We arrived and despite the wonderful spring sunshine, there was still a bitter wind licking around the hills.
There were several parked cars still burgeoned with warmly wrapped occupants. Something so peculiarly English is to-picnic-in-the-car. I suppose it's because the weather can look beautiful but is still cold. It amuses me to see people sitting inside their cars, reading papers or doing the crossword, not looking at the view or talking to each other.
We stopped by a sinkhole - a huge hole that the boys explored while we sat out of the cutting breeze and watched.
If you 'enbiggin' the picture you will see both Youngest and giddy dog - they are nowhere near the bottom of the sinkhole. The jumble of rocks jutting out behind them had caves beneath them - I stood at one of the cave mouths and felt sickened at the depth of blackness and the cloying smell of earthy damp. I listened carefully and I could hear a quiet metallic drip of water seeping through the rocks insidiously wearing them away.
The view from the top was hazy but still breath-taking. The wind cut through coats and made our eyes water.
We came off the top, following the ridge away from the heavily populated well-worn boardwalk and stone steps to a narrow ankle-twisting tussocky path. There were two fatalities on route.............
Eldest left half his knee on the ridge and I slipped into a hole and twisted my foot. He and I limped along whilst Himself and Youngest yomped along happily and Giddy dog just was - well just that - giddy.
Coz we were lagging along at the back we saw all sorts of things that the other two missed.
Grouse tracks left in the peaty mud on the hill
Four perfect grouse eggs, almost completely camouflaged in the heather and moss.
Moments before I fell up to my knees into a hidden ditch......
An ancient 'crook-latch' on a farm gate
The final view.
looks lovely :)
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely - as long as you were out of that breeze!
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