A Country Trail


The Ballarat – Skipton Rail Trail, sunburnt meadows, and tree-shadowed tunnels


Horse drawn cart, and Nimons trestle bridge


The Devils Kitchen is an impressive geological reserve in Piggoreet, 15 minutes from, Smythesdale. The Woady Yaloak River winds its way through a thickly vegetated valley, surrounded by cliffs of spectacular basalt columns. 




A Country Trail


How scenarios change over time-
The old unused rural railway line.

From Ballarat to Skipton and back
is now an unspoiled community track.

Gently meandering over sunburnt meadows,
Then dipping through tree-shadowed tunnels aglow.

Along the trails, valleys, and rocky ridges,
Travelers will see horse drawn carts and trestle bridges.

And on the way to Snake Valley and Linton,
Be wary of the gold miners “Devil’s Kitchen.”




A song to wander with along the trail…




Ivor Steven (c) December 2025

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ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

32 thoughts on “A Country Trail”

  11. Sounds idyllic. We came across a rail trail up at Murwillumbah that sounds similar. Mostly people ride their bikes next to the old train line. Very pretty countryside.

    Happy New 🥳

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  12. Oh, Ivor, such a beautiful way to spend a day! 🙂 AND a lovely trio of photos, poem and music! 🙂 Thank you for taking us along! 🙂
    I love how the trees are holding hands over the road and creating that shady trail for any wondering wanderers! 🙂
    Hi, Frankie! How are you doing?
    (((HUGS))) ❤️❤️❤️

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    1. We’re back home today, but I’ve another poem from ‘Going Up the Country’ later tonight. I’m so pleased you are enjoying my stories while we have been away … and Frankie has loved every minute of his holiday … thank you, Carolyn 🌞💛😎😊💛🐶💕

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