|
|
16 GET LOST IN KNOLE PARK! Well OK, it’s a slight exaggeration. None of us were ever lost exactly, we just spent the whole of Sunday wandering around the magnificent deer park at Knole, Kent, (in 5 separate groups at one point) without ever managing to bump into each other. How this came to be is a rather long and complicated story involving waiting for latecomers, impatience to get started, inability to find the agreed start point and the fact that we only had one map between us. In fact our usual state of well oiled confusion. Saturday we started from Kemsing Hostel, walking the North Downs Way along sun-dappled tracks and through woodlands carpeted with golden leaves from birch, beech and hawthorn. Birds were singing and nothing disturbed the tranquillity except for the blood-curdling scream let out by Lynn as she slid off the muddy trackside into a rut full of dirty water. Anyone would have thought we were murdering her!! At lunch time we had the difficult choice between being energetic and adding an e xtra 4 miles to our route, and supporting the local economy in the rather excellent village pub. Never say we don’t do our bit for rural economies!! Mind you I think the story might have come out differently if Lynn hadn’t had a boot-full of cold water. With good weather and gorgeous views we thought the day couldn’t get any better until Mother Nature produced a superb fiery orange sunset from up her sleeve. Fabulous weekend. Lynn’s Kemsing The hostel is in an ideal location with lots of walking right on the doorstep. Apart from the lack of warden the hostel was lovely - warm and comfortable with sturdy beds and pretty covers, it also had a nice lounge. On Saturday I was walking along when a suddenly a clay chasm appeared and my foot tested it’s depth, quickly followed by the other. Cold, muddy wet water! But the experience was worthwhile as my cold, wet little foot was comforted by Dave’s big, warm hands in the pub, where I left a memento of the day - my dirty, wet sock! Woodland Wonders An awful lot of you should be very disappointed at missing the talk from Essex Wildlife Trust as it was absolutely brilliant. Roy Norfolk, the warden from Westwood near Thaxted, kept us enthralled for over two hours. I don’t think any of us appreciated how much there was to woodland management. Westwood is an ancient woodland going back to the 13th century at least, but had fallen into decline and become tangled, dense and overgrown. With the aid of Jon ’s excellent video, Roy was able to show us some of the wealth of flora and fauna that has become re-established since he took over management in 1994. Along side the bluebells, willow herb and wood anemone we had footage of beautiful orchids and rare herbs. Roy says we’re welcome to do a walk in the wood in May (the best time apparently) and for a small donation, he’ll guide us. I can hardly wait! Rodings Rally Report We got 8 checkpoints, Lorna & Andrew 6. I think Karen and I were still suffering a little jet lag. Gareth Navigation varied from good enough to spot b*****k on and Gareth seemed to have x-ray vision to see the tents. We did well to find the nightmare checkpoint 5 in Epping Thicks but we simply ran out of time. It was a pretty competent performance to come 21st out of 72 teams. Tom I have still never finished Rodings (i.e. got all 10 checkpoints) so it looks like I'll be doing it again next year! Karen By Sunday lunchtime Andrew was proving the old rule about loony pursuits like night orienteering - the best part is talking about it in the pub afterwards! Lorna 
Adopt-A-Hostel Saffron Walden Hostel needs friends! Anyone who came with us on the cycle weekend to Walden will know that the hostel is a beautiful 500 year old ex-maltings. The hostel is currently being renovated and YHA are asking for local groups to assist. Help is needed for:
If you are interested in helping please contact Trudi. |
|