Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter
Hutchinson’s Bank Trail
Post Twelve
As you come to each post, stop for a moment to read each prompt and build your story as you walk. You can also play this at home on an imaginary adventure.
Listen to an audio recording of each post below.
12: The path out
Turn left onto the path, at the top of the steps. But before you go, stop to take a moment to turn around to see how far you’ve come. Think of the cycles of life that surround you. From the small shoots of new life to the damp mulch of decay under your feet, everything rises from the soil and then returns. But the stories remain. Now let’s build our story.
How does your character overcome their final test?
Using cunning
Using bravery
Using empathy
Using speed
Using skill
Invent some other way
Tell the tale of your character’s final triumph, and how they got to their goal. The hardship of the test is over, and their journey is at a happy end.
Conclusion
This is the long journey, the walk back through the woods. Are there fungi to see here, seeping from the old trunks and blooming from the fertile floor? Forming battlements or steps, or globes of soft white? Look but don’t touch, many hold sickness in their flesh. These are the voices of the forest, for they speak of the richness of this place, of that life we cannot see, beneath the earth.
Epilogue
If you’ve been to every waymarker you have now completed your story. Your walk is also an adventure. Think about your story, about how all the pieces work together, and, if you haven’t, write it down or record it, for yourself and to share. This story will always be yours, to remember alongside your walk in this beautiful place. Next time you come, you could make up another.
It’s time to head home, retracing your steps back to the land of streets and houses. But this memory will remain, a place you can visit any time you need.
Back to the Menu
If you have enjoyed this trail, why don’t you try out the Box Hill trail.
Opening soon on Saturday July 19th 2025!
