Gord walks to get his strength back which means he can go anywhere and take his time doing it.
I usually walk to get somewhere so to walk for the pleasure of walking is quite a change. And Gord knows all the places you can walk that aren’t the main sidewalks that shoulder the principal streets.
Today is the Willliard walk which is a meandering combination of hidden paths and out-of-the-way streets that start at Bloor Street and Williard in the north and end up at Ormskirk Court in the south.
A bit of a digression here, kirk is Scottish for church and on a visit to Scotland we went through the lovely little village of Kirkcudbright on the river Dee which empties into the Atlantic to the west. Kirkcudbright is pronounced ‘Kuh-coo-bree’ by the locals so an outsider would never be able to find it if they asked for ‘Kirk-Cud-Bright’. Good for the namers of Ormskirk Court to put the kirk after the Orms or I don’t know what you’d end up with.
Back to the walk. The walk takes you through dead end streets (or courts for the pretentious) which empty onto the Kingsway, a main drag linking Bloor Street in the north with the Queensway/Lakeshore/Gardiner Expressway in the north. It’s a main artery and I wouldn’t want to live on it as I’d be challenged to get my car in and out of the traffic.
The streets are quiet but with little morning light as the rise to Windermere Avenue to the east blocks any sun before mid morning. Don’t think I’d live here either. Would a real estate agent only show in the afternoon here?
The walk covers a little over 3 kilometres and towards its southern end there’s a small, well hidden play area for children called Ormskirk Park and/or playground.
Again, thank God the kirk is buried in the name or we’d be looking for ‘Kuh-Ooms-Par-Kay. Or something like that.