After a ‘weekend off’ my training last week and despite a bit of a cold, it’s been back out in the lovely autumnal weather this week.  The friend that I will be walking with is now out in Spain and well on her way along the Camino Frances, so there has been plenty of inspiration to get me out of the door.

Yesterday, the break from the relentless rain of the last week or so gave me a chance to attempt a new route, so I set off across the fields to Motcombe just before lunch.  The temperature has definitely dropped since I was last out on a long walk, so I was grateful for my extra layer … and starting to wonder if maybe I need to take a little more clothing with me when I go!  It was good to get off the roads and pavements for a change, although I was reminded of how much more concentration it takes to walk on an unpredictable, uneven surface … thanks to the heifers who had free-range through most of the fields that I passed through!  I’ve also had a salutary reminder that what looks like very coarse grass can just as easily be low growing reeds and that means added squelch!!!

After Motcombe, it was back onto roads - initially a nice, quiet back lane, but soon a rather faster and more winding road, up, up and up into Shaftesbury.  Some judicious crossing over to walk safely round the bends and allow access to verges saw me into town for a much need refreshment stop.  I may also have had a sneaky mooch round a couple of bookshops and there may have been a good reason for the increased weight of my day pack on the way back!

The falling temperatures and one beautiful golden tree along my route reminded me that the year truly is drawing along.  The Creation season that we have been celebrating, not least in our harvest festivals, comes at a time when the fields are being transformed from their summer glory to the more sombre, earthy shades of autumn.  But the woods and trees are just gearing up for one last hurrah of colour before the monochrome of winter.  And the light, at least on the few sunny days we have, is transformed into a wash of gold.  The year may be hurrying towards the sleep of winter, but the beauty of God’s creation does not fade - it simply changes …

"The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.
Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me?
I have lived my life, and that which I have done
May He within Himself make pure! but thou,
If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.“         Tennyson

Don’t forget to let me know of your prayer requests for my pilgrimage - the list is growing, but there’s always room for more!