Downpours on Monday night, and up to lunchtime, on the Tuesday before my foot surgery. By mid afternoon the sun seemed to be making an effort. It would be my last opportunity for a proper walk until I recover, so probably at least three months.
My new prosthetic foot copes well with slopes, so my new favourite forest path is one that runs down steeply into a green, damp and shady ravine where we rarely encounter anyone else. We can see that mountain bikers have constructed humps along the path in past years, but they don’t seem to be used any more. The forest has a series of such ravines, with paths around the tops and into the valleys. We keep finding new paths to explore - it’s easy and even rather pleasant to feel you are lost far away from civilisation, although in reality it’s not far to the road. The ground had been bone dry everywhere over the weekend, but the overnight rain seemed to have awakened everything, and the birdsong was joyful and persistent. Along the bottom of the valley we can see the stream, that had dried up last week, is running again. We heard a shotgun as we turned into the ravine. Now we can hear a pheasant clucking its warning, and we hope the sounds are not connected.
I’m happy that I don’t breathe so hard on the uphill stretch as I used to.. I can walk at the same pace and hold a coherent conversation the whole way. I wonder how I can avoid losing fitness over the next few months.
The return leg of the walk is an easy 2kms along the brow of the hill, with the sea visible here and there in the distance. The narrow path is overgrown with wet gorse, bilberries and grass brushing our legs as we walk, so when we get home all our clothes go straight in the washer. I expect it will be autumn or even winter before I can walk that way again.
A blustery walk
Today’s walk it’s all up hill 🌞
