IMAGE GALLERY: A Calming Walk Through Weir Hill

I was born and raised right here in North Andover so, needless to say, the whole town is a place I call home; and although I now live in Salem most months out of the year for school, I always come home, back to my roots. A big part of this place we all call home is Weir Hill. Whether you run, walk your dog or just go there to relax, everyone in North Andover has some sort of tie to Weir Hill. The first time I went up Weir Hill I was in a backpack, my big childlike eyes taking in the scenery, unaware of what it would mean to me in my growing years and afterwards. In the following years I would continue to go up, down and around Weir Hill walking with family, friends and boyfriends, running with the high schools cross country team and simply going to relax, think about life and reflect back on my 19 years.

This is a great place to get not only a fresh breath of air and relax but also a fantastic place to reunite with nature. Whenever I go to Weir Hill, I go slow enough so that I can run my hands through the leaves as I pass trees, sometimes I stop and touch a tree, simply to feel the stillness of the wood under my fingertips, and then I move on to the rest of the forest and waters. Weir Hill is one of the best places to appreciate what nature has created for us and to surround ourselves with it. In the same way it is mostly surrounded by water, when we walk through Weir Hill we are mostly surrounded by silence and nature. Weir Hill is a perfect place to go when stressed out- it naturally takes your stress level down. Anyone who has ever walked Weir Hill I am sure always feels relaxed and refreshed when they leave, I certainly do.

I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with a cake on Weir Hill and all the while I was looking back at all of the great walks and runs I have had on Weir Hill. I remembered how I could go to the top and watch the sunset and see the lights from the football stadium at the high school, run for miles on the many paths and take walks just to tell my secrets to the forest. Now that I am older I can see why my parents took me up Weir Hill that day, it is such a beautiful and peaceful place and in a new child’s life that kind of beauty and peace is important to experience. One day when I have children, I would love to take my children up Weir Hill, and I hope it is as much a haven to them as it is to me.