11 August 2022

Hot

 

It was significantly hotter today than it was on Tuesday when I walked on the moors above Buxton. However,  I was determined to have another nice walk in the countryside. After all, as Noel Coward once sang, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun".

Young Clint and I did not travel far - just three or four miles to a long, straggly village to the south of Sheffield called Holmesfield. I abandoned Clint by a farm entrance after cracking all his windows open a little.

"Don't leave me!" he wailed. "It's hot enough to fry an egg on me!"

Naturally, I ignored him and two or three minutes later I snapped the shot revealed exclusively at the top of this blogpost. I was looking over a harvested field to Sheffield's southern suburbs and beyond. 

From Fanshawe Gate Road, I headed up a kind of arboreal tunnel  that is in reality a bridle path for horse riders. It ran for half a mile or more. So cool and shady that I removed my sun hat for a while. I did not encounter a single horse and rider. 

More secret lanes and ancient pathways led me down the valleyside passing a flock of sheltering sheep and over-heated cows seeking whatever shade they could find. There were no other walkers out and about.

Now I am not one of those walkers who habitually factors in a pub stop. Usually I am happy enough with cold water from a flask. Besides, pub stops mean lost time. However, today I made an exception.  "The Royal Oak" at Millthorpe was open so I decided to stop for a beer shandy and a packet of Yorkshire crisps (American: chips). These I happily consumed in the pub's shady beer garden before heading back up the valleyside along  different paths.


Oh Lord, I was weary slogging up that valley. The pastures were so dry for farm animals and horses but I spotted this young cow grazing away from the herd. Grass really isn't growing now. I haven't had to mow our back lawn in weeks. There can't be much nutrition in that field. In a normal English summer,the grass would be well-watered and verdant, filled with goodness.


It was a relief to get back to Clint and settle into his stifling cockpit once more before before heading home. Chocks away!

30 comments:

  1. I am not sure what your temperature was over there but it was around 26C here today. Being unaccustomed to those temperatures, I struggled with that heat just carrying the shopping home this morning so I don't think I would have wanted to attempt your walk YP.

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  2. It has been too hot to walk any distance here - today I drove to the beach and then swam for all of three minutes - it was enough!

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    1. I hope you remembered your rubber ring Mark!

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  3. Beer in a shady spot??? Sold!!!

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    1. If you had been there I would have bought you a pint and we could have bitched about our politicians and other stuff.

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  4. It's been ho there too. We have had rain so the grass is green.

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    1. The grass is always greener on the other side.

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  5. Not even I undertake long walks when it is above 30C, but I understand your wish and need for it. Also, you found lanes and paths offering a bit of welcome shade. Your "secret lanes and ancient paths" made me want to be out there, too!
    I have never found a pub stop to be a waste of time, and much as I love drinking water (and do it all day anyway), a nice cold shandy is perfect half-way or at the end of a walk/hike.
    Reg. the dry grass; my sister-in-law's husband who runs a dairy farm near Ripon said "it's like walking on crisps".

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    1. In normal years his cows would be eating grass salads all day long. It is a worrying time for all farmers.

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  6. At least there is a bit of green where that young cow is eating. I've heard for so long how green England is and now this, with parts of it beginning to look like Australia. I hope you get lots of lovely rain through the winter.

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    1. I saw a kangaroo yesterday and an aboriginal family resting under the eucalyptus trees by a billabong.

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    2. Oh No! Heat induced hallucinations!

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  7. I guess it gets to over 60C (140F) inside a car in the sun.

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  8. PS - alternative words to Pat-a-Cake removed.

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    1. I shall instruct my solicitor to cease case preparation work.

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  9. That shandy looks so tempting as I swelter in the heat inside my house which currently doubles up as an oven!

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    1. If you had been there in the beer garden, I would have ordered you a nice cool pint.

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  10. I envy you those walks, but I have no car to take me to the top of the moors, so I could walk down through the trees here. So I shall just enjoy your blog and others to take me on walks through the countryside. As for your 'Vision' don't frighten the children;)

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    1. If I were you I would check out local bus times and go for a few adventure walks before riding home...Littleborough, Bacup, Sowerby Bridge, Mereclough. The world is your oyster.

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  11. The photos of the bridle lane and your pub stop are soothing.
    In the past it's been a rare summer when everyone, everywhere, especially in the UK, has complained about the heat! With global warming now a way of life for most of us, we're going to have to adjust our lifestyles. Walking in the mid-day heat isn't a good idea at all YP, much as you long to be outdoors in pleasing surroundings. You could take a tip from we dog walkers and make an early start when it's still cool - it's the best part of the day. Oh, but I don't think the pubs are open around 7 a.m. are they? You'll have to take your own crisps and beer!

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    1. I am a night owl so 7am is like the middle of the night for me Auntie Caz.

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  12. You have my sympathies! Walking in such heat takes determination.

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  13. Mad dogs and Englishmen. Which are you?

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  14. I don't blame you for the pub stop, given this hot spell! I'm sure the farmers supplement the grazing. They may have to do so even in normal weather, since cows eat so much.

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    1. Supplements tend to be used in the wintertime - less so in normal summers when grass is usually thriving.

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  15. Does Clint have air conditioning? That pub stop looks quite refreshing. You may be forgiven.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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