It’s odd setting off for a walk without knowing where you are going. We had maps, and the risk of getting lost in Somerset is small (and not particularly worrying), but it was still a new experience to get off the train and think: “Which way?” This was partly our own indecisive fault.

There’s a simple trick to enjoying the Lake District’s busier routes – start at lunchtime. The hordes not only all head for the same few hills, but all set off at the same time. At 9am, the start of many popular routes resembles rush hour on the London Underground as people jostle for space to pull on boots, stuff rucksacks and browse maps.

Two foxes; a brace of pheasants; one green woodpecker and one grey heron; 300 seagulls; two jays; a family of rabbits. What reads like a recipe for some gluttonous medieval feast is actually the wildlife I glimpsed on a recent train journey from Brighton to Bristol. Window gazing is a simple pleasure for the regular train traveller.