Glenn’s report: …….and all of a sudden the training walks come to an end. But not before we take on the 15 miles of Christmas Common. 9 of us gathered with smiles as wonderful as the Chilterns themselves. Our first decision was do we wear a jacket? Do we leave it in the car? Or do we trust the sun to come out and play it’s part in our day. Well, from short sleeved to fully bundled we set off towards Pishill. After a quick water and snack break, the annual signing of the church visitor book, off we went to Stoner House for what was to be the first of our lengthy breaks. As we sat at the benches in the sun we could have been forgiven for thinking we were somewhere far far away. We had exotic jam, we had colourful tropical fruits, we had mango sorbet ……and oh yeah! a half eaten, tissue wrapped apple, not a Pink Lady but sweet enough all the same. After our water bottles were magically refilled and put in there rightful places on we went to Turville and then to Fingest where we had our full lunch stop. As we filled our bellies with more delights sitting on the grass, a reluctant look at the watch suggested it was time to go. After all, this was a training walk….wasn’t it ? With 6 miles still to go, off we went again. Ibstone Common was our next little stop as we watched 3 horses been ridden around the perimeter rope of a village cricket match. The long haul back up to Christmas Common was next and all of a sudden we were done for another season. For me, today wasn’t about miles and training, the past few months have taken care of that. Today was about friendship and togetherness, about fun times, laughter and Pina Colada. Thank you all for a wonderful day and an extended thank you to all our walk leaders for your dedication, love and sharing your walks with us all and to all our walkers who support this truly wonderful walking club. Thank you and see you all on Friday on the crazy bus to Dovedale.
