Taking a gentle night trail

I FELT a shorter route with a more gentle pace might be nice this evening, so I set off for a half-hour walk at about 7.45pm. It was dark and I stuck to pavements in residential areas – very much an urban expedition! 

There are differences walking in the dark, of course, not least because if you want to see where you’re going you need light. This is where street lamps come in handy! It would be spooky, not to mention potentially dangerous, walking around a large unlit park at night! I did actually venture down an ally, but it can feel uncomfortable.

Air of mystery in the dark.

Walking is easy to do and great fun, but you still need to take safety and comfort into account. If you ever venture out at night, then you at least have to take sensible precautions, and perhaps even go with someone else. One of the benefits of walking over jogging in the dark, is that it can give you a little more stability - and thinking time? - should you step into that pothole or stumble upon uneven ground.

Everything takes on a different, more mysterious, form once the sun has gone down: shadowy youngsters whooshing past on their bikes (with no lights!); people unloading shopping, bathed only in the yellow glow from their homes.  On one corner, some lads were returning from playing cricket, and were still in their whites. A couple of them hid in a hedge until a younger member appeared.

‘Whaaaaaaaa!’ exclaimed one, as he leaped from the shadows.

‘Aaaaaaaagh!’ shrieked the startled victim.

It may have been dark but, from the reaction of the ambushed friend, someone went home as pale as the clothes he was wearing!