Friday's weather forecast promised sunshine and an absence of rain so guess what - another long walk in the countryside beckoned.. I programmed Clint's onboard computer and soon we were heading off to Hulland - a village between two pleasant Derbyshire towns - Ashbourne and Belper. It's a journey of an hour and fifteen minutes.
By chance I met the landlord of "The Black Horse" in Hulland Ward. He kindly allowed me to park in his extensive car park for the duration of my walk which was to last five and a half hours. Where that time went I have no idea. I just kept plodding and only sat down once to drink water and eat my fruit in the village of Atlow.
I could easily flesh this blogpost out with accounts of two more unwelcome encounters with over-excited young cattle. One incident saw me lifting up a galvanised gate and blocking the gap between two fields as the galloping beasts sought to join me in the new pasture. The resulting diversion - away from the route of the public right of way was challenging to say the least but I got through as this blogpost demonstrates.
It was six thirty in the evening when I got home feeling drained of energy but very peaceful too. I didn't sit down again until I had prepared our evening meal - roasted slices of loin pork with baked potatoes, broccoli, fried onions. and apple sauce.
Bell on the west wall of Bradley parish church
The "gentle beasts" seem to have a lot of fun with you. They say, "Here comes Pudding! Let's have some fun!"
ReplyDeleteIt's no fun for me when they charge Red!
DeleteYou'll be in trouble for photographing houses again. I probably shouldn't say anything but the cow seems to have an extra teat.
ReplyDeleteHer rear end does look a little odd. Trust you to spot it Andrew!
DeleteWe found out how fast cows can run once when we entered a field of them while on holiday, never got out of a field so fast, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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So you know exactly what I am talking about Briony. One cannot argue with them.
DeleteOh dear, YP, more trouble with cattle! You weren't, by any chance, wearing a red jacket were you? Perhaps the colour has the same effect on cows as it does on bulls?
ReplyDeleteI was dressed as a Spanish matador Carol.
DeleteWhat a lot of energy you expended. Did you get into trouble for being late home?
ReplyDeleteNo. When I apologised for being so late my missus said, "Oh that doesn't matter darling!"
DeleteAn amazing shot of that UFO.
ReplyDeleteHow do you manage to survive a 5 hour walk with only a piece of fruit as sustenance? My stomach would have been complaining!
The UFO appeared to be crewed by four white doves. I always make sure I have had a good breakfast before a long walk.
DeleteThat cow is looking with intent! Seriously, I'm always wary of cattle and have some very nasty encounters in the past . The other week - on a dashing trip to France - we came across dogs guarding sheep - they are trained to bark and growl and snarl fiercely; quite disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteIt is sensible to be wary and take evasive action. My best friend was attacked by a dog last week and had to go to hospital. Its careless owners happily paid for new walking trousers as the mutt's fangs had pierced them.
DeleteThat first photo is award-winning. Just stunning!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, full day!
So kind of you to praise that particular image.
DeleteI have been reading stories by Alfred Edgar Coppard (1878-1957) and can see him living in that brick cottage.
ReplyDeleteThe cottage interior would be plain, even austere, though there is a lot of jolliness in his stories.
He was a poor self-educated boy from Folkestone, at heart a countryman like you.
The photo of the bell on Bradley Church could well adorn a new edition of his stories.
Doris Lessing wrote a preface for A.E. Coppard's *Dusty Ruth* (Penguin) though my story collections come from used bookstores.
In one of the books I found a signed letter of Coppard's, written the year before he died.
Haggerty
My typo.
Delete*Dusky Ruth and Other Stories* by A.E. Coppard.
Wow! that was a great discovery - to find that letter from Coppard.
DeleteThat was a long walk! I like the photo of the bell.
ReplyDeleteStrangely, that fourteenth century church does not have a tower.
DeleteHolland sounds like a posh Dutch boozer in Notting Hill. Smashing photos YP.
ReplyDeleteHulland even autocorrect!
DeleteShoulda gone to "Specsavers"! It's Hulland not Holland.
DeleteOh dear! Your bovine encounters once more confirm my respect of those large animals, and I am even more glad thinking back to our hiking holiday in September, with the cows having brought down from their summer pastures for the winter just the day before we arrived.
ReplyDelete5 1/2 hours is indeed a long walk, and I know just how that mix of pleasant tiredness and a peaceful mind feels.
You cannot reason with cattle. They just do not understand.
DeleteLooks like a beautiful walk once again! I love the last photo of the old house.
ReplyDeleteThe date of construction - 1877 is part of the brickwork.
DeleteI'm always interested in your cow tales (tails?) since I walk amongst ours quite often.
ReplyDeletetales/tails? I like it. "Tails of the Unexpected" suggests people with animal tails emerging from the bases of their spines. I would pick a tiger tail and swish it around mercilessly.
DeleteCattle do seem to get “over-excited” whenever you appear. Perhaps you are more bovine than you realise.
ReplyDeleteI’m joking.
I always enjoy your photographs.
I do talk a lot of bull!
DeleteBy the way Bob, this morning I tried hard to find your e-mail address via Google and failed miserably. I wanted to let you know that I havbe been having trouble accessing your award-winning blog. It keeps greying out below the header. Perhaps you can investigate this.
P.S. I hope you had fun at the wedding yesterday.
I truly do not know how or where to begin in getting to the bottom of the greyed-out blog problem several readers have reported to me. On my end everything looks normal.
DeleteIf you should ever really need or want to reach me, my eee male address is my real first name initial and last name —that is, r b r a g u e with the spaces closed up — at windstream dot not com but net
I trust you can decipher the ingenious secret code method I have devised to throw the eyes of Big Brother and his minions off the track
Cows move surprisingly fast. Glad to hear you survived the encounter.
ReplyDeleteYoung bullocks run even faster. Mind you, I would also be pretty angry about enforced castration.
Delete