Autumn Storms Over Cakes Of Bread (Part 2)

If you’ve all done sitting on that there seat we will be off a bit further. Just a short way after leaving the seat we also leave the track that we have followed so far, Tommy is now running free once again as we huff and puff our way up quite a steep incline through pine trees to the open moors where the path narrows and levels out. I stop for a minute here to catch my breath. I was telling Tommy to hang on a minute as I was all puffed out but then I got to thinking, was I really puffed out. I don’t know about your part of the world but here one tends to get frowned up on by some for referring to things as puffs. Apparently a better word to use is gay although to me that means you are happy, but then I guess I was quite happy even though I was out of puff.

Well time passed and old Tom was getting bored and had gone in search of a stick which as usual he found and as usual it was the biggest stick around.

Tommy hunting for sticks.

So off we set once more with a spring in my step now that I was no longer all gayed out. Every few yards Tommy would drop his stick and wait for me to pick it up and throw it for him to chase, I wasn’t about to get in to that one at this stage of the walk, there was a long way to go yet, so over it I would step and past me he would rush to retrieve his beloved stick which he did before rushing back past me hitting me on the backs of the legs every single time with that wretched stick.

Tommy waiting in vain to play stick.

We are climbing gently, Abbey Brook is now quite a way below us to the left and the hill climbing steeply to our right as we contoured the hillside through rough brown grass. The path, though narrow is a good one and fairly level and the going is easy except for a few climbs where the hillside can’t be contoured without making long detours. After each climb we stopped for a look back and during each climb I noticed my heel rubbing on the back of my boots.

Looking back.

For some reason that even I find hard to explain I had decided to go walking in my work boots, this despite that fact that I discovered over twenty years ago that they make terrible walking boots and the only thing for walking the hills in are proper walking boots. You can make do with any manner of other things but your boots and pack have to be the real deal. I have a pair of good walking boots but for some reason I decided that I needed reinforce my theory on walking boots versus working boots. I love my work boots they are so comfy – for working in, and I think it was this comfort that lured me in to taking them for a walk last weekend. It wasn’t a serious problem and there were several advantages to be had wearing them apposed to wearing my walking boots, if only that little guy would stop carving chunks out of my heel with his wood chisel every time we climb a hill.
We have now come about five miles and were about to leave the Abbey Brook path and take the path to find the Lost Lad so as the wind was getting up and we have come to a sheltered place in the fork of a valley I think we will stop and have a spot of lunch and I can also try and sort out these darn boots somehow.
Find a place by the stream in the shelter of that wall and hand around the cheese sandwiches, cake and biscuits – save some chocolate ones for me though. I’m afraid there is no tea today, just coffee from the thermos flask. The dog biscuits are for Tommy by the way! He won’t be right pleased if you go eating them! Anyway tuck in and then we will be fit and ready to carry on our walk.

To be continued...