I’ve always enjoyed going for a good long walk on a lovely day. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, in another Editor’s Diary!
But one of the things I’ve learned this year is that you don’t need to wait for fine weather. (In Scotland, that would mean not getting out very often!)
I’m really proud of how much fitter I’ve become since March.
I’m walking every day, and really feeling the benefit. And there have only been a handful of days when the weather has been too grim to venture out.
I am no longer a fair-weather walker, and it has made me appreciate the beauty of all sorts of weather conditions.
Take last Sunday, for example. It had been frosty overnight, and a thick cloud of wet fog shrouded my corner of Fife. Visibility was poor, and the air temperature was close to freezing.
Undeterred, I wrapped up warm and headed for the hills.
My regular Sunday haunt
I have definitely written before about the tiny loch hidden high in the hills behind my home. It’s become my regular Sunday haunt.
Photograph by Angela Gilchrist.
As I walked, trees loomed all around me, hidden in the fog till I was almost upon them.
It was incredibly still and peaceful, as if all of nature was holding its breath.
And perhaps it was, waiting for the spectacle that was about to be revealed . . .
As I climbed the last steep part of the track, I realised I was almost above the fog.
The sun was breaking through, and the effect was awesome.
Photograph by Angela Gilchrist.
It was spooky and other-worldly and magnificent. The reflections of the clouds in the water were stunning.
And if I’d stayed at home I would have missed it!
Photograph by Angela Gilchrist.
After just a few minutes, the sun broke though and the magic was gone. But what a fantastic morning I’d had, after the most unpromising start . . .
And on the walk home, I stopped to marvel at frosted cobwebs in a hedge.
Photograph by Angela Gilchrist.
Beauty is all around us, if we just take the time to look.
For more from Angela’s Editor’s Diary, click the tag below.
Angela Gilchrist I am the former Editor-in-Chief of “The People’s Friend” magazine. My passions include cats, Highland ponies, good books, vegetarian food and long walks in the Scottish countryside. My favourite place to get away from it all is the magical Isle of Skye.
