The path through Happy Valley is wide and level, following the burn amid silver birch, pine trees and tall foxgloves. Sunlight penetrates through the foliage, mottling the ground. The path ascends perhaps forty feet above the stream, under sycamores, and then moves away from the burn. The woods fall aside, and a stile leads into a wide field dotted with sheep, across which flit butterflies.

The valley is extremely pleasant, sufficiently enclosed to be secluded but sufficiently open not to feel claustrophobic. It curves northwards under Broom Crook Plantation, and a cooling breeze gets up. A rabbit basks in the sunshine, and hops unhurriedly and lazily away as you approach.

Now the valley turns west, beneath Grimping Haugh, a long hillside covered in conifers. Winding narrowly between prickly gorse bushes, the path ascends the spur of a hill much frequented by cattle, that have left their distinctive deposits. Then back down to the flat, which offers a glimpse of the upper parts of the valley ahead. Two oystercatchers “pip-pip” overhead.