By Paul Topping

We are climbing up to five thousand  eight hundred feet above sea level, heading to the little village of Ohiya. The van driver manages well on the many bends as we climb. It reminds me of trips in Austria, Europe. The height and density of the trees are outstanding. Some travelers come to the hamlet to walk to Horton Plains or to catch the train for a scenic journey.

We wind our way to our accommodation  near the village of Idalgashinna, well above Haputale. Four of us settle into our two rooms with a sitting room and take in the view .We are looking up at a train on a mountain above us. It looks like something out of a movie, disappearing in and out of tunnels and partly hidden by trees.

We are staying on a two-acre plot with five bedrooms and breathtaking views. Our hosts are hands-on and take the trouble to show us around the property, the pool, gym, and multiple seating and dining locations. In fact, we get their life story, which makes it feel like a home away from home.

Two fast  tuk tuks set off towards Lipton’s Seat, we then walk section 13 of the Pekoe Trail, fifteen kilometer’s. There are 22 sections and the full trail is 300 kilometers. After some early confusion over direction, the first hour we walk in sunshine, then cloud cover, then rain and the fourth experience is  thunder and lightning. We rest in a tea pluckers shelter.The next day we set off on the train from Haputale to the next station, eleven kilometres away  ,Inalgashinna on a bendy track. As always on trains, foreigners want to hang out on bends and have photos taken by their partners. It’s a short scenic journey . We descend from the train and walk across the double track. Someone is building a cement horror of a structure for train spotters, or “anoraks” as we call them in the UK, to stand on.

For about an hour we wander through villages, meet locals and take in the stunning views. On the walk back to our accommodation, our guide, the waiter from where we are staying takes us to his family home. We meet the the mum and the family . She makes each of us help cook using a dish of oil dripping on an open fire . We pass many tea estates on our forty minute walk. We are chatting to two polite local boys of twelve years of age. They study at St Thomas’s School and return to simple, basic  estate workers’ homes at weekends. Just think where these boys will be in fifteen years time. Sadly, not likely to be in Sri Lanka.Every day starts off with coffee, a catch-up, and ideas for our day from the villa owners.

Bandarawela Hotel is our next stop. Such impressive heritage and nostalgia rather than high luxury. There are thirty-three bedrooms and a Presidential Suite. There is a photo of Jezzabel’s father, second photo on the right as you enter the lounge , this was his home town. The hotel is well maintained and we get great service. A credit to Cargill’s, the owners, for keeping the standards high and the staff motivated.The towns Anglican church dates from 1909 and its first vicar lasted twenty years. The place is locked up. There is always a caretaker somewhere.

The Whinging Pome Random Rule No. 329: “Circumnavigate the church trying all doors, someone always pops up.” In England it may be the police. The caretakers are always happy to open up their churches, especially if you turn on the charm. This one is not very ornate, little art, and no statues or plaques depicting the fifteen Stations of the Cross. These are mainly on display in Catholic churches. Most village churches have cemeteries, but here it’s four hundred metres down the lane. I take my motley bunch to the site. Some are not keen taphophiles, but we walk a lot of the cemetery and there are always stories to be found. Many nuns are buried in mass graves, but with all their names listed.

We return to our property, which offers different locations to dine within the two acres. Evenings are occupied with cards and other games. Early evening brings amazing views with a full-ish moon and slight cloud cover. The walks and fresh air bring us to an early bedtime and dreams of tomorrow’s walks up country in Sri Lanka.