The long walk
The murmur of voices rises to a cacophony
The start of the walk is imminent
Boots laced, sticks at the ready, rucksacks on backs
The human train heads for the hills
The ascent begins along a rocky track
Poles in ones and twos offer support to experienced legs
Step by step, breath by breath
Ever upward they climb
The viewpoint beckons the leader to stop
Birdsong competes with the drone of traffic far below
The invisible elastic stretched to the limit
Recoils as the back marker arrives
An organic modern art display
On the golf links’ mown grass canvas
Slate soldiers stand to attention
Patrolling boundaries between field and heath
At the Druid circle café lunch is free
A hare freezes on seeing the newcomers before speeding away
A sheep baas its resentment of the intrusion
Refuelled the human train regroups for the onward trek
Nature’s palette of wildflowers announces spring
The coconut aroma of gorse confuses the mind
Yet out at sea the mechanical springtime is permanent
Windfarms harvest the invisible crop
Buzzards, skylarks and house martins fly the moorland airspace
While curlews, wagtails and oystercatchers hug the water’s edge
Wild ponies roam the moors, foals shadowing their mothers
A bleating lamb separated from its maternal security is reunited
Red shell markers turn to blue
Coastal route goes shoreline
Manicured lawn paths morph into a paving slab jigsaw
As walkers reach the finale
And then finishing line crossed
Weary satisfaction after eighteen thousand steps
Boots off – that moment of ecstasy
The long walk achieved
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