In Search of the Waymark

It is true that a walking tour is not for the faint hearted. This I discovered, on my first walking tour day in September. In the Cotswolds. In the rain.

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But I couldn't wait to experience that famous countryside and get from place to place as clearly stated in the directions. For the directions were all very clear, very thorough. If anything, there seemed to be too many directions, page upon page to digest each day, before setting out. Above all, travelers were told always to 'Follow the waymarked path. It is clearly signposted.'

I had every reason to believe this promise. Of course it was the truth! They wouldn't print it otherwise..

It was just that I did not always see the waymarked path. For an uninitiated American, those signs were not perhaps over-obvious. 

Sometimes the signs looked like the one above. They were often in the middle of a field or paddock, surrounded by farm animals. Sometimes they could be found by looking beneath the foliage of an overgrown tree. Only I missed the foliage. 

In the afternoon, my directions told me to look for a stump in the middle of the field, and that the stump would reveal the waymark, 'clearly'. It took a while, but I finally saw the stump. It is true, it did contain the waymark. In fact, more than one waymark - there were 3, each pointing a different direction. Three yellow arrows, but without clear wording for a destination. Hmm. This could get interesting. 

It was at this point that I felt uncertain, and (it must be said) alone. Friendliness surrounded me, but none of it was the living kind. All was lovely and green, with sweet bovine groups huddling off in the distance. Standing as the only humanoid, holding the maps and paraphernalia of travel, I said a prayer (knowing, of course, that HE is always alive and listening). 

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Presently, a man and woman came ambling along the paddock, toward me. The woman was holding a map (suspiciously like mine) and appeared to be studying it vociferously. I held up my map and called out, "ME TOO!!" and we all laughed. Kindly they took me under their wing. Carefully they ascertained where it was that I (we) wanted to go, and decided to walk together for a ways.

"We have been wanting to see that village anyway, so we'll come along."

The three of us couldn't really figure out where we were, at least not until we had gone a fair distance. When at last we did figure it out and it was time to part company, I felt sad to leave them - we were friends already! They gave me their number and said, "Call us tonight when you reach your B&B! We want to make sure you are ok."

These two were not the only sweet guides I found along the way. The country is filled with them! I just love it. One can be so much more optimistic when meeting kindness face to face, far from home. It is rather like coming upon a bright yellow arrow or two, etched with just the right wording you had been hoping to see all along.

Such 'Waymarks' are clearly signposted. You can't miss them.

See you along the way!

the SconeLady

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bods/6743074415/">Bods</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bods/6928563689/">Bods</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>