Anna and Christina’s Letter Exchane—June 2021

Letter from Anna S to Christina

Dear Christina,

Here are the amended walk notes from Friday’s test walk – five and a half miles, two hours of walking plus half an hour for lunch in Blean church yard, sandwiches eaten sprawled on the grass in the welcome shade of a big yew tree, the ancient flint-knapped church behind us.

How many miles have we walked together, I wonder, since you recruited me on the Refugee Tales walk from Runnymead to Westminster? Three long summer walks of about sixty miles. Each route tested three times before we guide our Refugee Tales family in July, along paths that have become familiar, pointing out the views and landmarks with pride. Look: these are our rivers, our fields, our hills and our footpaths. Welcome.

The abrupt halt to group walks in 2020 taught me how much they had become a treasured part of my life. The chat as we catch up on each others’ lives and the stories of those we care about. Confidences shared, words flowing easily as our muscles warm and stretch, the familiar rhythm of walking that soothes anxieties and quiets the mind. Unless we get lost, of course!

This Spring, the joy of group walking has been sharpened. The pleasure of a simple walk with friends has been shown as what is it – a precious treat. We’ve seen the bluebells shimmering in Kentish woodlands, the froth of ladies smock flowers visited by orange tip butterflies, orchards heady with apple blossom. And the walks, always, threaded through with talk, stories, shared narratives.

This year’s walks have been special, even by Refugee Tales standards. I can’t wait to share them with the wider Refugee Tales family in July.

And I want to thank you, Christina, for recognising a walker who needed to be part of this family. Being a test walker and walk leader has brought me so much pleasure, as well as the honour of meeting and walking with our guest walkers and hearing their stories.

But enough talk for now. Time to polish my boots, pack a lunch and some flapjack, and walk.

Reply from Christina to Anna

Hello Anna,

I feel that we, as walk leaders, are very lucky. We get to enjoy many days testing out the routes and then we have the pleasure of introducing the routes to the Refugee Tales walkers. Over the years we have walked many hundreds of miles planning Refugee Tales.

This year will be very different from our usual five-day linear walk from one town to another with overnight stops. This year we are doing circular walks from Canterbury. Chris and you have devised five outstanding walks.

It has been a pleasure getting to know the beautiful countryside around Canterbury. It is full of wildflowers, meadows, orchards and hop gardens. It is truly the garden of England. Walking through such stunning countryside gives me a feeling of wellbeing.

Like you, I have also found that the lockdown has shown me how much I value walking with others. Walking and talking are so good. The best tonic for our mental and physical health.

It was very hard being deprived of being able to walk with friends during the lockdowns. I remember when the walk leaders got together in the gap between lockdowns last autumn. We all felt the excitement of being able to walk together again, even though it could only be in groups of six. I know that many of our Refugee Tales family will have found the isolation of lockdown extremely difficult.

I like the description of our Refugee Tales walks as ‘precious treats’. That’s just how I feel about them.

I am so glad that I asked you and Phil to be walk leaders. I knew very quickly that you two would be a great addition to the team. And, it was not just that you make the best flapjacks!