Lovely Probus Club regular walk this week. A large turnout, with fourteen on the walk and an additional five coming along to the meal afterwards.

OK, I know we’re spoilt at the moment with the lovely weather – slightly above average at the moment …. This was highlighted for us because this walk, starting at Fewston car park, is a Probus favourite on which we have previously experienced a six foot deep snowdrift!

Bill, our walk leader, always likes to make minor adjustments to keep the walks fresh for us. This time

he reversed the direction of the walk, so that we started off with a steep climb up to the moors (!!!!), with a magnificent view behind us, and then

added a new bit at the end, just when we thought we were nearly back at the car park, that went up a steep hill, albeit with compensatingly lovely views. Some of the language among the ungrateful group was ripe, and not just focused on the views!

Seriously, as you can see from the photos, it was a wonderful, varied walk. We saw kites and buzzards soaring overhead, pheasants and grouse in the heather, and saw our first frog spawn, complete with frogs caught in the act!

The conversation while we were walking was well up to standard – diverse topics as usual, with politics playing some, but not a dominant part in our discussions.

The coffee break during our three hour walk was located in a beautiful spot by the river Washburn (pictured), and the post-walk meal at Chez la Vie was a great success, though I think our large party kept the staff on their toes!