Have walked a substantial part of Watlington civil parish in two outings recently, upon resumption of my excursion through the Oxfordshire Chilterns checking the Public Rights of Way. The weather on both occasions has been magnificent and the areas have been a delight to walk and view.

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Walked the northern half of Ipsden today on the latest stage of my parish-by-parish walks in the Oxfordshire Chilterns. It was magnificent, with a mixture of woodland and superb open views on a gloriously sunny October day. It surpassed anything I had walked to date. We are blessed in this part of Oxfordshire with the sheer number of Public Rights of Way that give us an endless choice of walks. It caused me to think as I roamed: I remember the road atlases that displayed a green ribbon alongside roads considered to be scenic. I imagined such a feature in OpenStreetMap, seeing the views along the various paths today. I have to satisfy myself with viewpoints, perhaps. I express my gratitude to the Chiltern Society for the work its officers, path representatives and maintenance teams do in helping to provide such a beautiful environment. I offer my thanks, too, to Woodhouse Farm for making available a permissive footpath and bridleways that so enhanced my walk today. I invite anyone who can access this area to do so. You will not be disappointed.

Travelled to Madeira for a week at the end of February, staying at the excellent Pestana Grand Ocean Resort hotel. I have been prompted to compile this diary entry more than six months later because of lonvia’s user diary entry of 10th September, regarding https://waymarkedtrails.org/, and my particular interest, https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org. First, though, I must comment on the excellent level of detail in OSM for Madeira; I was extremely surprised, but so pleased, too, of course. It was of help in all ways: our journeys, our walks, and restaurants, even. What a difference it makes! We undertook three walks during our stay: the first, to get our legs moving, from the hotel, directly on the seafront, to Cãmara de Lobos alongside the beach. The second was to take no. 81 bus from Funchal to Eira do Serrado, then walk to Curral das Freiras (Nun’s Valley). What a scenic walk! The third was to take no.96 bus to Estreito de Cãmara de Lobos, then walk Levada do Norte (South) to Cabo Girão. We had hoped to walk from Monte to the botanic gardens, also, but there had been a landslip, unfortunately, and the way was closed. Second, lonvia’s waymarked trails were excellent in highlighting and naming the officially recognised walks: Madeira is such a complex arrangement of hills that it would be difficult to choose routes otherwise. Together, and continuing to use my same resources on my ‘phone, they contributed to a most enjoyable holiday. Finally, I recollect the usefulness of the waymarked trails as I walked sections of the Chiltern Way and created some of its child relations in JOSM.

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Have spent a most enjoyable eight days shared between Santorini and Crete. I walked most of the length of Santorini from Oia to Akrotiri. Based near the delightful village of Megalochori, I have been able to enhance an area once again. My eTrex Legend has been replaced by my ‘phone, however. I use a combination of the excellent Locus Map, OpenStreetMap and GraphHopper to consult a map, plot hiking routes, record tracks and mark points to add to OpenStreetMap. The walking part of the holiday ended with an excursion through Samaria Gorge on Crete.

Have recently returned from a wonderful ten days at Kaligata in Kefalonia. I walked every day but one with my trusty eTrex Legend, recording tracks and features. It so happens there is little mapped in the immediate area of my walks. It is a pleasure for me now to fill a lot of that space.