Being Jane

It was an overcast day. The view over the Yorkshire Moors was of a barren wilderness, but it was strangely beautiful. A family set off towards the historic hilltop of Black Hill. The ground was uneven, and boggy in places. It wasn’t long before the mother was far behind. Her pace was slower and more cautious than the rest.

She began to lose sight of the others and endeavoured to catch up. Alas, she was not fast enough and could no longer see the rest of her party. She paused near the bottom of the hill, hoping to see them descend. They did not. She waited for a while before deciding to head back the way they had come. But with no path and a terrible sense of direction, it wasn’t long before she realised she was lost.

Panic and fear set in as she called out loud the names of her family. Her only answer was the whirling wind. She hadn’t had visual sight of the others for over an hour. Luckily she was able to get a mobile phone signal, and get her husband to answer his phone. The relief was great at hearing his voice, but the fear spilled over into sobbing as she told him she had no idea where she was.

“Help was coming” she was told. The police had been called and were on their way. Calls and texts were made and received. The police told the woman she was in the only part of the moor where there were no landmarks and they had no idea where she was. She had to walk back towards the hill she had come from. She groaned. She’d spent the last two hours walking away from it!

She walked and walked. Slowly and carefully trying to avoid sinking in the muddy, wet terrain. At times she fell when the ground was uneven. At times she couldn’t tell that she was about to step in mud up to her knees. Her stomach rumbled, and she wished she eaten before they set out instead of ‘working up an appetite’ on the walk. She craved a drink of any kind. She thought about her favourite book, Jane Eyre, and imagined herself as her heroine wandering aimlessly on the bleak landscape. She wished St John Rivers would appear and rescue her!

Rescue eventually came. Five hours after the start of her walk, and four since she’d last seen her family. It wasn’t St John, but a police helicopter that pulled an exhausted women from the moors.

This is how I spent last Tuesday afternoon!

Lessons learnt: Stay together. Have a map and compass (and learn how to use it!)