A12

Bill Robb

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Most residents of Riverview know Philip Road best as a parallel route to the Coverdale Road if needed in the centre of town. But moving along this pleasant street by car doesn't do it justice. It is a wonderful neighbourhood stroll in the heart of town, full of well-established residences and on one corner, a church.

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Philip Road in Riverview.

The first time I walked along it, I felt a little like T. S. Eliot writing in Little Gidding. He said: "We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring, Will be to arrive at where we started, And know the place for the first time."

That could be said for many of the walks in Riverview, actually. We think we know the community in which we live because we drive through en route from one point to another. But it is only when we get out and walk that we discover what we had missed, the elegant flower nestled by the basement wall, the mountain ash ripe with berries, the sound of life being lived.

There is another very practical reason for taking Philip Road as opposed to the Coverdale Road sometimes. On windy

days, it is sheltered and much warmer. And if you are seeking quiet time to think, there is much less traffic, allowing one's thoughts to roam uninterrupted.

Of course, Philip Road is not as long as the Coverdale Road either, but you can easily just trek the block down to the main road of town when you want to get a Tim's or stop by the Superstore or Sobey's.

Riverview's Philip Road, it could be said, might have been just what Tom Brown Jr. was referring to when he wrote: "The place where you lose the trail is not necessarily the place where it ends."