APRIL 2020 PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE 101A walk on the wild side
Embarking on her much-anticipated monthly ramble, Elizabeth Heathcote
finds herself battling the elements and boot-deep in gooey mudwalk the talk
I AM SO EXCITED
about our next walk.
Already our monthly
jaunts have become
a beacon in my life. Even nicer that my
friend is as thrilled as I am to be heading
into nature and a day for ourselves.
We step out of a tiny train station
and are immediately immersed in
the scents and sounds of proper
countryside. We stride down a
narrow lane and the path takes us
into a vast open fi eld – and thick mud.
The fi eld has been ploughed and the
path runs through the middle. We
tramp our way across, willing the stile
in the distant hedgerow to draw closer
until we fi nally reach it – and exit into
another fi eld that is exactly the same.
Uh oh, this isn’t pleasurable! And
it’s freezing cold; grey and bleak with
a bone-chilling wind. We plough on
(literally – half the fi eld is caked to
our boots). Our route promises
an area of tranquil pastureland
ahead, but it turns out this is being
transformed into a large vineyard,
which may be picturesque in thefuture but, for now, its strict lines of
plastic casings with poles and wires
just feel industrial. And... more mud.Rain or shine
Six miles in, as we sit down to eat our
sandwiches huddled against a freezing
drizzle, we feel dejected. We’re halfway
around a loop – there are no shortcuts
and we have to keep going. Food and
hot co ee help, then the rain stops and
the path takes us through beautiful
beech woods, across meadows with
sheep grazing. But we can’t a ord to
linger – it will be dark by 3.30pm and,
after the heavy going earlier, we are
well behind schedule.
Back on the train we laugh- what a day! Still, what we’re
left with is that glow that
comes from physical
exertion in fresh air.
There’s no point denying
it – this walk was a
drudge but, in a couple
of weeks, we’ll be planning
the next one. It hasn’t
put us o.
PHOTOGRAPH: SHUTTERSTOCK
a beacon in my life. Even nicer that my