A Final Thought…
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Walk this way… by MADELEINE VAN EGGHEN
Earlier this year I won the Life In Orpington... competition to say what I loved about where I live - I love the proximity of Orpington to outdoor spaces and countryside, and the lockdowns made me appreciate it all the more. I appreciate our outdoor spaces, countryside and nature through walking. But why walk? Is it over-rated? I think not. Hippocrates was quoted as saying walking is our best medicine. He was a Greek physician, born in 460 BC and lived to about 90. He is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine, believing that disease was a product of environmental factors, diet and living habits. You could say he was into lifestyle medicine way back then, using diet and exercise to help treat diseases. I've enjoyed walking for years, and aside from keeping my weight in check, I hadn't really taken note of the health benefits until I was going through breast cancer treatments - walking energised me and helped me recover from surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Walking also soothed my mind and body, and helped me sleep better. At 61 I'm hoping for another 30 years of walking!
Whatever your reason for walking, here's a neat local walk that you might like to try:
- Starting point: Goddington Park. 2 miles/45 minutes, or longer if you walk from home to and from the starting point. - From Goddington car park, keep the playground to your right and head across the field towards the right-hand side of Orpington FC building, admiring the trees all around as you go. - At the field end enter the footpath and take the left path going alongside the trees (not the diagonal path across the open field). Follow the path around the edges of the
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farmer's fields which are on your right. Be mindful of crops and tripping hazards such as stones or mud along the path. - Coming towards the end of the fields, go through a gap in the hedge on your left and turn right into a tree-lined tarmacked avenue, then follow this to the lane. Turn right, taking great care crossing Chelsfield Lane, and then enter into Lilly's Wood on your left where the houses end. - Climb the 5 steps up into Lilly's Wood and follow the main path, keeping the wooden rail to your right. I pick the sloes which grow on the left there in autumn to make sloe gin! - As you enter into the woods keep straight on and follow the main path all around the woods (don't veer off beyond to other fields or paths). - If walking in early spring you will see sprinklings of white anemones on the ground, followed by bluebells in May. Cow parsley is also abundant from April until June and there are toadstools to spot in the autumn. - On completion of your circuit of the woods, retrace your steps, keeping the wooden rail to your left as you walk back to the lane. Turn right, go past a few houses and cross the road back into the tree-lined tarmacked path. Follow that to the end and go into the playing field. - At the top left corner of the field, walk up the slope into the next playing field, and on to the far left corner of the next field until you can see your way back to the playground and car park again.
I hope you enjoy the walk - I have many more I can share with you!
December 2021 Life in... Orpington 43
