Luckily, the second day of the year opens in complete contrast, with a few fluffy white clouds floating across a vast pale blue sky. The accompanying unseasonably mild weather means that today there are no excuses; there’s no time to waste, fleece and walking boots on, the great outdoors beckons.
The sudden appearance of a Range Rover bouncing towards me interrupts my contemplation, the thick tyres sending up tidal waves of displaced dirty brown water as the potholes are emptied. Fortunately, the driver slows down before reaching me, something for which I am grateful. After passing, the large mud-splattered vehicle picks up speed again, sending cascades of water in all directions. My last refection upon city life, before turning my back upon it, is how unusual it would be, despite their propensity, to see a mud-splattered off-road vehicle in the world of glass and concrete.
Crossing the road running alongside the open ridge I immediately descend into peaceful woodland, the traffic noise still discernable but not nearly as intrusive as the path quickly drops below the level of the ridge. Amongst the thick carpet of burnished copper and brown beech leaves, my attention is immediately drawn to the sight of the richly aromatic earth bursting with the bright green shoots of the bluebells that will adorn this ancient woodland in the spring. I don’t remember ever seeing such a proliferation of shoots this early in the year; the bluebells were early flowering last year, maybe they will be even earlier this year.
All that remains is for me to wish everyone all the very best for 2012.