A night shift worker has managed to walk every street in Bristol on his weekends off. People may think they know their city but walking every street requires stamina, determination and “decent footwear”, advises Simon Kosciow.
The 55-year-old, who lives in Fishponds, said: “I called it the ‘A to Z challenge’ and I did it just after lockdown to get some fresh air and fitness. I did it in 51 weeks, I wanted to do it in under a year and I just made it.”
Due to Mr Kosciow working nights he completed his walks at the weekends, starting as early as three in the morning sometimes. His only companions were a pair of Skechers, Ribena, an app called Relive and an Ordnance Survey map app.
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You may have spotted him walking past your house in the early hours of the morning, while he spent the year walking every single street in the city. For those who did, Mr Kosciow has a message: “I would like to apologise for all the porch lights I set off and I’m sure I’m the star of thousands of video doorbells.”
The growing global trend of ‘every-single-streeters’ dates back to almost a decade ago, when James Chevalier founded CityStrides in 2013. It was designed as a way to track his own progress, as he ran along every single street in his city.
After Chevalier and others publicised their journeys, people followed in their footsteps, and lockdown only increased the appetite for a new kind of adventure. Unlike San Francisco which was completed by Rickey Gates in 2018, Bristol does not follow a straightforward grid system - making the bending roads and cul-de-sacs sometimes difficult to navigate.
The cul-de-sacs increased Mr Kosciow's mileage, as once he walked to the end, he had no choice but to walk back again. This was his experience of St Annes, where he had to explain what he was doing to concerned strangers who assumed he must be lost.
What may seem like a tedious task was particularly satisfying for Mr Kosciow because he quickly bumped up street numbers while in labyrinth-like estates full of tiny streets. For those travelling by road from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, they could walk from south to north and back again and would still not clock up the mileage achieved by Mr Kosciow, who walked a total of 1941.87 miles over the course of a year.
For him, the challenge was one he set up independently as an extension of the long city walks he already had with his daughter over the lockdown. They had already walked from north to south (Severn Beach to Whitchurch) and east to north (Fishponds to Avonmouth).
After his day of walking, which could be anything from four miles to over 20 miles, he would mark off the streets he’d achieved that day on his A to Z and the giant map of Bristol he kept on his wall at home using the information from his apps. When he was around 30 minutes away from finishing the streets marked out for that day, he would call his wife who would give him a lift home after a hard day’s walk.
For the Bristolian urban explorer, who has a whole Facebook group dedicated to his travels through the city, the experience made him love his city even more and despite being out at odd hours, people were helpful and he didn’t have any “trouble”. Mr Kosciow said: “There’s lovely people around who helped me wherever I was going. It was boiling hot one day in Bedminster and I ran out of drink.
“I explained to someone what I was doing and they went to their kitchen to get me some cold water. I never had any trouble.
“All the stereotypical things people say about certain areas, I didn’t find it really. I just thought, ‘it’s a lovely city.’
“I loved all the artwork, the statues and the people watching [but] my favourite street was Henleaze Gardens. It had old lamp posts and immaculate houses, obviously it’s quite an affluent area.
“It was a beautiful sunny day and it just looked so picturesque. I liked every street, it was just another one ticked off the list.” Mr Kosciow completed his final street at the weekend, and shared a video of the incredible journey he took.
Although he enjoyed the challenge of every street, some were more challenging than others. He says the mile-long, bendy Scotland Lane in Stockwood has no pavement and is notorious for cars whizzing through at full speed.
It took some preparation to take on what he described as “the scariest road”. He went for a drive with his wife the night before to check it out and then she followed him in her car the next day.
“Rather than do it in daylight hours, we did it at three in the morning. She was driving behind me at about two miles per hour and I was walking in front of the car in a high vis jacket just for security.”
He found his soul-searching was over once he reached Alma Vale. The Clifton street where he was born was saved intentionally for the last leg of his city-wide ramble.
Mr Kosciow said: “When I was born there in 66, we lived above a funeral directors which isn’t there anymore. It’s all turned into new flats now, it’s changed over the years since I first travelled it in a pram.”
While he will take some time to “rest his calves” for now, pleased with the stone of weight he’s lost after a year of street walking, he is contemplating taking on the suburbs after a period of recharging.
He had to stop at Bristol border points when reaching Fishponds, Hanham and Ashton but for his next challenge he might try those streets across the city boundary. Everywhere in Bristol is familiar now and driving around the city gives him a sense of Déjà vu.
Not only did walking the Bristol streets end up being good for both mental and physical health but it was also financially beneficial - but Simon will be donating all the cash he raised to St Peter’s Hospice. If you would like to discover more about Simon’s Bristol Urban Walks, check out his Facebook page here.
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