Tuesday 14 April 2009

Roadside Signs


It takes four hours to drive to Cornwall
if the motorway is clear of roadworks
and caravans are safely parked on suburban driveways.

You pass signs to Winchester and Salisbury,
Bristol, Bath and Exeter.

There is Stonehenge, cordoned by tourists,
the Rocking Horse workshop,
the place where the bacon butties are hot and good,
the old fashioned breadshop,
the cafe where we accidentally flooded the bathroom.

Hills, moors and woodland;
roundabouts, laybys and bypasses.

And just when you think
that you will be driving for ever
you see the trees.

A perfect copse on the brow of a hill.

And you know that you are nearly home.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh Alice you write so well. It sounds lovely! I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Christy said...

I've missed you...welcome back.

Ali said...

That's so much better than spotting the power station (which is how we know we're nearly home).

Gina said...

Alice, only you could make a drive to Cornwall sound so poetic. I have missed your writing while you were away.

Mary said...

What a lovely lovely journey to take us on...

Unknown said...

When we visit my parents-in-law the children all compete to be the first one to spot the old tower at Lower Wick - I'm happy to catch the first glimpse of the Malverns heading up the M5

kristina said...

Oooh--I think I remember that copse from our drive to Cornwall. I hope you had a lovely holiday. K x

walter and me said...

This makes me smile Alice...I have certain 'markers' on the route that indicate my progress and the proximity of home! And there is a copse on a hill...

Lyn said...

Going Home always makes you feel happy. It's a special place, a place you can relax and be yourself.
Love
Lyn
xx

silverpebble said...

Such lovely words Alice - and the picture of that little copse is lovely. I'm intrigued by the flooded bathroom though!

Emma
x

dottycookie said...

Aliong the lines of Ali's comment - we know we're nearly home when we spot the pet crematorium.

Melody said...

Sometimes it is nice to spot the signs of being close to home. Here in Abu Dhabi, we can spot the Grand Mosque and know we are nearly home.

monica said...

beautiful.

Lynn said...

A bacon buttie sounds a bit frightening, but the scenery is lovely. I have been to Bath and Winchester (great youth hostel in an old mill, if memory serves), but not Cornwall. On my to-do list...

Ruth said...

Thanks for the Frayn comment on my blog. Now I've visited you and ahd to read your poem about driving to Cornwall to ALL the family. You forgot to mention the Gascoigne Slurry Store on the bend after the "Milk Honey Eggs" sign and just before the steep hill with the speed trap at the top!
Isn't that copse a marvellous shape I'm so pleased that it means so much to you and your tribe as well.