The sky seemed heavy with snow as 14 of us gathered for today’s long walk and sleety snow flakes drifted down but did not settle. We persuaded Ray to transfer his back marker role from the medium walk to our longer one, and set off through the village. We passed down Station Road and Millers Lane, skirted round the ford and walked along the valley. The motorway was as noisy as ever as we passed beneath it. The sleet had stopped and the sky had brightened a little but there was little sign of wild life. The frosty ground was softening to its muddy state as we reached the road and turned to cross the railway and canal bridges by the Great Western. Along the canal the towpath was clear. In the canal large shards of ice floated and beyond the moorings some swans had ventured into the water, although many remained higher up the field where they nested. The yard as Souldern Wharf was still caked in crisp frosty mud. We passed through there without incident and began the long climb up Wharf Lane to Souldern Village. The hedges had been trimmed so there were good views across to Aynhoe Park and the church. In the meadows we crossed to reach the Portway, an area had been fenced off to protect a large section of the grass as, now that horses are kept there, the whole field gets churned up by their hooves. We crossed a new stile into the churned up section and crossed to the Portway path. This was also muddy in the usual places, but we arrived back at the pavilion in good spirits after 6.4 miles, and enjoyed our hot drinks, lunches and a good chat.
