Different bridges

Had to abandon this morning’s cycling session half way through. A twinge below my right knee, at the site of a real world cycling injury last year, was a signal that I might have been pedalling too far. I thought that if I switched to walking the virtual Camino as much as possible, instead of cycling, the pain in my leg would then subside. So I decided to check out a gentle circuit of a moorland village that involved crossing three bridges.

A sign at the start of the walk seemed to answer some of yesterday’s questions. The adjacent pub was closed for normal business but on its notice board I read that it was now supplying the village with bread, serving the community as a micro bakery. Bread ordered the day before would be freshly baked for collection the next day, and as I read this, the bells in the church opposite rang out to mark the hour.

Downhill from the pub, the road eventually became a track to the river where there was a choice of crossings – a wooden footbridge or a long line of stepping stones. It would have been simpler and safer to use the bridge but the stepping stones across the gently flowing amber water were irresistible. I was feeling very tired from a sleepless night and my knee was still sore but I knew I had to cross by the stones. They were not in fact as slippery as they first appeared. I did not lose my balance. The crossing was much easier, one step at a time, than I had originally thought it might be.

There were two more bridges to cross in order to complete the circuit of the village. One was an eighteenth century flood defence, elevating the road from the moor, and the other was older and stately.

The final stretch took us up a steep footpath to the churchyard in the centre of the village. The church was shut apologetically but there was a collection of groceries outside main door waiting to be delivered to the local food-bank.

We did not see anyone else out walking. It was utterly peaceful. I may not have travelled far today on my virtual camino, but it was good to take things slowly, a step at a time.