2011 Streak 52/365: On boundaries and sheep

2011 Streak 52/365: Walk - 6.98 miles, Time - 2hrs, Weather - dreek

Another day of mizzle. There have been so many this month I think I should be collecting different dialect words for this type of weather. Dreek is Scottish and as it is a near rhyme of bleak, I think it does the job.

Surprisingly my walk was not at all bleak - once I had forced myself out the door. I followed my randomness plan, which is to start off in a direction (in this case west) and then take any footpath. Actually there was very little deviation as I discovered a path that went right to the edge of town.

I rather like the idea of boundaries and for most of Hemel they are quite clear, as we are a town surrounded by a green belt. So this footpath took me to a line of houses, beyond which were fields: a stark divide. From this point it is only 1.5 miles to Potton End.

As I have mentioned before there is a distinct difference in wealth and atmosphere between Hemel and the surrounding villages. The fear for the people of Potton End is that regional plans for more housing will eat into the gap until they become contiguous.

At the moment I think plans are on hold but I am interested in how the conflicting planning pressures will be reconciled. It is true that the area needs more accommodation for a growing population yet there is a natural desire to maintain the character of what we already have. Potton Enders want to retain their independent identity (which is understandable), whilst I, as a Hemel resident, do not want the green spaces within the town to be overly filled. I rather like it that Hemel was purposely designed to have low density of housing.

All I can do on this walk is look at the fields end and think of these things. As I said boundaries are interesting

As I walked further I came to some sheep and thought it was about time we had some more animal pictures and so I stood by the fence and looked at them. What happened next was rather wonderful - most of them turned around and silently looked at me as if to suggest that I was intruding on their privacy. The observer was observed.

So I took my picture and retreated, signing to myself a line from the Bill Callahan song 'I'm new here' - "No matter how far wrong you've gone, you can always turn around."