A Happy Tail of the Trail

A Happy Tail of the Trail (sic)

We thought we’d try the Monsal Trail
Wondering what we’d find
And we discovered a Universe
Where we left this World behind.
We parked the car and off we set
Along an enchanted trail
And what beauty and magnificence
Did this magic walk entail!
The river Wye was flowing by –
I must say at quite a speed –
It was a mystery how the ducks stayed still
And managed still to feed.
The tranquillity and silence
As our day started to unfold,
Were just a taste of the many charms
That were to touch our very souls.
The trees bent right across us
In a welcoming embrace
Adding to the serenity
Of this secret little place.
We soon spotted a log cabin
And, to our great surprise,
There were bicycles to hire
Of every kind and size.
(Personally I cheated –
I chose an electric one that day
And no sooner was I on it
Along the trail I rode away!)
The enchantment continued
As I slowed down and looked around
And thought here the faery kingdom
Must most definitely be found!
I half expected to see them
Peeping out from behind each tree –
Smiling at the humans
Passing by so happily.
We cycled through the tunnels –
An experience I must say –
(Don’t forget to remove your sunglasses
So you can easily see the way!)
We rode on to Hassop station
And you just would not believe
The culinary delights
That it keeps right up its sleeve!

After suitable refreshment
We continued on our way
And ended up at Bakewell –
Our destination for that day.
On turning round and coming back
We were presented once again
With the rivers, the viaducts
And the breath-taking old terrain.
It’s taken millions of years
To create this mighty scene
And we couldn’t help reflecting
On the Earth changes there have been.
We stopped briefly at a viaduct
To gaze down below in awe
Then mounted our bicycles
And were on our way once more.
On approaching the cycle hire
A cute little dog stood there
He was friendly yet non-chalant
And had such a charming air.
A tennis ball lay at his feet
It was quite obvious to see
He wanted us to throw it
For him to retrieve so cleverly.
He seemed to love the children
And quite clearly felt at home –
What little dog wouldn’t be?
With such a fairyland to roam?
Anyway I gently patted him
As Cheryl gave me a mug of tea.
And, as we chatted about this and that,
She revealed his name to me.
Words, she said, could not express
The pleasure this little dog gave
But I nearly fell from the bench
When she said his name was Dave!