An overflowing Thames: Rod took this on the recce for last Wednesday's Richmond Circular
PHOTO Rod Smith

Things were a bit less damp by the time Rod's walk took place. A beautiful late spring evening was the backdrop for a 7-mile outing featuring a visit to the site of the Royal Palace, Vancouver's tomb, a herd of deer in Richmond Park, the Isabella Plantation where the azalea colours were magnifcent, and a return via Pembroke Lodge with a very clear view to St Paul's Cathedral. All this with no wind and no crowds - hooray!

Above and below: A starburst of late spring colours in the Isabella Plantation
PHOTOS Charlotte Minchell and Rod Smith

*

More than 400 people are having a crack at the Home-Made Hundred this coming weekend including some London members. Good luck to everyone, and if any of you want to report back to Jabber on your self-inflicted trials and tribulations please feel free to do so! Special good wishes to our friends from Essex & Herts, Gill, Ginny and Mick (otherwise known as The Essex Greyhound), who are doing it in style with the custom-made T-shirts modeled below. Mick has devised a route that appears to have a shed Start and Finish, while Gill and Ginny's route includes a stop at Gill's house at 75 miles. I have to say it would take all my willpower to get up and walk another 25 miles after that.