Blades of Grass

 

Having had the teaching door slammed in my face thanks to the GTC and my local authority I have tried to go on as many walks as possible. The hope is that I will beat the stress of it all while the computers work with the lightning speed of ten days to reinstate me as a teacher and I'm left biting my nails.

I was telephoned out of the blue by Harrold Country Park. They had a health walk planned for the next day. Would I like to join them? I had signed up to one of these walks last year while house sitting my friend’s cottage in the village. After filling in the long form we had set off, and I had been terribly disappointed to discover that we just walked around the lake, and that nothing of interest was pointed out to us.

I never went back.

However, it seemed there was going to be a walk the following day, and in my bid to keep depression at bay, I said that I would join them.

I expected another short boring walk around the lake, and afterwards I planned to sit and read a book before going on to meet up with my friend in Olney. That was the plan. The reality was something quite different.

Our walk leader was Richard Dowsett and we were in for a treat. He led up away from the park and beyond the village of Harrold towards the woods where last summer I had walked my friends’ dog. The sun was shining. The other walkers were welcoming and friendly and Mr Dowsett was utterly brilliant. What an utter delight it was to be in such company.

He bounded over ditches in search of badger latrines as we watched with bemused eyes; he had us stroking grass blades to feel the barbs on the side; he had us crouching down low so that we could work out whether the woods had been grazed by rabbits, muntjac or fallow deer; he pointed out usual species trees thoughtfully planted at the intersections of paths; he named bobbing seed heads, and had us scrambling over tree wrack and through hawthorn hedges.

All absolutely thrilling.

The only downside was that it had all gone on a little too long and I had to run away literally to get back to the Country Park so that I could drive on to Olney. Oh, and I also lost my necklace somewhere on the walk: a pearl and diamond on a silver chain.

However, the walk was wonderful!

Many thanks to our guide: Richard Dowsett.