Walk Report

Wye Circular, Sunday 6th November 2011
17 walkers, 18.6 miles - leaders Nick and Judith Marshall
Nick & Judith's last walk for the Group before their departure to new pastures turned out to be a memorable occasion. The drama started early when their car failed to start, necessitating a hasty change to their carefully laid plans. This unfortunately meant a delay to the start of the walk & with the majority of the walkers already en route a message was conveyed via smoke signals & bongo drums that they would have to amuse themselves for an hour. In the best traditions of the Group some of them took the opportunity to get a couple of extra miles under their belts, exploring the local environs. It was heartening on arrival to see that most had taken this unexpected setback in their stride (no pun intended) & that everyone was still in good spirits. One of the undoubted highlights of the day was that our furthest-flung member, Megan, had flown in especially all the way from Australia in order not to miss this momentous occasion proving that the dedication of our intrepid members knows no bounds (actually she was over here for a conference but nevertheless it was great to see her again). After stocking up at the local Co-op with supplies due to the planned pub stop becoming a casualty of the delayed start, the 17 walkers set off under leaden skies.
Nick & Judith had spent many hours devising this route & it proved to be a very enjoyable day apart from incurring the wrath of a local farmer for an allegedly open gate for which we were entirely innocent! One of the undoubted highlights of the walk was the number of cunningly, devious stiles we came across, each one presenting a different challenge. They certainly tested our abilities to the full but in some notable cases a complete lack of them.
For the final stretch we donned head torches & finally reached Wye at 5.45pm where the majority took the opportunity to adjourn to the local hostelry for a well-earned pint or 2. Nick & Judith are to be highly commended for putting on such an exhilarating walk & if this is their finale it will stay long in the memory.
Report by Dave Williams

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