Walking back to happiness – in south Devon's hidden places

With her local walking trails much busier post-lockdown, the author and poet finds peace and a sense of perspective on less travelled routes

I am a cautious walker. Not on account of the terrain or incline but, since lockdown, because of those I might meet on the way, wondering if there will be room for us to pass safely.

Although lockdown restrictions have eased – and I am in the countryside, seemingly far from the crowds – I don’t yet feel like Julie Andrews waltzing through a mountain meadow in The Sound of Music. It has been edgier, nervier. I have taken note of small victories: first time outside the house, the path, first return to fields.