February's big walk

We met in a nearby market town on a river. The 'Bit Tired' family turned up late - naturally -and the walk began. 22 people and five dogs set off through muddy, water-logged fields and woods. The sky was clear and bright and the day so much warmer than up on the hill.


After surviving two kissing gates and sodden boots from slogging through mahoosive sludge puddles we walked by a river. One dad threw a stick into the water for his spaniel. My assistant thought it looked like fun. Working her way along the bank she found a spot to enter the river. Unfortunately she hadn't factored in her very short legs, the depth of the water, the muddiness of the bank and her inherent hatred of swimming. By the time it looked like she was going under for the third time I was leaning into water with my trusty stick wedged into the mud, one foot underwater digging into the side of the bank attempting to get her back to shore. CK was counterbalancing the other dad who was poised over the water also trying to reach my assistant. I lifted her clear of the evil liquid and she parlayed the crazy adrenaline rush into a dash around the field, rubbing her head and shoulders into every foul smelling lump she could find. The walk continued.


The fields were crazily muddy, the river running full and fast. We threaded through footbridges with millponds on one side and furious water on the other. We edged along busy B roads. Instead of ice this time the teenage boys played at mud-diving. Everyone stopped for tea (of course they did, they are English!) above a creek. A creek that had steep muddy banks, a gentle trickle of water coming down from the stones at one end and best of all a rope swing from one bank to the other.
The dogs went crackers, the teenage boys went crackers and d/Boy and Mrs 'Bit Tired's' whiny daughter went sloop, splosh, squish and ended up with one leg each covered in mud and a wellie filled with creek water. Oh how we laughed!

Not quite January's walk but it was pretty fabulous day. Plans are afoot for the March one already.

OK, first you have to pretend it is still Tuesday.

And then you have to imagine there is sunshine. And no rain. And that the wind, when it whips through, isn't icy.

It being February halfterm meant we had to meet up with Family Moog in crappy weather and force our children on a route march of some senic venue. So after some texting we settled on Hengistbury Head on Tuesday. Lunch timeish. Mrs Moog was going to make pancakes.

'Triffic! I'll get Pr. C-W to make her chicken and sweetcorn soup.' I said.

With dread we followed BBC 5 Day weather forecast over the weekend. However stiff upper lip, best foot forward and all that and with a bazgillion changes of clothes in the boot we set off in CK's car for an adventure. CK's car was a necessity as once three pair of wellies are stashed in Maria's boot there is room for nothing else, let alone coats, towels and a basket of food such as may sustain weary travellers.

Despite a slight detour (bloody Kate, CK's satnav!) we got to Hengistbury to discover there are TWO car parks! Which one? Never mind I shall phone Missus Moog and clarify. Oh wait! What is this? My phone has NO power?? Triffic!

However Missus Moog did NOT know about the second car park and as I went back to check it out I passed the Moogsmobile, executing a quick u-turn I ended up parking CK's boring wagon next to the Moogsmobile and right in front of the grass bank where destructoBoy, Princess Curly-Wurly and my assistant were standing shivering in the rain, my beacon of blog-readiness to the world.

Fortunately by the time we actually got to the beach the weather was slightly more friendly with just low cloud, light drizzzle and delicate breeze and so the ball was flung for my assistant who ran her little terrier heart out. (Sometimes she even picked the ball up!) And the smalls ran, clambered, pitched and screeched. Much fun was had by all. Back to the cars for lunch and pancakes - Go Missus Moog, flipper extraordinaire!

Being such a generous soul Missus Moog was kind enough to share with these two scary hoodies lurking in the carpark.

It was only as said pannekoek were being scoffed that one particularly not-intelligent blogger may have said 'Hey! Today is Shrove Tuesday!!

Time well spent.

We went to a New Year's Eve party last night. Music, food and quizzes. Sparkly wine, laughter and wii games. Bedtime ended up being 0130 Jan 1. There was also a plan hatched. A plan that involved an 11.30 start, walking boots and a warm coat.

Not having actually imbibed anything other than a celebratory glass the night before I was up and starting my 2010 by 8a.m. Then I remembered I had gone to bed at a ridiculous hour so I went back and had another couple of hours sleep. Waking up at 10:30 saw me racing to get organised to meet the 11a.m. leaving deadline. Got downstairs to find CK had cooked breakfast for both childer and even gone so far as to soak the pan.

destructoBoy was in charge of wellies, mine to go into the boot and his on his feet as our hosts' daughter had thrown up on his trainers the previous evening. By 1107 he and I were in Maria with the black dogs and en route to the meeting point. 1130 and with the dogs rearing to head off it became obvious that 'someone' had very carefully left my wellies by the front door, safe from the mud and ice we would encounter over the Downs.

Over the next three and a half hours we walked with 18 friends and five dogs up hills, by icy puddles which oozed squelchy mud as the teenage boys dared each other to step on them. To the envy of all the grown men my boy had brought binouclars and at one point we watched four deer graze and one hare dash across the field. There was a tight hand on the collar of the lurcher in our mob.

We walked up and down hills and along droving tracks under a bright blue, cloudless sky. The dips and bumps on these chalk tracks had massive sheets of ice across them, in places the ice was an half an inch thick. While the grown-ups edged past it clinging to the fenceline, ALL of the children waded through each and every single ice flow. More than one teenage boy completed the hike with icy toes and sodden socks!

After a mile and a half of walking on the flat through fields ploughed over for the Winter we headed up hill for the final 500 yards. The afternoon ended with all of the children (and one of the dads!) racing up the side of a mahoosively tall and steep hill. destructoBoy and I returned home tired, muddy and a little hungry (we hadn't realised the walk would go over lunch and so only packed trail mix and water). The dogs were muddy and exhausted. The sky was clear, the air still, we walked far and well in good company.

It was an afternoon I shall treasure long in my memory.