Mastiff Attack ...

or Finishing off Offa's walk ... Day 4 ...

We parked near our holiday cottage, no more than three miles away, with a view to walking along the Clwydian Way into Bodfari so we could pick up the Offa's Dyke Path from where we had left it the day before.

In the distance we could see the snow capped peaks of Snowdonia ...

[You may have to click on the photo and look at a large version to see Snowdonia.]

A little way along a lane we reached an obstructed path ... with a public footpath signpost pointing straight at the overgrown hedge ...

Look closely at the notice on the signpost. If you get caught tampering with it you could end up with a six months jail sentence. That might put some of them off removing signposts when they think no one is looking ...

We followed a Road Used as a Public Path [a RUPP] with tall gorse bushes growing either side ...

Another mile further on and we were on the Clwydian Way ... in the shade of overhanging branches.

With the sun streaming down on us as we drew nearer to Bodfari we got a good view of Moel y Parc over a mile away.

As we entered Sodom there were no signs of debauchery ... just a rather colourful garden.

Further down the hill and nearer Bodfari there were still no clouds in the sky and no vapour trails either ... we had a clear view of Moel y Parc again and the hills to the south-east of it.

Walking down the lane into Bodfari we heard the sound of a lawnmower behind an old, rather run-down bungalow to our left.

We noticed the bull terrier lying on the ground which raised itself up on rather arthritic legs. That's not going to bother us much ...

Then we saw the bigger dog behind it, rising to its feet and making a heck of a racket. Still, I thought, there's a fence between us ...

We continued down the lane with the larger dog barking and trying to get through the netting fence.

I noticed the gap at the bottom of the netting. It tried to get through. It couldn't. We kept walking just as the dog actually got under the fence and came straight at us ...

" ...'kin' spiders " is what I cried out as this big dog headed straight for me. Natasha was right behind me ... I heard a desperate "Charlie !" ... as the dog was about a yard or two from me. I thought the only thing I could do was offer it the back of my hand and talk to it in a friendly, soft voice ... along the lines of " ... come on ... what's all this noise ... are you going to be our friend ... ?

Amazingly, it worked. The dog leaned against my leg whilst I kept talking to her, stroking her neck and hoping to God she didn't have tender ears as I ran the back of my hand along the top of her head, still talking to her.

I said to Natasha "come on, let's keep walking ..." but as soon as I moved, this set the dog off barking again. Back to the friendly talking and stroking.

The lawnmower stopped. Someone had realised the dogs weren't around. The lawnmower man shouted out the name of the dog. I shouted back "It's over here ..." He didn't hear me initially.

Eventually a man in his 20s came along and the dog ran to him. I suggested in a friendlier fashion than I felt, that he ought to get his fence fixed ~ he didn't think the dog could get under it. Having said that he went on to say that the older dog, the bull terrier, had got down onto the main road and been run over by a car [gone straight under it] and somehow struggled back up the hill ... and recovered, much to the vet's amazement.

We moved on with me asking Natasha gently what she had expected me to do as she hid behind me ...

We picked up the Offa's Dyke Path again and sat down on the slopes of the old hillfort slowly relaxing ... and enjoying the view of Moel y Parc directly in front of us ...

... and the stile we had just crossed ...

Sodom drew nearer and Natasha set off up the lane with a soulful bounding leap ...

Beyond Sodom the shady path runs across the slope of a small hill, Cefn Du.

A wonderful day, marred only by the bull mastiff bitch. It could have been worse.

You can see the route I followed on the OS Explore website, here :~ http://explore.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os_routes/show/18632

Date of walk ~ 21st April 2010

Length of walk ~ 6 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 98.75 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 228.75 miles

19 of 2010

Eyam and me ...

I was in Eyam on the 21st October 2009, looking at my teashop walk from there.

Never use a house name as a marker, as in "turn right immediately beyond 'Fairholme' ". A new owner may change its name to Scrumpy Acres ... or something.

It was midweek and autumn and the usual horde of walkers were nowhere to be seen.

The route of the walk crosses the fields towards Foolow. On its way the path dips into Linen Dale ...

I always thought 'Eyam' was pronounced 'ee-um' but no ... it's 'eem' ...



Entering Foolow along the lane I hoped I might see the homemade sign warning motorists to beware of the duckpond ducks but no, there's an official sign now ...



  The Victorian postbox is no longer available for the collection of letters but has been retained for posterity.



No photos of the village pond [I need to get a wider angle lens] but St. Hugh's Church caught my eye. According to the interpretation panel the church was originally a smithy but in the late 19th century it held its first service. St Hugh was born in the 12th century [not around here I hasten to add] and pictures of him usually show him accompanied by a swan ~ you can nip along to Foolow to read the panel to learn more about him.



I took the footpath to Grindlow. Once, when we were writing the book, there were paving stones along the side of this green lane ... a real feature. Now, unless they're buried under the grass, they appear to hae gone. Have they been taken up ?



I didn't go right into Grindlow but swung left towards Silly Dale. At the entrance to the dale [if I could call it that] there's a warning for our friends who like to explore these old green lanes using things mechanical ...



Although it may look as though you're going to end up in someone's garden, the bridleway actually passes to the left of this bungalow ...



Silly Dale, like Linen Dale, is dry and rather featureless. Looking back you can see the bungalow recently passsed with the buildings of Grindlow in the background.



Once I had reached Stanley House I turned left. Three or four fields later I met a man taking his fifteen stone Bull Mastiff for a walk. He assured me that the dog was friendly and when I offered the back of my hand for him [the dog] to have a sniff, he wiped his slobber right across the sleeve of my fleece ...



... lovely.

Brosterfield Farm is being improved, developed. The farm buildings are being renovated and rebuilt. Is someone going to be selling them off as  desirable country homes ?  Another farm  broken up ? 

It appears not ... a couple of holiday lets have resulted from the renovations ... http://www.brosterfieldfarm.co.uk/index.html

At Housley I started to follow Tideswell Lane back to Eyam. A few yards along it this caught my eye ...



I wonder if everyone will take note ?

Walking along Tideswell Lane [it's basically a walled track] I heard a call from a chap in a barn to my left. He was asking if I could lend him a hand for a minute or two ...

It turned out that his hay baler had got a bit of a problem and he wanted me to hold the baler twine whilst he [by hand] turned over the mechanism. The job was soon done and he thanked me. I said it was good that a walker could help a farmer and he replied [with a smirk] "Ad a asked any bugger that were passin' ".

I met another man, a local dog walker, who stood and talked with me for the best part of twenty minutes. Then we bid farewell and I walked back into Eyam ...



 Date of walk ~ 21st October 2009

Length of walk ~ 6 1/4 miles.


Total since 1st September 2009 ~ 68 3/4 miles