Twenty one members and one dog met at Coal Aston Village Hall in readiness for a four mile walk. The weather had been a little cool and overcast for most of the day but as the clock struck 7pm the sun made an appearance.
We entered Frith Wood via the Firthwood Road entrance and followed the main track through the wood. On leaving the wood we walked the last part of Callywhite Lane and made a brief stop at Metapic wood where everyone was pleased to see the unusual artefacts dotted around the area.
Until this point the walk had been mainly downhill but after reaching Half Acre Lane, we knew there would be a long uphill stretch awaiting us. When we entered the field at the end of half acre lane I confidently mentioned to Joe that I had recce’d the walk twice recently and the two horses in the field had totally ignored me. Well, on this occasion both of them came over to say hello, the larger brown horse deciding to stand just by our exit style. It took a while to get our entire party over, but we did it. At least the cows often found in the next field didn’t bother us.
We stopped for a few minutes outside Summerley Hall assembling for a football team style photo before continuing across the fields to the sledging field or “The Riddings” as it is sometimes known. We then re-traced our steps back to the village hall. As walk leader I was pleased to get everyone back safely and more or less on time. But I did make a mental note to myself that next time I will choose a walk with fewer horses, cows and stiles!
