Eventide

Seven thirty and my lovely Little Lady asks me if I'd like to head out for a walk with her. She is old enough to go out by herself if she wants to, but how can I resist when she asks for company? I immediately close down my laptop (I'm working on a magazine article for Yarndale), pull on my boots and off we go into the chill of the early evening. Not a cloud in the sky, and that glorious dusky pink end-of-day glow over the hills.

We walk up, up, up - a steep lane with views over the town, then over an old wooden stile into a steeply sloping field. Up, up, chatting and puffing, stopping every so often to catch breath. We reach the dry stone wall at the very top just as the sun is almost down - it is unexpectedly bright and breathtaking and makes us both squeal with pleasure. We sit a while a-top the wall and watch the sun disappear over the horizon. We gaze out over our town spread out in the valley below - we can see our neighbourhood, our street, our house.  We can see the schools, the church, the shops. We know where the canal runs even though we can't see it, and we know where our friends live and where we walk every day as we go about our routines. We both say how much we love living here, agree on how comforting it is to be surrounded by green hills and countryside, how joyful it is to climb up high and see the sun set, take in the view.

We begin to feel chilled and so we climb down from the wall and walk on over the huge field. Down, down, down until we reach the farm track at the bottom. It's an easy stroll now, downhill all the way. The sky is quickly darkening, the moon bright and a blackbird singing loudly from his perch in the bare treetops. We are walking along residential streets now, houses lit up from inside, all cosy and settled for the evening.

Eight thirty, and we arrive back at number 24, rosy cheeks and a slight ache in the back of the legs from all that steep climbing. Little Lady is glowing, she looks and sounds so happy and content. She tells me she loved our walk, and could we do it again tomorrow if the weather stays nice. Yes, yes we can. I am already looking forward to it.

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Comments

[Pam]

Oh Lucy! Savour these times because they will be gone before you know it. How lovely that your daughter asked YOU not the other way round. A couple of weeks ago my youngest daughter finally moved into her new home. Though it’s been in the pipeline for over a year being built, and we are thrilled for her, I am still a bit sad that she’s gone. Like you I am a summer person and absolutely love the lighter evenings. I hope we have a summer like last year where it was warm enough to sit outside well into the evening as the light faded.

[Franceslesley]

A very uplifting tale. Thanks Lucy xx

[Heather]

Loved this xx

[Vera]

how lovely x

[Vera Menary]

How lovely x

[tammy]

Thank you for taking us on your dreamy walks. :)

[Anorina Morris]

That's very sweet. It's lovely when our kids enjoy spending quality time with us. I hope the weather stays nice for you x

[Elise]

What a wonderful walk with your daughter!! Thank you again for letting us peak into your picturesque patch of earth!

[Teresa Kasner]

You're a good mom to drop everything to go with your daughter.. what a lucky girl to have you and you're lucky to have a girl who wants to hike with her mom. Happy times for you.. great memories. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Wendy]

So lovely Lucy and such a beautiful walk to be able to take with your girl. I know we loved our visit to your area a few years ago ♥

[Linda Redman]

Just adorable! Going to visit 3 of my grandchildren for Easter and look forward to lovely hiking behind their house in the hills of Marin, Calif.

[Susan R]

Love this

[Linda Harvey]

So wonderful you are teaching her your way of really seeing and appreciating your surroundings. Most people just seem so in their heads or online these days and totally disconnected from nature. Of course many don't live in such a nice place but still there is always something to appreciate if we take the time and look carefully. Keep sharing with u please.

[Susan]

Glorious walks with family my favourite,you lucky girls❤️😎

[Sally Spragg]

How lovely!

[Julie Lewis]

What better way to spend an hour......

[Zoe]

This is so lovely and sweet and brought a little tear to my eye. Thanks for sharing.

[Claire]

What a truly beautiful tale and wonderful evening. Thankyou for sharing such simple, special, life-affirming moments.

[Laurence]

Oh, such a beautiful post. I feel all tears. Thank you for sharing.

[Lenore]

It is special when the opportunity presents to spend time with your daughter. I cherish time with mine.

I love seeing your photos. Nola and I stayed in a lovely B&B at the top of the street in your first photo. We also walked up into the paddock to take a lot of photos of Skipton. You do live in a lovely area of England.

[Margaret]

How very sweet! Lucky Mom!