A long walk in the woods...

We had planned on going for a nice long walk today and as the weather was as different to yesterday as you could possible get, i.e. warm, dry and sunny, we set off at 9am armed with a backpack full of sandwiches and bottles of water.

We set off over the fields and walked down to the nature reserve. It was a gorgeous morning with lots of sunshine and clear blue skies.

It was much cooler once we'd entered the woods and very quiet and still. We saw lots of squirrels and several pheasants but sadly, no deer at all.

Very soon we'd reached the fishing lodge at Pitsford and Sophie called into the building to use their facilities. There was a small shop open and a coffee machine which I didn't even know was there!

We walked along the busy causeway and felt glad we were tackling the nature reserve and not the main reservoir which looked very busy with cyclists, joggers and walkers.

View from the causeway over to the nature reserve

Back onto the reserve we saw a couple of birdwatchers who were hung about with cameras and tripods. Shortly after we entered the second half we stopped at a bench overlooking the water for a sandwich and a much needed drink of chilled water. Lovely!

Once we'd eaten our fill we carried on, feeling a little stiff and achy now! I sometimes wonder whether it's a good idea to stop or to just carry on! We went back into the cool, quiet woods and listened to the birdsong and the occasional clatter of a pheasant.

When we saw the farm at the bottom of the track we were very glad indeed! We just had to negotiate the stony hill and then we'd be back in the village and heading to the pub! By now it was very warm and I could see that Sophie's shoulders were turning a bit pink. We stormed our way up the hill, cold drinks dancing before our eyes! The thought of a cold lager kept us going!

Keith went in to get the drinks while Sophie and I found a seat in the garden. There seemed to be some sort of family celebration going on and three or four children were tearing about screaming and shouting. In hindsight we should have gone and sat at a bench under the tree but we stuck it out and despite the noise, enjoyed our pints of lager and crisps in the warm sunshine. We deserved them! We estimated the walk was about 9 miles so certainly longer than we normally do!

Getting up to walk home took some doing as we'd all stiffened up but we made it and after showers and baths relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Keith and I went to get Mike and once we'd got home again Sophie and I spent a very enjoyable afternoon watching Bridget Jones's Diary and drinking tea!