A fifteen minute walk from my house and I can be sitting by the Holy Brook. The path following the brook near Coley Park farm has a soft turf bank perfect to spread a towel and sit on.
So long as the cows are elsewhere this spot is sublimely peaceful.
Across the river is a field that nobody visits. There are loads of birds, sedge warblers and whitethroats. At the moment they are feeding their fledglings, who are tumbling about in the undergrowth, with the damselflies emerging from the brook
The river runs fast and full of lilies. The yellow flowers are out now, the water is clear and occasionally a fish emerges from beneath the leaves to take something from the surface before sinking out of sight.
Milly paddles in the margins hoping I’ll chuck a tennis ball in for her to fetch 
A family of swans glides quietly past.
The only sounds of civilisation are overhead planes, distant trains and the occasional voice drifting on the breeze from someone else walking in the meadows with their dog.
I have my little rucksack with something to drink and some snacks.
The forecast says it might rain but I doubt it. And so what if it does? I could rush home and be in the dry in 15 minutes. The sky looks fine to me though. 
I’ll spend some time here, I’ll be home again later, and I’ll be completely de-stressed.
What is there to get away from?
Rural Reading 