After fine weather for all the previous walks the BBC threatened rain for today - but it dawned bright and almost sunny - and the weather charts suggested that it would not start until 11 - so we were on our way before 9...
The forecast was wrong - at 9.30 it began to tip it down! Fortunately it stopped and started but the whole walk was decidely soggy.... Most of the fields now had been ploughed - and most of the footpaths went straight across the middle of them so it was walking on virgin mud... (aim for the third pylon to the left the instructions said - and were generally correct). As we approached the end and the sixth muddy field to cross we took a slight detour along a surfaced track.
The blackberries had benefitted and were prolific. We stopped in one of the gaps in the showers and picked about a kilo - so it is blackberry and apple tonight. Yellow Buntings seemed to enjoy the berries as well and there were dozens on one stretch - plenty of grey and red-legged partridges in the field margins too - well into double figures for both which is the most I had seen for a long time.
One of the farms we passed had an innovative way of exercising their horses - no-one was in sight and we wondered what would have happened if one of them had stopped...
As we returned to the rather posh pub where we had parked we looked down at our muddy attire and realised that we would not be very welcome for the planned early lunch - but remembered the organic farm down the road who we correctly surmised would not mind at all - and the all day breakfast really hit the spot....
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