Arden the feet...

This morning we set off to Henley in Arden for our next adventure into the world of walking. It was a bright and dry day, but seemed fairly cool.

Our walk started in a car park at the end of the town which led directly on to a part of the Heart of England Way.

There were just a few other walkers out - some exercising dogs and others whose more serious intent was signalled by their maps and rucksacks. The seriousness of my intent (to be fit to walk 8.5 miles in the June 6th Fun Run) was signalled by the presence of my supporters Pawel & Kamil (the Walking Poles).

Now it's come to my attention that some people question whether P & K are real people or not - some have said they are mere cartoon characters who cannot leave the screen or page to enter the real world - the guys find this quite hurtful! So here's a picture of them in action on today's walk - and I have to say, I found them a great support.

There was a longish steep climb near the start of the walk, which was a challenge for the knees of both my brother and me, and where both pairs of Walking Poles - his remain curiously un-named - proved their worth. The view from the top was worth the effort.

This was quite a "stylish" walk - that's to say, there were quite a number of stiles, another challenge to our not so supple limbs.

One of these led us into a field that was home to a very "friendly" horse and sheep who greeted us so enthusiastically that the awkward climb over the stile was as nothing compared to fending off their welcome. They were probably pet animals who associated visiting humans with being fed, and the horse, probably not believing anyone would try to enter his paddock without food, decided he had to taste every bit of body, clothing or equipment that came into reach. We eventually managed to persuade them to return to the other end of the field, though when we reached the gate the sheep came running up determined to leave by the same means as us. It was quite a struggle to keep it in the field as we exited.

It was shortly after this that we lost our planned route, though a while before we realised. We decided to continue and navigate by sense of direction and roadsigns, as it was apparent that we would now have to complete the circuit back to Henley mainly by road. This was not without attractive views though.

We eventually reached the car park we had started from. We estimated our route had been a little shorter and that we had done about 6.5 miles. We made up for this with a short walk to the town and back where we enjoyed fresh and very reasonably priced baguettes washed down with coffee/cider in one of the town's hostelries.

Pawel and Kamil also had a rest!

We're thinking of Cannock Chase for our next major sortie.