2009 continues apace.....
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| Wednesday February 25th Leader, Peter Haslam. 13 miles, moderate. Start 10.00am Dunham Massey. Finish 3.00pm. Another really good turn out with 21 brave souls all kitted out to tackle the "hills and mountains" round Dunham Massey. This is a joke of course as the terrain in this part of Cheshire is just about as "flat earth" as you could find. Stormin' Norman put up a pound prize for the first person to find a hill and he knew his money was safe.The only climb we had all day was up the steps to the cafe at the end of the walk! The weather stayed fine and the abundant snowdrops seemed to revel in it. Peter even went to the trouble of finding a really quaint and quiet rubbish dump for our lunchtime break. He was quickly to redeem himself with a pub stop and a choice of no less than six locally brewed real ales. Towards the end of the walk we passed a cenotaph in a clump of trees. Peter explained that a one-time Earl of Dunham Massey had been an inveterate gambler and had once bet the entire estate on one race. The memorial marks the final resting place of the winning horse. You can't help but suspect it was the sort of "safe bet" that Norman likes to dabble in! A good day and it was heartwarming to see Bill Taylor stung for £4 car parking fees plus the toll charge over Warburton Bridge! Wednesday March 11th Leader, John Bullen. 13.2 miles on Ken's GPS or 13.8 miles on Bernard's piece of string! Moderate. Start 10.00am Clitheroe. Finish 3.40pm. Thirty one attendees and two dogs. They got it wrong again and thank goodness they did! The weather forecasters that is. They had us all turning up bedecked in waterproofs in readiness for the predicted "mid morning heavy rain which would see the rest of the day out". Lo and behold it was glorious and an excellent day out was had by all. The route, starting in Clitheroe, took in Worston, Downham, Sawley Abbey and then on to Grindleton and West Bradford on the trek back along the River Ribble to Clitheroe. It was a walk full of delights with the "forgotten" hamlet of Worston, the beautiful and inspiring Downham (where we had coffee in the grounds of St Leonards Church) and the breathtaking ruins of Sawley Abbey, our lunchtime stop, particularly memorable. John says, "I got a lot of compliments at the end of the walk but I really have to come clean. I was working from a superb little booklet written by one John Dixon. He deserves the credit." Special congratulations to "newcomers on the day" Jean Jones, Shirley Holt and Bernice Thorley who were still going strong right to the end. PS Who do you think ordered the scrumptious looking Apricot Meringue in the cafe afterwards? Answers on a postcard please...... |
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