WE were pleased to welcome, Caroline as a walker new to our group and to see Les and Megan and their little dog. We set off in the sunshine down Portway, still very muddy, and continued on to Souldern via the sewage works and Church lane. Our first skylark of the year was in full voice in the fields on the way. In Souldern we accidently divided into two groups. The first walked up the hill and took the road towards Fritwell: the second continued straight across the road and up to Nancy Bowles Wood. We then took the footpath from there to the road junction to Somerton and met each other half way along. The second group then followed us back via the Nancy Bowles track into Souldern where we took the footpath between the houses and eventually followed the path through to Wharf Lane. On their way the second group had seen two deer near the woods. We continued back towards Souldern and turned down towards the ford and returned via Millers Lane to the village and the Pavilion for coffee cake and or lunch. thirteen of us walked a very enjoyable five and a half miles.
