Crossing

I have the day off work. It seems a silly thing to do in the middle of the lockdown but, as a result of these ‘unprecedented times’, we were gifted some extra holiday with the condition that - if it couldn’t be used at Christmas - it should be used by the end of January. I am really leaving it to the last minute.

Unsure how to fill the day and not wanting to be stuck inside watching television I decided I would try and take a long walk and see if I could make the Thames. The result was a ten mile walk. Not long into the journey I got to a railway crossing at Elm Road, between New Malden and Berrylands stations. As I was a couple of steps onto the crossing the buzzers sounded and the lights were flashing. It took me a moment to realise what was happening. I don’t recall ever having been on a crossing when the warnings lit up indicating an approaching train.

Clearly, I was in no danger. I made it to the other side without rushing and well before the barriers even started to close. But I don’t recall having experienced that moment of mild alarm that I needed to get out of the way of an on-coming train before. Certainly I have been stopped by crossings at other times but, from memory, never while one foot was on the line.

The train was still several minutes away. After I had taken this picture I was going to watch the train pass, but it took so long that I just carried on with my walk and only heard it pass a few moments after turning my back on the crossing.

It was lovely to get out and walk another extended tour locally but when I was about half way around the loop I’d planned I realised it was both further than it looked on the map and much more exhausting. I decided to keep walking - rather than take a bus or train - but I think I’ve discovered the limits of my daily walk and it doesn’t extend to the river