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| St Mary's Church in Badsworth |
This may surprise you but on Thursday I was out walking once again. If you don't like my walking posts with associated photographs, please click away now.
Clint carried me out to the M1 motorway. Then we filtered left on to the M18 and after a few miles we were heading north on the A1M passing Doncaster. Then on to the A638 and soon I reached my destination - a small village I had never visited before called North Elmsall.
With boots on, the plodding began. Very soon I found myself in a rapeseed field. I had to thrash through the drying vegetation because the footpath marked on my map had been sadly neglected and untrodden. For a while I was like Indiana Jones, pushing through the chin high rapeseed following the course of a small stream up to a long abandoned railway track.
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| At North Elmsall Hall Farm |
My five hour circular walk took in a former coal mining village called Upton and two other more scenic villages - Thorpe Audlin and Badsworth.
Frequently on my solitary walks, I don't talk to anyone as I move steadily over the landscape but on Thursday I had four encounters.
At remote Walton Wood Airfield a mechanic in overalls came out of the hangar where he was maintaining light aircraft to challenge me even though I was on a public footpath. I could have easily turned this situation into a confrontation but I disarmed the fellow by showing him my map and explaining where I had come from and where I was going to. He returned happily to his work. I posed no threat.
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| Hangar by Walton Wood Airfield |
Then in charming Thorpe Audlin, a man in a parked blue van yelled across the street, "Can we help you?" There was another old fellow sitting beside him. I knew instinctively that he didn't really want to give me any help. He was just suspicious of a stranger walking by and his question was a way of challenging me. I went over and chatted with him and showed him my map and I asked if there was a shop in the village but he said it had shut down five or six years ago.
Later, in the equally charming village of Badsworth I walked into the village church - St Mary's and found a middle aged woman sitting alone in one of the pews looking at her laptop. It was a potentially risky situation - a lone six foot stranger and a defenceless female. Immediately, I got a whiff of trepidation from her which I quickly defused and soon we were chatting about the church and the village like old friends.
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| Tattoo shop in Upton |
I asked if there was a village shop but she said it had shut down a few years back. I said I was rather thirsty so she made me a cup of orange squash and offered me a biscuit. Then the church warden came into the building and after chatting with him for a short while, he gave me a little booklet about the history of the church. Then he left.
As I was about to depart myself, I realised I had very little money on me though I wanted to make a donation to the church for the booklet and for the refreshment and the welcome I had received. Trustingly, the woman wrote her name and address down for me and I promised to send her a cheque (American: check) which I duly posted on Thursday night. She was called Anita.
Rogerthorpe Manor House is now a country hotel with a public bar attached. I wandered in there and asked how much a pint of bitter shandy would cost me. The young barman said £3.60 as I explained I only had £3.50. "No worries mate," he smiled and poured the pint anyway. It was a small act of kindness and the shandy tasted good, sustaining me on the last leg of my trek.
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| Heading back to North Elmsall |
I'm not surprised that you're out for another walk.I'm not surprised that you learned things about the area. But please next time take more money with you!
ReplyDeleteWould you like to sponsor my walks Red? I know that most Canadians are fabulously rich but I guess you had better ask The Micro Manager for permission first.
DeleteI would have asked the church lady for bank details and made a transfer. I'm so pleased you sent money, whatever the method, people want churches in their communities for a range of reasons but don't offer financial support
ReplyDeleteThe reason the church was open that day was connected with a large grant they had received to renovate the church tower. Part of the deal was they had to agree to 45 open days in a year and Anita was there on behalf of the congregation - keeping guard I suppose.
Delete5 hour walk! That is a good hike. Loved your photos. I was surprised how few people you saw.
ReplyDeleteWell I saw some other people Diane but I didn't communicate with them.
DeleteYou know that we, your regular readers, all love your walking posts and would never click away!
ReplyDeleteThis was a particular interesting one for its encounters. You handled all potential confrontations very well. Shame about the neglected footpath; I remember years ago having a similar experience walking from rRipon to Sharow through an overgrown field and ending up with small plant parts sticking to my jeans and shoes everywhere.
Tasker Dunham recently said he didn't like my walking post which upset me greatly. I needed to use two linen handkerchiefs to mop up my tears. For footpaths to continue, people must walk them.
DeleteTasker Dunham wishes it to be known that he reads YP's posts assiduously in search of unfunny things to say about them (YP started it), and actually rather likes and is impressed by the walking posts which would inspire him to get out more himself if he wasn't able to find so many excuses not to. The particular comment referred to above simply expressed a liking for a painting of a Tajik woman.
DeleteYorkshire Pudding would like send fraternal greetings to a felllow Yorkshireman called Tasker Dunham and furthermore wishes to state that he bears no animosity towards the aforesaid gentleman.
DeleteI mentioned John Shuttleworth in my own last post. He's from Sheffield. Is it true that in real life you are actually his agent, Ken Worthington?
ReplyDeleteThere is no truth in that rumour though I do know someone who went to school with the aforementioned comedian whose real name is Graham Fellows.
DeleteA five hour walk - sounds exhausting.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should start a crowdfunding page to raise money for your refreshment funds?
Sometimes I carry a rucksack with a flask of water and an apple in it but I prefer to walk without such a burden.
DeleteNo one in the US would dare take on a five-mile hike without some sort of hydrating liquid in a fancy apparatus. Trust me. We Americans are thirsty beasts and must sip water constantly in order to maintain our world-wide superiority. Vast amounts of money are spent designing and purchasing these necessities. You, on the other hand, are a brave and wildly adventurous soul, trusting that hydration will be found and provided along the trail. I admire that!
ReplyDeleteBefore I set off I will often drink a pint of water to keep me going. Only on very hot days would I be sensible enough to actually carry water.
DeleteA few years ago I went through a rather strange period of continually losing and/or misplacing my purse, cash, cards and all. Particularly on a Sunday when the banks aren't open to do over counter business. No doubt some type of self sabotage.
ReplyDeleteEither the kindness of strangers is amazing or my charms are. On one occasion when I asked someone, yes, I am brazen, for a pound he said to me: "A pound won't get you anywhere" and handed me a fiver. On asking how I best return it to him he told me to forget it. Another time, shortly after, on a Sunda obviously, I stood in some public place scratching my head, the Angel having set off to somewhere up North my purse safe in his car and not a penny in my pocket when someone asked me whether I was ok. I didn't want to waste his time by starting a philosophical discourse on "ok", so just mentioned my plight. He gave me a tenner. His girlfriend handed over a fiver. Neither were prepared to give me their contact details to pay them back. It not only left me baffled but wondering whether I am a born con artist, appear to be down and out and/or remind people of their slightly absent minded own mother.
Anyway, as your bartender goes, better £3.50 in the till than £3.50 short of ten p walking out of the door.
I love your walks. You convey them, the atmosphere so well.
In spirit right by your side,
U
I am glad you are just "in spirit" Ursula as I wouldn't want to piggyback a passenger. People can be pleasantly surprising with their acts of kindness can't they? I like to think that I give out more kindness than I receive.
DeleteI am shocked - SHOCKED I say - that you went for another walk. Now I need to find a cool cloth for my brow and a place to lie down.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how alarming it feels to find one has forgotten one's money. There isn't much happens in a day - even a day where five hours are spent walking - that doesn't require currency of some kind.
But this was a good reminder that there are many helpers in the world.
I deliberately left my wallet in the car (Clint), thinking that £3.50 would be more than enough to perhaps buy a pint of milk and a sandwich.
DeleteI like your walks too. As for acts of kindness I find that the kindness of strangers knows no bounds (but, unfortunately, there are a lot of unpleasant people around too).
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, the unpleasant people are very much in the minority.
DeleteRick took me for a walk today but I didn't enjoy being outside in this windy weather. You really should take a bottle of water with you on your rambles.
ReplyDeleteI never walk in The Sahara Desert Sue!
DeleteI so enjoy your walks!I live in Yonkers,NY on the edge of New York City and although I love my neighborhood,it is NOT beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for calling by Terry and I am happy that you enjoy my walking posts.
DeleteWhat an interesting walk! It sounds like that path must be very little-used, seeing as no one was familiar with it and it had been engulfed by the rapeseed crop. Bravo to you for avoiding confrontation. I must confess that when people challenge my right to be somewhere (or take a picture) my deep-down primal instinct is to tell them to piss off, but I almost never actually SAY that. :)
ReplyDelete