It’s a question that could rival the great “Whatever happened to white dog poo?” debate.
Why do people who wouldn’t give you the time of day anywhere else feel obliged to say hello when you pass them on a country walk?
Do we go out and about in order to enjoy the countryside, or do we do it to exchange greetings with random strangers we will probably never see or speak to again?
I went on a walk in Swaledale with my mate Enrico once, parking in Gunnerside and walking up Gunnerside Gill (right) before turning east on the Coast to Coast, passing the Old Gang Mines, Surrender Bridge and back along the countours on the north side of the dale.
It was a great day – smashing weather in a wonderful area. But unfortunately, we chose the day of the Swaledale Marathon and our walk took us in the opposite direction the runners were taking.
So we passed virtually all of them going the other way, and while I kept my head down, Enrico chose to be polite and I swear he must have said hello to more than five hundred runners of all ages and sizes.
He had a sore throat when we finished, and it was in the days before the King’s Head in Gunnerside was a good pub, so a flat pint of something undrinkable didn’t do a lot to cure the problem.
When I asked him why he exchanged greetings with ALL the runners, he replied: “Well, it’s only polite.”
Daft more like.
He couldn’t explain why he said hello in the Dales, but wouldn’t say hello in Tesco. And I've never found anybody else who could do so.
And I've never yet met up with somebody in a pub after seeing them earlier out in the sticks and been offered a pint.
So why waste my breath?