Yes, here we are again in the wild west frontier village of Chedworth in the delightful Cotswolds; home to those fugitives from justice Billy (the Whizz) and his sidekick, Ollie. It’s late March, the daffodils are rampant, the buds about to burst and the streams and bournes in full post-winter vigour. Just a mile or two away from the A roads and better known villages and there is so much beautiful country to explore. A year has passed since we last had this pair of varmints in custody but the status quo remains. Billy as eager, vocal and affectionate as ever, Ollie, as his senior, a little more restrained as befits his rather smaller stature. That said the pair could still walk the legs off us ! The setting here is just fantastic, with a selection of great walks starting from the doorstep - along river valleys, open grassland, woods, agricultural fields and up and down the, surprisingly tiring Cotswold hills. Good job the Seven Tuns at the head of the village offers great vittles and a decent swig of rye ! But be warned - pub snacks are not your usual 'cheesy chips'. Oh no, these are truffle infused fries, dusted with parmesan - bloody lovely with a pint of Norton's finest. And, if you have the good fortune to step into our temporary shoes, the included tennis court provides plenty of larks, especially playing in wellies - Alcaraz, eat your shorts. The icing on this cake is the inclusive benefit of having a ball-dog ! Much faster than the human equivalent but, alas, with one minor drawback - we don’t always get Slazenger’s finest back, or if we do they tend to be coated with a thin dressing of saliva. Pigeons at Wimbledon ? Try serving with a pooch the other side of the net in pounce mode. A week was much too short - so many more places to explore. This time we just started and finished from the house but throw the pooches in the boot and many more miles of glorious walking opens up - through woods, across hills and valleys and along beautiful rivers. One can see why that Clarkson chappie likes it here. Now, who will create a public transport network to service these few stops (especially as I am now the proud owner of a lightly used bus pass) ?
1 Comment
This title may be a little misleading as it paints no picture of the constitutions of Amber and Mabel; a brace of adorable Hungarian Vizslas. Rather, it refers to the old Disney film and the scene with the two Siamese cats. Like those felines, this mother and daughter duo were clearly up for mischief and adored hurtling around the open vistas of the Salisbury Plain. Mother and daughter - they were clearly well accustomed to coursing the ground as a team. If ever there was a synergy twixt dogs and their surroundings, this is it. The Plain offered wonderful walking under big, big skies, across grassland, heath and pastures free from the ravages of intensive farming. Being the military’s playground our walks were, more often than not, accompanied by the distant cracks and thumps of ordnance being let loose. In these times as a result of training Ukranian soldiers. Unperturbed, Mabel and Amber led us for miles around their vast playground - chasing hares, scaring pheasants, skylarks and generally covering ground at an astonishing rate (normal for Vizslas - ed.). Luckily no wildlife was harmed although we did have to wrestle the odd piece of long-expired manky rodent from the hounds’ jaws. We enjoyed some really mixed weather, from balmy 15 degree sunny days to below zero snow. The latter provided some of those almost surreal moments on top of the Plain in quiet, white solitude. This time, as there were such good walks locally, we didn’t venture that far afield but plotted 6-10 mile tramps from our doorstep or just a handful of miles away. On our adventures we came across numerous red kites, muntjac deer, hares, rabbits, voles and a short-eared owl coursing the ground in the late afternoon. Not to mention a variety of bullets, grenades, flares and the odd fashion item. Never did see a great bustard though England's heaviest flying bird. Especial thanks must go to our generous hosts who took us out for dinner on arrival at the local Swan Inn; a venue we returned to several days later for their ‘burger night’ . Not only did we have two of the best burgers we’ve eaten for some time, but were also presented with a third mystery variant! Washed down with g and t for the wife and ( this was a first) a flight of ales to accompany the burgers ! I can heartily recommend the Old Bustard. All too soon our week was up and a clamorous welcome home awaited Amber and Mabel's owners, accompanied by Mabel's little brother, Claud; another lovely Vizsla but the smallest of the litter and less likely to be able to keep up with the pace and adventure of the others. So Claud had spent the week in the care of another family member instead. The home was lovely, in a beautiful setting on the banks of the Hampshire Avon. The resident hens survived our care and rewarded us with three eggs during a very cold snap and the next door rookery presented us with their raucous morning and evening calls - sometimes it can still feel all is well in the world . . .
|
'23 Adventures
January 2024
photosby Bobby ! |