'We need more drama'

Last week, we did our first ‘handbag walk’ of the year. Well, it was two walks actually, before and after lunch (for there always has to be lunch).

The first walk was rather dull, both the weather and the scenery, consisting mostly of a housing estate – it was supposed to be the battlefield of Stamford Bridge, but nearly a thousand years later, there isn’t really very much to see, and the only reminder is the street names.

After lunch, as the sun had decided to come out, we decided to do a second walk. This time much more ‘off road’. I suppose when it said it was by the river across the ings, it was an indicator, but it was pretty muddy. I’m not sure many people had walked it since the last time the Ouse flooded, and we had to do quite a bit of scrambling over flood debris. We even had an OS map this time (see photographic evidence of this fact). There was a lot of slipping, and sliding, and crossing of becks and rickety bridges.

As time was marching on, we decided to cut up the side of a wood rather than keep to the river – think less 'field', and more ‘quagmire’. There was allegedly a tumulus in the wood, but we decided not to bother trying to find it. My beautiful shoes are now very muddy, and so were my trousers.

It was pretty dramatic, so, I suppose a good opener for this year’s walking season.