The Trish Trail
Tuesday 15th November
Walkers: Farty, T.B., Mrs 60th Provincial, Windy, 6 legs, Clat.
Chris is horsing around in Cheltenham, and Lil has become a Nannie - congratulations!!
Distance: 8.3 miles!!
Find of the Walk: a big wooden stag beetle - yes, honestly.
Superb weather - Windy had told us it would be so, and, that there were no events on at Ardingley so we were well prepared. We've walked this route before, which is good , as we had much to talk about, especially as Mrs P had just returned from the Big Apple - a surprise for her birthday. 
Sue appeared from the bushes, having been on bladder patrol, and we ventured forward onto the Ardingley showground, where preparations were afoot for a craft fair. A man was spotted delivering portaloos hither and thither - he must have heard about Sue's predicament.
Before long though, several dis-appearances into the bushes had to be made, which made no difference to the water levels in the reservoir, which are very low at the moment. Very quiet it was too, until we arrived, but we soon turned off and downhill again, passing some fantastic crab-apple trees, before our first sighting of the fabulous Balcombe Viaduct.
Lots of trains whizzing along, and we were soon 'underneath the arches' enjoying a bottle of champers darling, accompanied by delicious fruit and nut bars supplied by the birthday girl. A couple of bemused on-lookers slowly crept our way, and did a bit of photography , grinning foolishly at our jolliness.
Talking of which, T.B. is an inspired man. His pics from last week scored very highly in a local competition, so he was snapping for England. His equipment has buttons for black/white, and sepia pics.. but unfortunately he couldn't locate this function until we had finished the walk - it happens.
So now we were quite merry as we continued our glorious ramble round the countryside of Great Britain. A little trackwork ensued, which was good for clearing the mud from our boots, and more bushwork had to be performed. Am beginning to think this walk should have been called The Road to Ruine* (anagram) or, The Tena Lady Special.
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| HRH and Mrs P |
On and on we rambled, just like this blog, and we eventually reached the shores of the reservoir once more. However, this time we noticed a hide, nestled in the bushes, and decided to investigate. A lovely wooden structure, all set up for the watching of birds and stuff, and we did a bit. Some graffiti told us that Tara is a slag so we also learned a bit about the local wildlife.
Two steep hills followed, before we found ourselves back in the showground, and looking forward to our lunch. Back at the cars, we bent, stretched, and curtsied, as HRH Queen Windy kindly presented Mrs P with her birthday balloon.
We trooped into the pub only to be met with a dubious face. We arrived at 1510 - only to be told that food is not served after 1500 instead of all day, as before. Now we knew why we'd seen a smiling chefette leap into her car and roar off into the distance.
Not to be deterred, we set off for pastures new - The White Hart, where HRH was told that the chef had gorn to a funeral. Farty came rushing over - she'd had a brainwave, so we proceeded to Dunnings Mill. Thank goodness, no changes there and we had a lovely lunch, nestled by an open fire, with prezzies for Mrs P. Much hilarity occurred, a quiz ensued, and we all learned that a digitorium is a device for strengthening your fingers.
Next week the walk will be decided by Farty, as Clat cannot make it due to having her boobs squidged in Tesco's car park (that's if they can find them). Happy walking everyone.
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