Well where were you?  I know it’s quite a long way East but if Ringer can make it.... Wonderful trail on a beautiful sunny day, autumn colours abounded.

The first slight technical hitch was that one of the hares couldn’t find the pub.  Well, it is rather tucked away.  Then there was a slight problem reading some of the markings as the rain and heavy dew had worked their magic.  There were nots of arrows though and lots of numbers!

We set off along the side of the churchyard, through a couple of gates and straight on.  Anyone seen any flour yet?  Then we turned right onto the Chiltern Way.  A lovely leafy track and the first number. Back went the first 4 runners to meet the walkers before turning round and heading in the right direction again. Then there was a 2 and 2 more went back.  We turned right into the woods and Zorro set off down hill to the style, telling us to check the other directions.  Hotlips and Professional Peach followed him and no-one found flour on the other routes.  Guess what, there was a 4 at the bottom so they had to go back up hill.  So did Buzz and Pyro.  Buzz was the first back down.  Across the field we went and Wimpey kicked out the 5 written there!  But we still trotted back obediently.  But we decided that there were so few runners we’d dispense with the numbers from now on.

At the edge of the wood the runners turned left and the walkers continued straight on.  We wiggled our way through the woods turning right at Rockylane Farm and heading into Lambridge Wood. Here Gnome Alone took a photo of Hotlips sitting on a style – much prettier than the fungi he had photographed along the route so far (no, not the group shot, the mushrooms) although maybe not wrapped in quite such bright colours.  This was an odd style, very low to the ground.  Zorro looked at it and decided it was not the right one but that we could go that way unless anyone had spotted a path off to the right.  Wimpey had so we were back on trail.  Or so we thought.  Actually we continued on along the edge of the woods to Fairies Hole before turning down the farm track to head back to the road.  We went past the gold course and delayed a foursome.  Very satisfying, particularly as one of the golfers said they were only holding off playing because they didn’t want to hit the dog!  Another right took us to the entrance to New Farm.  Down the farm track we went.  “This is the on in if people want it” gave the impression that we were nearly at the pub.  Were we heck!!  We turned left over another style, then right, then left through the hedge before coming back into the village.

Sitting in the garden we shared some rather large, but also expensive, chips before Hash Words.  Ringer awarded the Yellow Vest to Zorro because only Robin Hood would have had more arrows on a trip through the trees.

On On

Hares:  Zorro and Piscine Down

Hounds: Lemony Snicket, Wimpey, Buzz, Ringer, Professional Peach, Pyro and Whisper, Hotlips, Noddy, Short Circuit, Gnome Alone and Caroline and Big Stiffy

Date: 25 October 2015

Distance:  6.25 Miles