Last night I made the journey from my parent's house up to the Swettenham Arms. It's a journey I've made many times in my chair, and one which I love dearly. I used to go, in the summer months, north up through the lanes: it cleared my head and gave me space to think.

I took those roads again last night, but this time I didn't leave Lyn's house. Indeed, physically, swettenham is about 300 miles away, and a good 4 hours by car. But a few days ago my brother Luke showed me that you can now look at our old family house on Google Maps, and I couldn't resist the temptation to take my favourite walk.

It's incredible: the level of detail is astounding; you can see the leaves on the trees and the puddles in the roadside ditches. I know have criticised this site as an 'invasion of privacy', but you can't see more than you would were you to actually go along the roads, and that's perfectly legal. As for me, I love that site now; using it, last night, I was taken back to days when I felt the sun on my back and the smell of grass in my nose. The thing is, I sensed neither of these things, and that's where the difference is, for I missed them last night.

It's still an amazing bit of technology. Go look.