A terrific walk in St Ives is called the 'Half Coffin Trail'. At least, that is my name for it. It is for people who maybe shouldn't do the Coffin Trail alone - I will admit it right now: I am one of those. It isn't that I couldn't do the whole Coffin Trail alone. There are only 5 miles of walking, through pastures and greenery too lovely for words. The trouble is getting up and over the styles. My sisters and brother would agree and not want me to leap up and over them without the strong hand of Friend-Rosie or Walking Tour Guide Tony.
So I shortened it, and find walking the half bit, which takes you to Man's Head Rock, to be perfect. And there aren't any styles. Hurray. Another reason I like going up there is that Carol's house is there. Carol is a generous, funny, and welcoming lady who owns a beautiful black grand piano and a baritone saxophone (I think that is what it is. It is perfectly huge). When I saw those two things as I passed the living room, I was shocked and said something complementary about them.
"Oh - do you play?" she asked.
I said I did, at least the piano, and she said go play it, and I did. Having been away from my own grand piano (it is mahogany), I had missed it terribly but knew of no way I could find one to practice on. Enter Carol!
Her husband, who works from home, sat back in his office chair and listened. She listened from the kitchen. It was fun to have such a nice audience of two, as I tried to think up pretty things for them to hear, just like in my olden days. I played everything from favorite hymns to the Beatles, a real mixup of tunes. Halfway through 'Yesterday' I heard the gentle rattling of a tea tray being placed next to me. A real proper setup it was, too - the teapot with a tea cozy on it, sugar cubes and cream, and all in pretty porcelain. Lovely.
When it was time to go, I strode forth to finish the Half Coffin Trail, and then - what was this? a fog began to settle down around me. That was odd. It had been sunny before Carol's house. About a mile into the walk, two young Dutch women asked me which direction they should take to reach Man's Head Rock, and St Ives. Well! I knew the answers to that question, and said "Come along! we can go together."
I knew where I was going, of course I did - but there was something strange about the pathway. In the fog the path was overgrown and shouldn't have been. I was wearing short pants, and started feeling scratchy bushes, and even what felt a lot like ... like nettles.
"These are nettles!" I said, "I don't think this is the right path."
"We don't either," the younger one said.
It was embarrassing, I tell you! The SconeLady knows the Coffin Trail and the Half Coffin Trail and could practically walk them both in her sleep. We turned around.
I apologized, but they said oh no, it was their fault because they had been in front of me and got off on a wrong path, which I had followed.
We retraced our steps in the fog until we could see other people's heads bobbing up and down. And then there was Man's Head Rock, and there was St Ives! We cheered, and the Dutch ladies went their way down the soft green grasses so much more welcoming than nettles. I followed.
You know what? I think I'll stick to participating in walks from now on, instead of leading them.
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
No comments:
Post a Comment