Be warned, a precedent may have been set!<\/p>\n
Strines was the start of a Warts\u2019 outing which happened to be on Tom\u2019s birthday, now a year into his seventh decade but still significantly younger than a few other Warts which makes him a junior Wart. The group\u2019s average age was also reduced by the welcome presence of Tim (Tigger) Ray on one of his rare runs with the Warts. On this, the last outing before the clocks were due to go back, It was just about daylight when we left the pub\u2019s car park with our eyes very much on high alert for the iron bars which were a well-known trip hazard on the tiny path through the bracken. However, the benefits of retirement were soon to be revealed as, with an afternoon to spare, Tom had carried a lump hammer to the iron bars and belted them into the ground, this is very much appreciated. <\/p>\n
The Warts\u2019 tendency to attempt to avoid paths and tracks has meant a continual search for the perfect line across moorland and, of course, this night was no exception. The patches of burnt or mown heather can provide an alternative to wading through thigh high heather but linking them together in the most efficient way can be problematic, unless the Google Earth app is used and remembered. Whether Tom had done this, only he will know but he led us on a relatively \u201csmooth\u201d route to the main track from Foulstone only to meet ace alternative route-master, Andy, at about the same time.<\/p>\n
Our target was Low Tor but inevitably we included the blockhouse en-route which, like the rest of us, is showing its age on its western side where breeze blocks have been hollowed out by wind, rain and frost. There was more searching for smooth (smooching??) heather and more grough-avoiding before we reached the Cartledge Flat flagstones for a dash to the fence before Low Tor. Our descent into Abbey Brook encouraged Andy\u2019s lyricism about the magical view of its upper reaches. However, such thoughts were quickly dispelled as we toiled up Beresters Tor only to be faced with a drought of whisky, not even a bottle! Despite our aversion to paths we did follow the Sheepfold Clough one all the way to Lost Lad. <\/p>\n
As we headed to Back Tor we were to discover the dangers of path running. There was a noticeable kerfuffle behind to find a proud and smiling Tom who was emerging from a waist deep primordial peat soup. He had assumed that there would be a submerged flagstone to support him but was to find otherwise. Was this a birthday ritual to be enjoyed when the Warts\u2019 outing night coincides with the actual birthday? If so, whose birthday next falls on a Warts\u2019 night. Whoever it is, be warned!<\/p>\n
There were no such dramas going back to the Strines Inn where we were joined by the cold-water swimmers all looking pleased with themselves, as, of course, we were! <\/p>\n
A grand birthday night out. <\/p>\n
Graham<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Be warned, a precedent may have been set! Strines was the start of a Warts\u2019 outing which happened to be on Tom\u2019s birthday, now a year into his seventh decade but still significantly younger than a few other Warts which makes him a junior Wart. The group\u2019s average age was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-warts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dpfr.org.uk\/wp_dpfr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}