Afternoon Constitutionals

or On Walking

Photo by Nick Page on Unsplash

If you’ve ever read Jane Austen, or seen any Jane Austen movies, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the “afternoon constitutional.” This was an afternoon walk people regularly took to get exercise and fresh air. Fast forward a few decades to when Charlotte Mason was alive. Jane Austen died in 1817, and Charlotte was born in 1842, so she undoubtedly went on many “afternoon constitutionals.” Miss Mason also saw a huge change in how people got around: from trains to cars and airplanes. She died in 1923, after World War I, so airplanes were around during her time.

​In Charlotte Mason’s time, technology was developing fast. I found a Parent’s Review article fascinating about this subject: Holidays in Lakeland Fifty-nine Years Ago (Volume 1, 1890/1891). It starts with, “When you were young, dear Grannie, and in the schoolroom, how did you spend your holidays? They must have been awfully slow, for then you had no railways, no anything as we have now!” The author talks about how traveling by carriage had a certain charm. Her holidays as a child in the lake district were full of fun and adventure and weren’t rushed. It took longer to get there and back since they didn’t have trains then, but it was enjoyable.

​Today, most people get around driving cars, and we talk about going places in as many minutes or hours as it takes to get there. My family spent a number of years in China, and now we talk about how far China is by how far away it is by plane: twelve hours (give or take). However, a long time ago, it used to be very different: you had to either walk everywhere, ride a horse, donkey, camel, or take a carriage.

​This plays a role when we talk about history and geography: how long it used to take people to get from one place to another. I’m teaching Sunday school at church this month. I love bringing in practical details to make the stories come to life. We were talking about how Mary, Joseph, and their family went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover (this was the time when Jesus, as a twelve-year-old boy, stayed behind in Jerusalem without them knowing it until later). How long would it have taken them to get there? By looking at a map, it’s hard to tell. You can drive it in about two and a half hours. It would have taken three to four days to walk it, depending on how fast and long they walked each day.

​I took it a bit further. I asked the kids: How long would it take you to walk from the Winchuck River to the Chetco River (two major rivers in our small town)? Some kids asked, “Can you walk that far?” I told them that I had done just that a few weeks earlier. I wanted to see how long it would take me to walk from home to the library: it took about two hours. It’s about the same distance going between these two rivers. The kids were amazed.

​Growing up, I never thought you could walk or bike anywhere realistically. My family always drove everywhere. Years later, after college, I moved back to the area for a short time and didn’t have a car. I decided to bike everywhere instead (this was before I was married and had kids). I was amazed that some places I went to growing up that I thought were “too far” to bike to were only a 20–30-minute bike ride away. There were lovely bike trails, so it only took an extra 10 minutes or so if I biked than if I drove. This was in the suburbs; living in a rural area would be very different.

​All of us are thankful for the convenience of cars. It certainly helps in buying groceries, going to the library, and getting around. Before this, we lived in a big city (with 12 million people!) and walked to most places, even the vegetable market, where we bought groceries. Most people had special carts on wheels that they would fill up with groceries and wheel back home. If you have time to take a long walk one day to see how far you can walk in an hour or two with your kids, it would be a memorable experience and help them understand distance in history and geography (as well as good exercise!). You can even pack a picnic lunch and have lunch on the way (or snacks).

Rachel Bubb 2025

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