by Katie Isham.
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
Blow the cobwebs away
Start the new year afresh
Fill the lungs with January air
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
…Mum Whatsapped the family group, alongside a boot emoji,
A circuit of The Common
A loop of Lordswood
A meander through Mansbridge
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
…Dad ordered us all, alongside his new Regatta jacket, ready for its inaugural outing,
Up and down the River Itchen
Back and forth along Weston Shore
In and out of the city parks
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
…Keen kids raring to go at the door, alongside their new wheels to accompany the adventure,
Skirting the shingle of Calshot Spit
Splashing in puddles in the New Forest
Snooping into the grand gardens of Warsash
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
…The dog beamed telepathically into my mind, alongside the lead, nudged closer to my feet,
Wandering through the trees of Stoke Park
Weaving a path betwixt the walls and the pier of Town Quay
Wondering where to stop for refreshments, in every location
Who’s up for a New Year’s Day walk?
Is the question posed in homes and on group chats throughout the land,
Where answering is easy, but leads to a bigger quandary:
with so many locations ripe for a mild adventure around our city of Southampton, where will your feet take you this New Year’s Day?
…The answer cannot be wrong: anywhere you go will be the right walk with the right sights with the right people this New Year’s Day.
Katie Isham writes a fortnightly Suburban Safari column, featuring ‘mild adventure’ walks in and around Southampton. Check out her walks by clicking here.
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