Just outside the top end of the city
lays a long, woodland pathway.
It used to be a railway line,
once upon a time
all the metal tracks,
wooden sleepers and stones
are long gone now
yet they left the old workmen’s
house brick huts
-dotted here and there-
still standing, amongst the foliage.
Homeless folk who sleep in clearings
amongst the trees in the summer
use them to hide from the rain.
There is even a 20ft apple tree
growing by the side of one of them
(Free food and vitamin C)
People walk their dogs along this path
and halfway along it joins the river
and continues to then run along side it.
The branches have joined overhead
and in some sections it is just like
walking through a tunnel of trees.
There are rabbits, foxes, owls, buzzards
and all manner of other wildlife to be seen.
It is beautifully peaceful, tranquil
and a tonic for the soul, I believe.
A five minute walk the other way
is the anxious madness of crowded people,
herds of headaches and hangovers,
the traffic and mayhem of fast clocks,
rush, panic and late appointments.
Whilst here I have nothing but time
to reflect gentle and happily ponder
as I watch and observe a Grey Heron
below fishing patiently the waters edge.
More at http://paultristram.blogspot.co.uk/.
