Returning from North Devon
I’m back. I was taken to North Devon which is a world away from London and a perfect vantage point for another perspective on ones life. We spent the first 3 days following a book of walks, each one more arduous and spectacular than the last. We found ourselves scaling perpendicular cliffs, running up 91 steps, disappearing into deep and ancient oak woods, swimming in the crashing Bristol Channel and celebrating all over the place with another glass of Sauvignon Blanc and slap up meal.
It was utterly exhausting, exhilarating and really quite emotional. One day we walked solidly for 7 hours up and down trails, another we were 820 feet above the ocean looking down and in line with the eagles, and another we descended on the quaint, romantic village of Clovelly, where Charles Kingsley was born, after a long, five mile appraoch. I have to confess there were times when I was edgy, moody and a bit like the low lying clouds. Other times I felt I was really celebrating my birthday and defying age with fitness and determination. And sometimes I was in a quagmire of sadness over things that have happened in the past that I can never make right now.
So the birthday is over for another year and more than anything it’s made me think, take stock and try to have a long hard look at myself and my life. On our last day at Heddon’s Mouth, we met a man who changed his life in a flash, walked away from big earnings, flash car and luxurious home to live in remote North Devon and appreciate the time we are given, instead of fighting it. Now that made me think! Watch this space!
July 27th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
you’re so much more grown-up than I am: I just head for birthdays with the glad confidence of someone who believes that this year they can eat eight pieces of birthday cake without throwing up. Or in other words, I never learn.
Reassessment is good however, if it makes us take the big risks and the big chances: they’re never misplaced. V. glad you’re back from your b’day.