You have
certain friends that no matter how simple the get together you’re planning,
you’re your combined DNA will lead to a story that you’ll be telling years
later! These friends for me are my sister Lucy and my friend Laura. In days of
yore, we ended up on holiday in a tiny Welsh village. We travelled the day Princess Diana
died and were stuck in a caravan with nothing to do and the only local hotspot
being a pub. On the first night we went in there, we won the pub quiz and made
friends with a group of Sandhurst cadets on training exercise and thus was born
the best holiday we’ve ever had!
So yesterday, when my phone whistled and a
text from Laura popped up asking if Lucy and I were up to anything her and her
daughter Eve (who’s 1 and also my goddaughter) could gate crash, I should have
really packed my passport, a spare pair of pants and a copy of “the Beginner’s
Guide to Italian” just in case.
All
that was planned was a gentle stroll around Brierly Park with Cyril our bonkers
Beagle, which would be followed by a cup of tea and sandwich. I know, we are
too crazy for most with our wild ways! It was indeed perfect for Laura and Eve to
join us on.
Armed with suntan lotion, sunglasses, dog,
and a camera to document the event we set off.
Now Brierly Forest Park is beautiful, it’s
the site of a former colliery that’s been developed in a wildlife walk, there’s
a children’s play area, wildflower meadows, picnic areas and a supposed 2-mile
walk. On our walk round, we found lots of outdoor play things, that we wasted
no time in trying out and falling off, whilst Eve sat in her pushchair and
rolled her eyes! I loved this wobble thing; I may even get one for my garden!
Because it was such a lovely day, we decided
(and this is normally how our adventures start) not to follow the path that
normal people were walking, but instead to follow the Silver Trail because and
I quote “it’s bound to bring us round in a circle eventually” An hour and a
half later and we were still wandering around aimlessly, we had somehow ended
up walking on a path by the side of a golf course. I’ve lived round here my whole life
and I had no idea there was a golf course in Huthwaite – now I do!
Eventually reality, sore feet and hunger pangs hit us when we thought we were
saved! We saw another family, Mum, Dad, 11 year old boy and well behaved
dog cut through a field. Believing they must know where they were going we
followed them! They magically disappeared and we were left stood at the bottom
of what can only be described as a bloody great hill. Cyril and I boldly went ahead saying
encouraging things like “I think we’re nearly there” and “just think of what
it’s doing for our ass”. Once we reached what we thought was the top of the
hill, there was a bloody great set of steps, with a gate in the middle for us to
try and navigate not only ourselves but a pushchair through. I would like to
thank the very kind man walking a staffie, who offered to help us!
Eventually and lord knows how we ended up in
the middle of a housing estate, thirsty, hungry and still with no idea where we
were. Two boys on their way to play football eventually pointed us in the right
direction and we found a local pub, where we sat in the garden with a cheese
cob, a packet of crisps and a pint of shandy and I think at that moment in
time, nothing had ever tasted better!
I’d been wearing my weight watchers
pedometer, which tells me how many bonus points I’ve earned, it turns out I’d
earned 9 extra ones and we’d somehow accidentally walked 10 miles!
So tonight as I hobble to the scales, because
I seem to have an U.F.I (unidentified foot injury) I’ll be hoping that my
accidental 10-mile walk will cancel out the cheese cob!
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