Somehow, the
rain and hail of the preceding week had been swept away , and contingent of
Ramblers pitched-up at Skillington in bright sunshine. The choir was singing in the chapel, the
flowers were glowing and/or fluttering, and the neighbourhood tank enthusiast
had pointed his gun turret just to one side – yes, all the omens were good.
We made fast
time across the fields to Isaac Newton’s house for elevenses by the apple tree,
and then we did our bit for countryside rights of way by re-opening an
overgrown and partially blocked path once more.
There was plenty of wildlife to admire as well as the landscape, with
visits from several red kites, an awful lot of butterflies, and a remarkably
bouncy fox.
In Sewstern,
the pub had conveniently laid-on a beer festival, and this year we didn't have
to abandon the walk leader there either (it’s a long story – see last year’s
entry). Leicestershire’s friendly yellow
posts were a welcome sight on our side of the border, and got us from Blue Dog
to Blue Horse just in time for a refill.
