This is the first long walk we have taken in sometime. Before the pandemic started, Blu and I used to drive to the countryside and forests, staying at country hotels over weekends. I am truly hoping those times will return very soon. But for now, one needs to stay alert and stay local.

It is so refreshing to wake up early and get to the starting point of our 8-mile walk before the sky is bright. The wind is particularly penetrating early in the morning on the moors, but with comfortable walking boots, mask, wool scarves and gloves, we are ready for anything.

We were 6 inches in mud most of the way, but it would not be England without a bit of mud and rain. As a child I only imagined the English moors from classic literature such as the Brontë sisters’ Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, attached with an air of mystery, hardship, bleakness and danger. This impression wasn’t necessarily diminished when you first set foot on the muddy ground that at times half frosted and appeared to be covered in snow, yet your mood is uplifted, unlike those descriptions I once read. Besides, the weather had been kind to us today. As the sun rises, mist arises from the moors to the blue sky above, brushing across the rolling hills.

29 Dec - Written by Tian Ze Hao