Walking up the hill. Dry stone walls. Beer walkers!

Yesterday we decided it was about time we walked up Lark Hill again. Maybe it was my thinking about it as I wrote yesterday’s blog. Because of the dry weather we have had, the eroded surface of the path up the hill was quite treacherous, loose grit and dust on old stone! It was quite hard to walk without watching where you put each footstep. 

But the views were as spectacular as ever. At the top of the hill the path heads off towards Diggle, before turning right towards Dobcross. If you are so inclined you could continue towards Diggle on footpaths across the fields. 

 

 

About half way along the path from the top of the hill there is a length of dry stone wall which has been being restored for some time. Now it seems to have been nicely completed. 

 

 

 

(Incidentally, the first time we went to Sicily, to a language school in Taormina, we were taken on a day out to Donnafugata, stately home and beauty spot, well worth a visit. En route our guide proudly pointed out the walls around the fields, “i muri secchi”. Convinced that this was a strictly Sicilian thing, he was rather surprised when we told him we also have lots of these dry stone walls in our part of the UK.)

As we approached Dobcross we spotted people in brightly coloured clothes. Not unusual in sunny weather, but as we got closer it became obvious that this was fancy dress. Obviously, as I said in Yesterday’s post, someone was having another go at re-starting the Beer Walk. In fact I overheard one gentleman loudly explaining it to somebody on his mobile phone: “This is called the Beer Walk”. 

I think he may be the same gentleman who caught up with us and then overtook us as we walked down the hill to home. Whoever he was, he talked loudly all the way down the hill, giving his companion little chance to join in the conversation. Indeed as they overtook us, she commented in a sort of aside to us that now we probably knew all there was to know about them. 

We saw them sitting outside the Old Bell, the pub next door to our house. They must have been waiting for others to join them because in the early evening I noticed rather a large number of people of people also in fancy dress. There was some singing also. 

The pub next door seems to be benefitting from the fine weather. Their wood-fired pizza oven is working away. As they fired it up in the late morning today, we had to close our back door as the smell of the smoke was drifting in. Such are the “benefits” of fine and sunny weather.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!