We started off the new programme with an afternoon walk courtesy of Kevin Hilton. Starting out on a sunny day we left from Kev’s house in Newbrough and followed the road up and through the village. And up. And up. The road became increasingly steep as we headed further from the village and then narrowed, finally ending abruptly at a gate that led into the nearby fields. To be honest we were puffing and panting a bit as we had kept up a relentless pace for the first mile. A slightly flatter section thankfully followed across sheep pasture allowing us to catch our breath.

After a quick sandwich break by the old Roman vallum we set off across more fields, testing our style climbing skills as we crossed a fair few stone walls. A slightly nervous time was had as we crossed a field full of skittish young cows but we escaped unscathed only to be flash mobbed by a bunch of boisterous young bullocks in an adjacent field. Luckily a stone wall kept them at bay. The sharp eyed young naturalist in our group spotted some morels growing in the drip line of some beech trees and spent 20 minutes gathering forage for her supper.

Heading back downhill to Newbrough we passed the roofless ruin of an old farm cottage that was being refurbished by a young couple. Sleeping in a caravan they were slowly rebuilding the roof despite having no access road, no mains electricity, water or drainage. They look to have a long hard slog ahead of them.

A steady descent brought us back down into Newbrough and a nice cup of tea at Kev’s house.

4.5 miles