063 Street Walkers

Street Walkers

The idea popped into my head about a year ago to walk every street in Winchester. I retired in June 2014 and started walking to get in shape after years of working at a computer and sitting at my desk and also to lose a little weight (that hasn’t happened yet.) I found out I could get in shape but mainly maintain my weight not really dropping pounds, but I keep trying.

So to shake things up a little I thought maybe I could cover the city (9.3 square miles). Definitely taking my time, I convinced Savvy Broad Trish to join me in this pursuit and off we went. Of course, her dog Savvy Tootsie came along, protecting us from other dogs, a few squirrels, and some wayward cats.

After living in Winchester for more than 40 years, I thought I knew the city – Trish has been here more than 25 years and felt the same as I did--but we discovered we knew very little except about our own neighborhoods.

One thing that was impressive is there are no areas that are littered and derelict. The city does a great job in keeping the streets clean. That is not saying that some areas could use improvement, but overall cleanliness is not a problem. Also the city has a blight program that handles empty buildings which also is a big improvement.


We found out city residents really like their pets. Most neighborhoods had resident dogs and cats who are protective of their turf but in a friendly manner. While they may bark or stare at us as intruders, they stayed in their own areas a little suspicious of our motives, but never aggressive. Cats gave us looks as why are you here and don’t stay too long.

We encountered friendly residents, many sitting on their porches, who did not hesitate to give us a welcoming greeting with a how are you and good morning. I am sure they had thoughts about why these over-the-hill women were traversing the neighborhood, but no one inquired and left us on our quest to cover the city streets.

Yards and gardens were well maintained throughout Winchester as well as porch plants and potted flowers. We were impressed by the amount of flowers and vegetable gardens that were kept alive and thriving throughout the spring and summer. A great deal of pride and ownership is evident in most neighborhoods by the amount of time spent keeping yards attractive.

In a few cases, we did not walk the entire length of some streets, especially those with a great deal of traffic. On busy thoroughfares, we walked enough blocks to get the feel of the area. Most streets we walked the entire length, sometimes running into acquaintances, but usually no one was home. Many areas were definitely working neighborhoods as drive-ways and carports appeared empty for the day.

As we walked, I highlighted the streets on the map.

Sometimes it was hard to determine the city limits line so we relied on a map I purchased at the Winchester-Frederick County Visitors Center. We had to walk a few blocks in some areas and then come back to find the city limits sign, but that was not the norm. Most areas were well marked.

Our basic conclusion is that Winchester is a good city to take up residence and offers a variety of options as far as apartments, townhouses, senior housing, parks, green space, sidewalks, parks, and housing divisions. Some areas were definitely child-oriented with toys and bicycles as evidence in the yards. Many times we both agreed that we would like to live in some of the areas.

We hope the Green Circle (a walking area proposed around the city) is completed soon. It would be a great addition for the citizens to get around the city. A few sections are complete and of course, we walked them, but the circle has a long way to go.

I invite all of you to get to know your community a little better by becoming a street walker and take in all the unique and special qualities of where you live. Don’t rush it --- take your time and enjoy it.

Savvy Street Walker Frances