This from leader Angela:
What we did on our walk yesterday evening…( 5th August)
Ten people and one dog met outside the community centre at Unstone ready for our evening walk of We nearly lost the dog and it’s walker to the ‘People and Dogs’ training session which was starting inside the community centre at the same time, but they settled for a mini puppy party just outside the door and then came back to the walking group.
We looked at the sky and someone suggested that we just walk around the football pitch and then go home. We are made of sterner stuff and we had waterproof(ish) clothing so we set off just after 7pm.
We crossed Crow Lane, waved to my house, then passed the grounds of Ramshaw Lodge before heading uphill to Hundall past the Miners Arms then into Stubbing wood. It became apparent that we were actually two groups, the front five walking and the back five doing something else – not quite sure what, but it didn’t seem to involve much forward movement. Nonetheless we gathered together every now and again so we didn’t lose anyone.
We left the wood to walk to West Handley, where we gathered at the gate to a field and didn’t really have a coffee break because the rain was getting heavier and visibility was rubbish. We were excited to see a deer running about in the field in front of us, and the back five got to us in time to see it running around in the next field. The deer didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain.
Walking through the next two fields got us very wet, the rain got heavier and the vegetation flapped wetly around our legs. By the time we got into Binkley wood it was fairly dark, which isn’t good for admiring the trees. Visibility was better in Grasscroft Wood because we were on a wide path. We then waded along the side of another field before gathering at the edge of Ramshaw wood, peering into the dark and finding Out how to turn on the torches on our mobile phones.
By the light of these torches we managed to get through the wood without getting lost or falling over, and once we got back to my house I said goodbye to the rest of the group and let them make their own way back to the community centre.
Sorry we didn’t take any photos. It was wet and we were trying to keep our phones dry except for when we needed them as torches.