Where You Walk ....

 ....... or possibly Where'er You Walk ?

The walk along beside the stream from the Shorts Lane entrance can be delightful. The ivy climbing the alders, the stream bubbling to one's left.

 

The bluebells in May and the Cow Parsley in June followed by the wild honeysuckle all accompanied by some super birdsong. And best of all the views into the excellent woodland to either side.

Two things detract: one is the puzzling management insistence on cutting the verges, secondly the width and straightness of the track itself.

So, for enjoyment of paths as paths you have to forsake this fine track and explore the narrow winding informal routes that get less attention from the interventionists, and isn't that welcome? The human dimension is the key. The more you look at these paths you realise that they have evolved and like all evolution it's been slow. In fact at a walking pace. The word pedestrian is often used in a derogatory way by those who think all has to go quickly -'get out of my way!'. But in paths it's a prime virtue.

They wander as people's feet wander, making small detours to avoid rocks and low places where puddles might develop and where erosion is beginning.  Straightness and uniformity are the signs of management and machines, contrivances that drain the lifeblood from natural phenomena.