Wednesday 23 January 2013

Somersall (circular) - (Derbyshire) - 22/01/13 - 5 Miles - Helen (Molly)

Lets face it in this weather you can't really go anywhere of note in the car, so this was a standard door to door one, that we have done on many occasions before. What was different this time of course was the whole Winter Wonderland backdrop. A less cheerful sort than myself might complain of the: cold, snow blindness, extra work involved in lifting your feet up, and the difficulty in keeping your footing on any sort of gradient, but you know I am not one of those people. Anyway joining me on this expedition was Biggles sporting her new line in flying goggles, and Molly the easy to spot labrador. In fact near the conclusion of this ramble Molly managed to spot some loose sheep that we hadn't encountered in these parts, but returned to us and the lead when called. Biggles meanwhile childishly tried to shake some snow off the branches onto my head, which prompted me to get my snowball retaliation in much earlier.

Monday 7 January 2013

Chatsworth (circular) - (Derbyshire) - 05/01/13 - 5.42 Miles - Helen (Molly)

Considering we are in January this was a very mild and sunny day, which would explain why so many people had the same idea as us to be out walking. So parking on the usual blind bend where all the other walkers do, we set off on the vast open spaces that make up some of the Chatsworth estate. Molly certainly seemed to have a extra pip in her stride, although she did her usual snooty female act whenever we encountered any other dogs. Having negotiated the gate that takes you into Stand Wood (which overlooks Chatsworth House), we made our way to the waterfall that may or may not supply all the electric and water display needs for the house (alright I can't remember what Helen said about this). Our half way point was the hunting tower, where we enjoyed our coffee and biscuits, and where Molly enjoyed a brief quarrel with a lady bulldog (the bitch). Now unusually for Helen this was pretty much an out and back ramble, but no less enjoyable for that. So with the GPS coming in at 5.42 miles, it was not a bad little stroll to start off 2013.