A Mood Boosting Autumnal Walk

Having caught Covid a few weeks back, I hadn’t been able to get out and about as much as I usually would. Being cooped up at home and not getting a daily walk made my fibromyalgia pain levels worse and I’d also noticed my mood was lower.

Anyway, last weekend, I had the opportunity to go for a short walk to the Wellington Monument in Somerset. You may be familiar with this landmark if you travel along the M5 to and from the South West of England, as it stands high on the edge of the Blackdown Hills and can be seen for miles around.

The triangular obelisk is 53 metres high, and construction began in 1817 to commemorate the Duke of Wellington’s triumph at the Battle of Waterloo.

The monument is a short and easy walk from the National Trust car park, via a beautiful, wooded path lined with beech trees. Despite the fact that November has been very mild so far and many of the leaves on the trees in my area are still green, here, the autumnal colours were amazing. The ground was littered with leaves in shades of amber, bronze and rust (and I’ve never grown tired of crunching through autumnal leaves on my walks), whilst the sun shone through the branches illuminating the lemony yellow leaves still clinging to the branches.

Sadly, tours of the obelisk don’t run over the winter. I would have liked to have taken a look but realistically, not sure I’d have been able to cope with the stairs at the moment. Maybe next time…

Even though it wasn’t a lengthy walk, I felt so grateful to be able to get out and about enjoying these gorgeous colours, it boosted my mood no end and reminded me how important time outdoors is for overall well-being.