Jan 8th
A really good turn out this year, about two dozen people ranging from 3 years to a good deal older. Surprisingly the weather was poor, a light drizzle with a cold wind suggested that the walk would be less comfortable than in previous years.
At 13:00 the first of the walker arrived, blast, as enough people turned up the back-up plan of going into The Harvesters and making up a report of the walk was abandoned. The turn out was excellent with mums, dads, granddads, brothers and sisters but for the first time no dogs.
It has been a very dry winter so far and the first part of the walk where the mud sorts the trainers from the hikers was reasonably dry. The fields by the Horse World were almost dry. There were still some deep puddles of a very dark coloured fluid that smelt a bit off so everybody stayed away from them.
Past the golf course where the usual crop of stones was hidden under a short crop, Early Barley some one said and the reply came back early it's after mid-day!!! The traditional break just before Queen Charlton was kept brief as the wind was being lazy, it couldn't be bothered to go around you just cut straight through.
We had a couple of young walkers with us and it was decided that it would be too much for the walk to follow it's normal route down into the valley and it's shoe eating mud. So a quick detour and we were through the village and back onto the priest road and on our way home.
The
return journey was similar to the outward but in reverse. The very young and the
more mature walkers were starting to flag and had to be dragged the last few
hundred metres. Some happy. muddy and tired people wandered home for a hot bath
and a sit down. The Leaders retired to the Harvesters for a debrief and post
rampage drink.
The weather was not nice, the rain was cold, the wind was cold, the mud was cold, peoples noses and extremities got cold, the beer was cold too which was a help.
Thanks to Hannah for thinking of the walk's name and to Akela for setting the whole ghastly enterprise into motion. Thanks also to the brave souls that turned up and walked, they could have had a much more comfortable afternoon, their company was appreciated.
Akela (sungod) had his excuse prepared, "It wasn't a Cub activity so it doesn't count"