Day 3 - Waterside
Welcome to the third walk of Walktober. Have you still got plenty of energy left after the first two walks? You’re going to need it today as this is the longest walk of the week and it is the best one for seeing the wonderful autumn colours and playing with falling leaves. It will also be a good one to use a bike or scooter on. If you walk the whole route it could take 1 hour but there is a big shortcut you can take if the whole walk will be too much. There’s no shop on today’s walk so maybe you could take some water and fruit or juice and biscuits to have along the way. We hope you enjoy yourself and learn a little bit about some Bible stories along the way.
The walk starts and ends at Maggie Black’s Trail which is just at the entrance to the Waterside area off the Fraserburgh road.
You can park on the hill or it might be safer to park further along Waterside Road in the layby in front of the houses. Once you’ve parked you can have a look across to the golf course and along the river to the sea. It’s a beautiful view and it sometimes make me wonder how beautiful Heaven will be if it is even better than this.
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Once you've enjoyed the view head along Waterside Road and keep going across Waterside Place.
The speed bumps remind us that life isn’t always smooth and how having faith in God can help us through the ups and downs of life.
It’s your choice if you want to believe in God and you’ve now got another (less important) choice to make: At the traffic island you can cross the road and head through the trees for the long walk or turn left through the trees to take the shortcut (it’ll save about 15 minutes. If you go this way keep going on the path all the way to the main bypass road)
Whichever way you take you can enjoy walking through the autumn leaves and listening to the noise they make. We'll catch up with the 'shortcutters' soon but for everyone taking the long route, head through the short path and at the barriers turn left.
Take care to stay on the pavement along this stretch as the cars will be travelling fast. Keep going along the path and don’t panic when you see the sign pointing to Fraserburgh – we are not going that far 😊
At the junction we’ll be turning left along the bypass. Before turning, take a look across to the Waterside Hotel (I remember it being called the Waterside Inn). Think of a story from the Bible that either had an inn in it or a story that happened beside water.
There are lot's of stories in the Bible that happened beside water; Moses being put in a basket in the river, Moses and the people crossing the Red Sea, and Jesus met some of his disciples beside water.
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There are some stories about inns as well including the Good Samaritan and of course when Jesus was born in Bethlehem there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn.
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Now the path runs alongside the Peterhead bypass. The path here is flat and smooth so it’s a good place to go faster on your bike but look out for anyone else who may be walking along the route. On your way along have a look across to the field which may still have hay bales in it.
It’s important that farmers gather in the harvest before the autumn so that it doesn’t get destroyed. There’s a verse in the Bible that reminds us that it’s important to be saved before it’s too late.
If you aren’t saved yet don’t leave it until it is too late. Even on your walk today you could make the choice to ask Jesus into your heart as your saviour forever.
Along this path the ‘shortcutters’ will join up again and everyone can continue on into the tree covered path.
There should be lots of leaves to stomp on or throw in the air. Pay attention as you go along as there might be a small hidden playpark where you can stop for a short break if you need one
After your break, or if you've managed to keep going, as you head along through the trees you can maybe think about the trees in the Garden of Eden and how Adam and Eve broke God’s rule there.
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As you continue along you'll start to climb a slope and as you get towards the top of the small climb look out for a path on your left.
Take this path on your left and continue up towards the barriers.
At the barriers carefully cross the road and go straight ahead. You might feel like the path is always going up hill but eventually you’ll get to the top. Once there keep to the right hand pavement and enjoy going downhill for a while 😊
As you start to walk down the hill you’ll notice a power box just before the houses. Don’t go near it but remember in the Bible we find out that God has power to do anything and how Jesus had the power to do amazing miracles. He even has the power to forgive our sins!
At the bottom of the hill there is a split in the path and you’ll be taking the fork to the right up a small slope going back into the autumn trees again.
It's amazing to be so close to houses yet to feel like you are out in countryside as you walk along this section of the route. Don’t panic when you see a huge hill in front of you as we won’t be going that far.
Before you get to the rocks take the path to the left.
(Note for bikers: before you turn left, if you want to go off road for a wee while there is a track to the right here which heads towards ASDA. It can get wet sometimes but is a lot of fun in the dry. If you go on it you will need to come back again to join up with the route. If the off the road path is too wet you could cycle up the hill and back down just to add to the fun!)
Ok, so now everyone should be on the path to the left (hopefully you didn't get too muddy if you did go on the offroad track).
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We’re on to the last section of today's walk. Sometimes along this path you’ll see some local wildlife, birds, dogs, even deer sometimes so keep a look out as you go along the path.
Keep going straight ahead past some house on the left and further along you’ll come to a grass path to your left.
You can either follow the grass path to find a ‘hidden’ play park or go up to the junction on the path and turn left which will also get you to the same park. These pictures let you see the two possible routes; (If you’re getting too tired you can miss out the park and just turn right at the junction.)
Just past the football pitch you'll see the challenging activity trail and hidden away just past there, tucked away on the right, is a small secret play area. After walking this far you deserve a break!
After having fun at the park head back along the path which will lead you peacefully and downhill to the end of the route.
As you go along the final part of the walk listen to the stream as you walk past and maybe look up Psalm 23 on your phone. It’s a well known part of the Bible and starts with the words ‘The Lord is my shepherd’. Part of that Psalm says that God ‘leadeth me beside the still waters’.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the beautiful scenery on today’s walk and just think what Heaven will be like when everyone who has believed in Jesus will live “in the house of the Lord forever”
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Well done if you have managed to complete today’s walk. Tomorrow’s is much easier and there will be a couple of exciting surprises to reward you for your hard work today 😊
If you have any questions about the walks or the message of the Bible you can get in touch with us here
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