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By Cameron Small
Hometown Weekly Intern
Most people are familiar with famous line “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go.” What’s less well known is the poem it comes from. Interestingly, the original poem has the speaker going to grandfather’s house.
Foregoing the semantics surrounding the poem, anyone can walk around the river and through the woods of the trails of the Dover Conservation Land thanks to the Open Space Committee (OSC). The sixteen-mile Charles River Link Trail winds through the area, linking Dover, Medfield, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, and Needham.
In an attempt to widen the use of the trails and letting people know they are there, the OSC conducts Second Saturday Strolls, guided walks through the trails of the conservation land. Three Strolls remain this year, on September 17, October 8, and November 12. There is also a Tri-Town Trail Hike on November 5, hosted by The Trustees of Reservations and Hale Reservation.
Despite the hot, humid, and overcast weather, a small group (read: two Holliston residents outside of the guide and the Hometown Weekly intern) of excited (read: not half-asleep teenagers) met at the Dover-Sherborn Middle School to walk to Rocky Narrows in Medfield and back. The group passed through fields and into the reservation land. Through one of the fields, jokingly dubbed “Soccer Goal Graveyard” because of the seven soccer nets around the edge, a rear view of Medfield State Hospital could be seen around the tree line.
During the walk, most of the conversation was small talk. Pets, for example, after a brief encounter with people walking the trail in the opposite direction with two very friendly dogs. Tara Nelson, the OSC guide, and Ira Leavitt, a Holliston resident, spoke about horse back riding. One of Nelson’s stories ended with “When you’re riding bare-back backwards, there’s not a whole lot to hold on to.” Restaurant recommendations in Boston went back and forth faster than a ball in a game of ping-pong.
While the prospect of getting out of bed on a Saturday morning to go for a walk isn’t the most appealing to all, the Second Saturday Strolls will allow anyone looking to get out and enjoy nature the chance to do so. Walk around the river, through the woods, to partake of the beautiful nature Massachusetts has to offer.
You can find more information about the remaining walks at http://www.doverma.org/PDFs/2016OSCWalkSchedule.pdf
