I should've known my 11 yr old grand-daughter Elsie would out-walk me!
We packed camping kit into our rucksacks and headed out, excited to have no idea where we'd spend the night - Elsie hoping something dramatic would happen to make it a proper adventure! We trekked east steeply up and down along the North Devon coast path for nearly 3 hours, feasted and drunk all the water we could at the last 'civilisation', before continuing along the slippery muddy trail for a further 2 hours. Here we found a wonderful sheltered spot in the renamed Valley of the Warrior Poo. We pitched our tent beside a little river. Elsie sat beside it and painted a stone. We collected blackberries for breakfast. Then we each read a book, which we swapped in the morning to read the other one, slightly damp by then. Along with the tent! But we had slept well rocked by our loudly gurgling river. After the camp was packed up again, the painted stone was lovingly carried up the steep-sided Mount Purple Warrior to be placed atop its pile of stones - connecting us with all the previous travellers who had passed by... At this point the wind blew fiercely, threatening to send little beings flying over far cliffs - Ever onwards, retracing our steps home.
20 miles with a heavy pack and still one of us wasn't remotely tired - not the Granny!
And the dramatic happening? Thankfully no more than the fact that a big fat slug had eaten our breakfast.
However adventure can give a surprising new perception on life. Priorities change: Joy is seen; An old sandwich becomes precious; Water is valued; Only essentials for survival are carried (including books of course!); companionship is appreciated; Animals and plants all around are observed; A sensitivity appears for the natural systems, like the weather; And wonderfully we become in tune with our Earth - as we watch the sun, the wind and the stars become our friends.
Let us feed youngsters adventure...
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