Another local walk

03/11/2008 by pete.

This morning I did another local walk, for about two and a half hours. I had hoped to do a full day walk, but my foot started to feel tender where I had a massive blister recently so I cut the walk short.

I set off just before 10am, and headed off down Hollicks Lane. I saw a Buzzard  as I descended the path alongside the lane. When I reached Church End, I followed the lane to the right, and at the crossroads carried on ahead. This quiet lane ran along the bottom of a shallow valley, eventually reaching Kensworth Lynch, an attractive hamlet of mainly large and old houses at the foot of Lynch Hill.

I crossed over the main road, and continued along a footpath beside a hedgerow. Further on I joined my usual route to Markyate, which came in from my right. Just  before reaching Markyate I saw a Green Woodpecker beside a playing field. From the edge of Markyate I took the usual field path to the hamlet of Roe End. At the end of Roe End lane, I continued on ahead along a hedge-lined bridleway. It was now that I started to feel some tenderness under my left foot, and decided to cut the walk short rather than develop another blister- I don’t get blisters often, and don’t worry about them too much when I do get them, but the one I got recently was huge and took many days to heal up.

I took the path through the edge of Bysylips Wood to Byslips Road, and then continued on the long path across fields to Holywell - there was another Buzzard flying over the wood I reached just before Holywell. I followed the path along the edge of Holywell to Buckwood Road, and took the very familiar route home along Dovehouse Lane and across fields to the Whipsnade Road. I got home about 12.20pm.

I enjoyed the walk. It was a grey and overcast November day,  but it stayed dry and after being initially quite cold (I had to put my hood up and don my gloves) it soon warmed up a bit. The trees looked especially attractive with their gold and yellow leaves, which contrasted nicely with the grey skies. I was surprised how muddy the paths were, we’d obviously had more rain recently than I’d realised, but the mud was never a problem and all the paths were perfectly passable.

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