It has taken me several weeks to write this post. I became so tired after the walking that all I could really manage to do was sew. Fortunately, I really enjoy sewing and worked on mapping my walks through threads.
I am delighted to announce that I managed to reach my fundraising target of £1000 and thanks to all those kind people who donated. I’ve completed the walks and I’m now working on the various themes that occurred to me during this time. Some of which I will write about in the coming weeks. My fundraising page is currently still open for donations.
https://localgiving.org/claresmanythreads
As I walked I began to think I live in one great big forest. Formerly I saw myself surrounded by undulating fields and hedges with patches of trees here and there. This local walking has shown me I could probably walk for miles and never leave trees. I’m seeing the “deer way,” perhaps. The Borders seemed to be a woodland separated by patches of grazing, criss-crossed by miles of ditches, streams and rivers.
When I look at the map it’s clear there are more fields than trees but that wasn’t my experience on some of my walking days. This is a wonderful illustration of the changing point of view.
Walking is so good for that. Each day in my walks I saw the same places but from different orientations. That’s also the advantage of always walking from my front door.
The second week of walking my plan was to walk all day. On the MONDAY I walked around Mellerstain land but right at the beginning I fell and bashed my cheek on a stone. Oh dear, I thought, this is a warning to take care. So I did go carefully but exceeded my stamina because there were so many interesting places. I came across an ancient quarry that had been used as a dumping area. It was fascinating and then I wanted to go further up the hill. It was a bit far so I sat for quite a while and enjoyed the amazing view.
On TUESDAY I could hardly move so I had to be content with an inward direction. I stayed at home and worked on sewing my Five Directions map.
WEDNESDAY was a day full of singing larks and I managed to get all the way to the Brotherstones!! It was also the day I started a little song and danced with the stones when I eventually got there.
I started slow, in the direction of the stones but they looked soooo far awaaaay!!! It was a bright sunny day with a bitterly cold wind. It was interesting going across fields instead of through woodland. You can imagine the joy when at last the stones rose up before me almost within reach and what a view!!!
There are the two Brotherstones and the Cow Stone a little lower down. I worked out my dance which followed the way of the wind and quickly wrote it down. I just about managed to stop my book being blown away.
You can see, by the shape of the grass, how the wind swirls around the stones.
THURSDAY was the day I knew I had to just follow paths for a change. I was getting pretty tired and found that making decisions was becoming difficult. Following a path cuts down on decision making. This time the direction was towards Sweethope Hill. I had never been there. It looks interesting from a distance and it was time for a visit.
When I got to Sweethope hamlet I was disturbed by one of the notices. During my walks I came across many notices and became somewhat obsessed with taking photos of them all. That is a subject for another post. This was the notice:
But it wasn’t just the sign, the verges had been cordoned off. A little further on and another sign started shouting at me (that’s what some of them do.)
It was the only day I felt uncomfortable on my walk. I was lucky to meet a very helpful couple who showed me the way up the hill, so that was nicely uplifting. When I got up there I found a strange ruin and some Highland Coos. And it was bitterly cold. I ate my lunch in the shelter of a rock face and had another brilliant view, although a grey one, for a change.
FRIDAY, the last day. Mindful of my low energy I decided to take a leisurely walk back in the Eden Valley near by and Ian https://theartistinstudiohundy.com/ decided to come with me. The weather was an interesting combination of sun, rain and hail storms!! We had a lovely time watching tree-creepers crawling up and down a couple of trees by the water. We also came across a very photogenic drain.
All in all it was an interesting experience. I see some of the landscape in a new way when I’m in the car. I know how areas fit together and how far they are from each other. And I know some of the deer-ways and the secret places where barn owls live.
Very soon I’ll be setting off again in one of those five directions.
Clare's many threads 