Jackie was filling up the honesty egg box on the farmhouse wall when all 14 of our guests came past.
They were well wrapped up in walking gear and sturdy boots, with the odd pair of shorts thrown in, and waved cheerily as they headed up through the village. They were a group of friends meeting for their annual reunion and this was their fourth stay with us. Watching them disappear up the road reminded us how much we enjoy walking as part of a group ourselves.
The way a walking group changes shape
There is something very companionable about walking with a group of friends. People naturally split into twos and threes as conversations ebb and flow. Someone drops back, someone else catches up, and the smaller groups change as you go. At a gate or a junction everyone gathers again, before setting off in a slightly different formation.
There are conversations that carry on for miles and others that pause abruptly when the path gets steeper. There are convenient stops to admire the view, which may also have something to do with catching your breath. And there are the quieter moments too: the easy silence that comes with people you know well, and the heart-to-heart conversations that sometimes feel easier when you are walking alongside someone rather than sitting opposite them.
For friends who may not have seen one another for a year, there is something particularly easy about falling into step together again. We have a monthly village walk here and, when we can make it, we love joining in for many of the same reasons.
The walks that gather memories
Perhaps that is also why favourite walks become more than a route on a map. You walk them in different seasons and with different people, and gradually they collect memories.
The Sinnington loop is one we have walked again and again. One winter, after snow had transformed the woods, a roe deer appeared on the path ahead of us and began walking towards us. We must have been downwind because it kept coming closer and closer, apparently unaware that we were there. Eventually it looked up, spotted us and, in one elegant movement, sprang away into the trees.
The same route has given us completely different memories. On another occasion we reached the top of the hill and bumped into Long Barn guests, all in Christmas jumpers. It was November and they were celebrating Friendmas. Same path, very different walk.
Then there is Jackie’s woodland walk, which is a favourite for another reason entirely. She rarely sees another person, but there is almost always wildlife to stop and watch. One day that meant standing for around 20 minutes watching a barn owl hunting over the fields, quartering the ground back and forth while everything else seemed to stop for a while.
And some favourite walks are much more everyday. Ruby, the Labrador we sometimes walk, has a particular field she heads for with absolute purpose because, as far as she is concerned, it is the perfect place for throwing sticks. It is not the most dramatic route in the North York Moors, but that rather misses the point.
Sometimes it is who you walk with
We have some wonderful walks straight from the door here, and plenty more across the North York Moors, but watching those 14 friends head off up through the village was a reminder that a memorable walk is rarely just about the route.
Sometimes it is what you see along the way. Sometimes it is a roe deer in the snow, a barn owl hunting over a field, or a Labrador waiting impatiently for someone to throw another stick.
And very often, it is simply who is walking beside you.
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