Rain threatened at the start but never really materialised, which was a blessing and the weather was ideal for walking. Twenty-three to begin with for the full walk of 8 miles, with six peeling away at a convenient cut-off point for a shorter walk of 4 miles and returning along Marton Lane recently closed to traffic. We all set off together from The Davenport Arms overflow car park and made our way through Marton Church, the oldest timbered church in Europe still in use. It was founded and endowed in 1343 by Sir John de Davenport, and is a Grade 1 listed building meaning that it is a rare building of exceptional national interest.  The walk was a mix of farm track, farm yards, field tracks and quiet country lanes; reasonably flat but not always so. Numerous horses and cattle on show, some more inquisitive than others; one herd of cows delighted in accompanying us from one end of a large field to the other end.  A chorus of bleating sheep and some rather different-looking, hungry, spinal-horned sheep.  Our first (short) stop was alongside a field of maize where some of us attracted horse flies. Somewhere along Marton Lane was a field containing a miniature house, incorporated into what was a small, training-level jump placed very low to the ground, used to help horses practice balance and rhythm. Our second (and lunch) stop was roadside by the vacant Hodgehill farm.  One troublesome field awaited us towards the end where the farmer had planted barley too close to the edging thereby making it difficult to see underfoot to retain balance. We all made it through though and then it wasn’t long before we were able to savour what the Davenport Arms had to offer.

Derek Lowe