Romantic Escapes. Julie Caplin

      ‘Or up there?’ he turned and pointed to the much safer vantage point on the hill above the waterfall.

      Lucy lifted her face welcoming the cold bite of the fine mist against her skin and looked at the wooden fenced enclosure on the top of the hill and then back at the ledge around which the water churned and foamed like furious white horses. Down there the sound would be deafening, the air laden with water droplets and the proximity to the edge terrifying.

      ‘The ledge,’ she said feeling a punch of adrenaline, turning and grinning at Alex, the hair escaping from her hat already plastered to her face.

      ‘OK,’ said Alex grinning back, taking her hand as he picked up the pace and headed forwards with a purposeful stride. ‘Let’s do this.’

      By the time they reached the rocky plateau, they were both slightly breathless, their faces covered in a fine sheen of water, with rivulets running from chins and noses. Alex stepped out first, gingerly side-stepping puddles and sharp rocks, and then waited, holding out his hand again to guide her through. She hesitated, a mix of fear and excitement scrambling her thoughts and then saw him nodding at her, encouragement shining in those warm brown eyes. With a tremulous smile she took his hand and followed him out onto the shelf of rock.

      When they reached the centre of the ledge, surrounded on two sides by water, her hand gripping his, they stopped. The roar of the water thudded through her body sending her pulse racing in tandem with the elemental thrill of the raw power of nature. She stood absorbing the sensation of sheer power and the feeling of being a hairsbreadth away from annihilation.