Happy Hike

This week I was lucky enough to have a day entirely to myself with no plans. As usual there were plenty of things I ought to be doing but I ignored all of those and decided that instead of a soothing stroll, I would go for a happy hike. I’m not sure there is an official definition of either but in my head the main difference is that a happy hike takes longer and includes the countryside.

I had a spot in mind that I knew I would like to get too but instead of thinking of my route as going from A to B, I actually thought of it as going from A to G. No that’s not just because I’m using G for Goal! While I had walked the full route a few times before I was aware that it had been a while since I had covered this distance, possibly even a year, and therefore I might not make it that far. While having a destination in mind is useful when going on a leisure walk, it is also important to be flexible & to give yourself options. The joy of going for a happy hike is that it’s an escape from pressures and expectations so why put yourself any unnecessary stress by saying you have to reach a certain spot on the map?

As it happens on this occasion I did make it all the way from A to G and I was particularly pleased about this as there were three points along the way when I was tempted to turn tail and head for home. The first of which was just after I’d left the house as it was a far more blustery day than I’d realised & if it was this breezy down here what would it be like at the top of the hill?! But no I was not going to end my walk that quickly so I decided to press on and just accept it may turn out to be a shorter walk than I’d originally planned.

The second time I started to doubt myself was in between points B and C, when I found myself puffing up the path. Admittedly it was a fairly steep section but it shouldn’t be this tough. It was at this point it dawned on me that I had barely had any breakfast and so I pushed on to point C, had a big glug of water and a quick snack and lo and behold I felt much better.

The final time I started to question whether this was really a fun way to spend a day off, or if I would have been better off staying at home curled up with a good book, was on the approach to point F. The previous stop is one of my favourite parts of the walk, it’s a beautiful bench with a lovely outlook. I’d stopped off for another drink and not long after sitting down, the predicted shower arrived. I got my pac-a-mac out of my bag but the shower turned to rain. This was fine as I was being sheltered by a big, beautiful tree so I was happy to stay seated a bit longer, enjoying the pitter-patter of water on the leaves and the gentle birdsong. As the rain eased off I set off again and now as I climbed the hill, the winds returned to batter the remaining drizzle directly into my face. This was when I started to question my life choices.

But I pressed on and I was delighted to have made it, as I was rewarded with a stunning view and the warmth of the sun on my skin. As I drank in the spectacular scenery I couldn’t help feeling both lucky and proud. Lucky to live within reach of such vistas and also proud of myself for getting here entirely under my own steam. While I am glad that I made it to the viewing platform, I also know that if I had turned back earlier I wouldn’t have had any regrets about it. I would still have enjoyed a lovely walk in the countryside, surrounded by nature with just my thoughts for company. If we want to experience the soothing qualities of going for a walk then it is important to be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to be flexible and adapt if you need a shorter walk but also allow yourself to feel proud when you do have a good day.

In fact I felt so buoyed by my extended walk that instead of simply retracing my steps I decided to follow the looped route even though I knew it included the steepest path I had so far faced today. My feeling was that I was in no rush so it wouldn’t matter if I had to keep pausing to catch my breath, or if I ended up turning back to take the original route.

As it happened I managed the steep slope and soon find myself on the homeward trail. Once I was back on familiar ground I decided to slightly alter my route a second time rather than repeating my morning’s journey. This started out well as it took me past a picturesque village church, which had a lavender bush in full bloom so I stepped off the path to enjoy a large sniff. I then continued along my merry way and that’s when I hit a snag.

The poetic irony of having to turn around on the one path I was least expecting too is not the only reason I have included this incident in today’s post. As I was approaching the gate I noticed a man ahead of me reach it, pause, and then turn around. The reason for the about face was because a herd of cows were in front of the gate we needed to use to reach the next field. I stopped where I was and as the man drew level with me, I asked him if the cows were blocking off the gate and he replied: “Yes & you can’t trust cows these days” I politely agreed and we both set off on alternative routes. It was only as I started walking again that I really thought about what he had said:

“You can’t trust cows these days“

If I had been on my own I still wouldn’t have attempted to go through the gate, however this was not a question of trust. In my opinion the cows have more right to be there then I do. I’m trampling through their home so if they decide they are using the bit of field I’m walking across then I’m going to respect that. The part of that sentence that really struck me though was the addition of ‘these days’. This seems to imply that there was a time when he considered cows trustworthy, but now this raises more questions? When was this and what did they do to break his trust?

Randomly musing about the trustworthiness of cows?

That’s how I stroll.