Walks with my dog (4)

A walk that brought back memories of my Dad.

Today the dice told us to start at grid square 6057. (Pamber)

We started at the point 607577, where the green footpath meets the yellow road towards the north-west. Our first encounter was this sign.

Sparky considers himself to be on a virtual lead most of the time, and there were no livestock present, so I carried the rope and let him explore the path, ready to hook him up in case of any potential problem.

After skirting the newly-planted field we entered some woods that reminded me of the sort of place where we we would have in the 1960s helped my dad to load the boot of his old pre-war Morris 8 with free firewood

In the woods I was suddenly “caught short” and had to dive into the minimal undergrowth to perform an action that I normally associate with the dog. Luckily I carry “poo bags”, but I was nonetheless reminded of my Dad’s old ditty: “In days of old when knights were bold and paper wasn’t invented, they wiped their ass on a piece of grass and walked away contented.” I found some dock leaves near a nettle patch. Note to self: add pocket pack of tissues to walking gear!

Sparky seems to have a problem with negotiating this type of gate, where one must enter a “holding area” while the gate is moved…

After the woods we came upon a flock of curiously-patterned goats, including one (pun intended) “Billy No-Mates”:

Then , through a narrow pathway we reached the village and walked to ‘The Mole”, a pub that we have previously frequented, for a refreshing drink. Alas, we found it closed, with this notice:

I guess it is just another case of “Use it or lose it”, but it is a sad loss. On the other hand, I suppose that my four or five visits for lunch with friends over ten or more years were not likely to substantially add to a sustainable business. Maybe a lesson to us all.

And so once again we retraced our steps to the car. On the way back I managed to catch a picture of another old church nestling amongst the trees. I believe this is St. Luke’s, Pamber Heath

Tomorrow we are going to the Barbury Horse Trials with Sparky. We will walk the “cross-country” course. I will take photo’s if possible but maybe no daily report will be published.