Curiosity

I've passed this way hundreds of times and often wondered if the road down the way - behind the camera - was a dead-end. Surely there must be a way for pedestrians at least to cut through to the street below? So today, finally, I decided to satisfy my curiosity.

There actually is a gate, which is ajar, but held fast with a bicycle chain. Only a small child could squeeze through. It's odd because the road on the other side is another (public) cul-de-sac. When I returned to the top of the hill, a man with a pushchair attracted my attention and asked, pointing the way I had just come: 'Is there a way through?'

I wonder if we had just enacted a ritual that takes place there several times a day.