We’re in Covid limboland
In his latest reflections on place and pathway, Will Gore returns to the scene of his last pre-lockdown walk and inhales the sweet smell of wildflowers and cannabis
Do you remember what you did the weekend before the country was put into lockdown?
Home-working had already begun for many people, and schools closed on the Friday. We had been told a few days before to avoid unnecessary social contact and it was widely assumed that on Monday, March 23, the PM would order everyone except key workers to stay at home.
Supermarkets had already been cleared of tinned tomatoes and toilet paper. Perhaps you were one of those who had been unable to stock up and were desperately driving around, trying to find some bog roll?
After lunch on the Sunday we had driven to a garden centre to buy some pots and compost, having picked up some seeds in town the previous day. It was obvious it would be the last chance before non-essential shops closed – and before we were no longer able to use the car.
It was a gloriously sunny day and we decided to stop for a walk on the way home, choosing what is usually a less popular spot. But of course, anyone who could get out had made the same decision, knowing it soon wouldn’t be possible to go anywhere that couldn’t be reached on foot from the front door.
Even in the wide, open space we had chosen, it felt perilous to be out and about, with dozens of other walkers breathing the same fresh but dangerous air. At Incombe Hole, an unusually deep valley cutting into the side of the Chiltern ridge above Ivinghoe, the path narrowed and we felt too uneasy to go on. In any event, our son was whinging.
My daughter wanted to skirt around the valley’s side and walk down a steep path to its floor. Off she went, doggedly, as we watched from afar. She slipped and hurt her ankle on the way, but got up and carried on. Good for you, I thought.
We met her in the valley itself, the rest of us having entered it via an easier route. But immediately we felt enclosed, too close to other ramblers: we shouldn’t have come. We hurried back to the car, and went home, anxious about everything.
One evening last week I returned to the scene of that worrisome pre-lockdown outing. I was on my own this time, and again assumed – given the time of day – that the place would be empty. For a time, it seemed I was right, as I cut down a deserted track into the wood, then bore right onto a narrower footpath, meeting nobody.
Beyond the trees, meadows were filled with wild flowers and butterflies, while ahead of me the evening sun’s rays beat down over the Vale of Aylesbury. Turning to the north I came again to Incombe Hole – the steep path down which my daughter had gingerly walked four months ago still a stark chalky white against the green of the scrubby grass.
Here though, I was not alone: a few other walkers and a jogger or two were meandering about. I wondered briefly whether I should have brought a face mask. But none of them came close.
A little further on, a woman came in the other direction, helping a small child on a balance bike. Hardly the ideal terrain I thought, but perhaps a relief for them to be out of the house. I tried to keep to the very edge of the path as the toddler wobbled by.
By now I was on the Ridgeway trail, nearing Ivinghoe Beacon. A large family group was heading down from the hill, a little boy being carried by a laughing father, who was suggesting to his charge that it might be quicker to roll him down. At the broad summit, a couple sat with their baby in a large pram: I hoped the view was worth the struggle they must have had getting up.
The area around Beacon Hill was dotted with walkers, all alone or in pairs, giving each other smiles and wide berths. Only one larger group was there, any attempt at social distancing unapparent. As I passed, the sweet smell of cannabis smoke explained their relaxed approach. I wondered if any of them were carrying the virus.
The panic of March 22 may have dissipated somewhat; restrictions have eased. But we are living in Covid limboland now – and we may be here for some time.