castle in perfect weather and found a hollow tree that I was able to get inside.
Saturday, 4th November – Wrote to Marcus du Sautoy telling him why the Universe cannot be infinitely large, as he claimed that it might be in his book What We Cannot Know. [I received no reply.]
Saturday, 11th November – Went for a walk on Lambrigg Fell from the Sedbergh road in perfect weather. Then I walked along the nearby disused road to the edge of the motorway.
Wednesday, 15th November – Read in the internet that £5,000,000 will be spent on the Coast to Coast Walk in the next two years, and I found some large-scale maps showing proposed changes to the route.
Friday, 17th November – Drove to the western end of the Coast to Coast Walk to study some of the changes I read about yesterday. The minor changes at Bell House on page 6 and Blackhow Wood on page 9 were already signposted. The new route at Broadmoor on page 14 was not yet signposted, but I think that it is the best change that has ever been made to the route of the Coast to Coast Walk, with well-made paths through beautiful woodland and along the shore of Ennerdale Water.
Thursday, 23rd November – Bought a copy of Cumbria Life including Chris’s article on the Coast to Coast Walk.
Friday, 24th November – Walked along the shore of Ennerdale Water from Bleach Green to the Bowness Knott car park. I also walked along the south shore as far as Anglers’ Crag and found that the north shore is much better.
Saturday, 25th November -Went to a talk by Chris Butterfield in the Kendal public library. I had heard it all before, but I am glad I went because somebody thanked me for my work on the Wainwright books. Afterwards Chris called at my home and I showed him the work I have recently done on the Coast to Coast Walk. He said that he would help me to buy and use a suitable computer if I am called upon to produce a new edition in the future.
Wednesday, 29th November – Walked along Haweswater Beck from Naddle Bridge to High Park and took a photograph of some growths on a silver birch tree. I also went to Shap Abbey and Oddendale to check proposed changes to the Coast to Coast Walk.
Thursday, 30th November – Searched for ‘happy memories’ and ‘amazon’ in the internet and found to my astonishment that my book is the only one with that title.
Sunday, 3rd December – Took a photograph of the snow on the telegraph wires from my sitting-room window. I also took photographs of the distant countryside and of ice on the paths outside my window.
Monday, 11th December – Went to Sleights Moor to check one or two things, and saw a weasel crossing the road.
Friday, 15th December – Checked various places on the Coast to Coast Walk between Orton and Danby Wiske and took a photograph of Cotterby Scar. Stopped for a meal near the Tan Hill Inn looking out over the moors. It was very windy.
Sunday, 17th December – Finished the field work for the Coast to Coast Walk.
Friday, 22nd December – Finished my notes on the Coast to Coast Walk and submitted them to the Wainwright Facebook site. Later I found that they had been published with favourable comments from two people.
Sunday, 31st December – Copied my latest selections from television onto a DVD because I couldn’t copy them onto a BRD, but I don’t think that they will outlast the equipment.
Here is the letter that I wrote to Marcus du Sautoy on November 4th:
In your book What We Cannot Know you state that you don’t know whether the Universe is infinitely large, and yet I am perfectly sure that it is not. It is certainly much larger than was generally believed a thousand years ago, and it may be much larger than is generally believed now, but it cannot possibly be infinitely large. Consider the following equations:
A = 1010 = 10,000 million
B = 10A
C = 10B
D = 10C
Using this notation, the size of the Universe in light years is now thought to be about A. It is not impossible that it might turn out to be about B, but surely not C or D, let alone Z. However large you imagine the Universe to be the mathematics will always stay ahead, and I can say with absolute cetainty that the Universe is not infinitely large.