Bletchingley - 2 - The RED LION

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever - But Not Today!

 Tuesday 15th March

Walkers: Farty, T.B.(Lord of the Flies), Windy ( the Gazelle), Lil and Clat. No other takers today, for reasons many and varied.

Find of the Walk: A Guinness t-shirt, which is very apt, as Thursday is St Patrick's Day.

Distance: 7 miles

Weather: Good - forecast incorrect as it was sunny and clear and then became grey and cloudy , not the other way round, if you get my meaning.

The Red Lion hosts were friendly and accommodating, so we parked there, and a table was booked for us with the words 'might be late' alongside our names. They advertise eel pie and mash with liquer - slightly unusual to serve it with a creme de menthe or perhaps a cointreau, don't you think?

We opted for the hilly walk in the shape of Rupert the Bear , with the promise of fabulous views from the top. Spring is very much in the air with the birdsong, and lovely flowers popping out all over the place - violets, primroses, daffodils, cherry blossom and more - winter is behind us, at last.

Our northerly direction led us to The Old Rectory, which has undergone an amazing transformation since our visit last August. The walled gardens have been restored, the grounds in general have been tidied and improved, with the addition of two huge flower pots - big enough to house a family. We aim to visit this place properly when the Gardens Open scheme comes into play, as it will be well worth looking round.

Several fields later and we came to the teletubby tunnel which runs underneath the very busy M25. Clat pointed out some chewing-gum lichen on a stile, and then we found masses and masses of wild garlic, so we got picking. The Ransomes Soup to be made from this vegetation is really lovely, easy to make , and doesn't make you stink.

From Spring Bottom Lane we took the steepest path up the hill - vertically challenged we were, and came to the top, where we found a man hot-footing, up from another pathway, which he told us was much easier than the one we had chosen - smart-arse.

Our Windy managed this hill with ease - she has developed gazelle-like tendencies and a stile is almost vaulted over. This, she tells us, is due to the fact that 3 times a week, she goes power walking for 40 mins and has noticed the difference - so have we , as we had a regular springbok in our midst.

Some shouting and a quad bike alerted us to the fact that a farmer was rounding up his sheep with help from his sheepdog in tow. We found a gang of them talking amongst themselves 'do i know ewe?' 'where are ewe off to?' etc., and another gang, being herded into a trailer. They were either going to the mint sauce factory or back to the baaaaaaarns for birthing purposes. We walked past some lovely holiday cottages on the farm: Sykes Cottages/Pilgrims Rest & Pilgrims Nest

The promised views failed to deliver so we headed off to the Harrow Pub for a coffee. Sitting outside in the sunshine was a first for the year, slightly spoiled by a seasoned and heavy drinker + girlfriend seated nearby. He puffed on his fag and shouted his conversation to us, and she said nothing. We left him rolling his old shag - and we don't mean the girlfriend either.

The sunshine had gone, the mists descended, and a chilly wind meant jackets were donned. We started our gentle route downwards and marvelled at the lack of views. However, the masses of wild garlic got bigger and bigger - the biggest we have ever seen.
At the bottom of the hill we crossed the M25 once more and had a lovely surprise, as a previously virtually impasssable ditch and stile, which we had had to hack our way through, has been completely restored and opened up. So we had a nice smooth passage - apparently it takes 13 prunes to do the trick, if you are following my train of thought.
T.B. was sporting his gardening jeans today and seemed to be pleased with his choice of trouser. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the button flies on said garment, so he was missing for longer periods than usual, when it came to comfort breaks. Don't think he will be wearing them again, somehow.

Talking of trousers:
Lil took a tumble - her laces from one boot had tangled with the other, and down she went - we've all done it. Her fairly new, and clean trousers were quite muddied, and to make matters worse, now had a hole in them. She soon recovered , and we continued our journey. Nearing the end, we passed some delightful allotments, but alarm bells rang when we saw a woman digging a large and deep trench - we could just see her shoulders and head, as she gaily waved at us with her shovel. Something afoot or is she planning to have some massive leeks?
Within minutes we were back at base and into the pub for our lunch. We haven't been marking lately, but no faults found this week. The only drawback is that no dogs are allowed, even though the landlady has one.

T.B. managed to find a daily newspaper, which he likes to peruse whilst we have a good gossip, and reads us the odd snippet. Today he also found a local mag, and a joke which tickled his fancy.: 'A woman told her doctor "I've got a bad back". The doctor said, "it's old age". The woman said "I want a second opinion" The doctor says "OK you're ugly as well" .

And on that note I shall end this blog. Next week it's either Iron Bottom or Godstone at the White Hart which is a Beefeater.