Crew: Bern, El Pres, Slim, 3 Sheds, Troll, Butty, Doog, Dunc, Stunt
Route: MC, Zig, Teggs, Leathers & Witches cottage, Charity, Extension, Nessit, Ressies, Redwillow, 5 Clouds
Conditions: Mild, Dry, Breezy
Notes:
Bern takes charge after a few weeks away from the collective, suggesting a simple formula of forest with a pub & pizza finish.
It tempts a decent crew, enjoying dry and mild weather in the fading light, and getting mirth going almost immediatley with tales of canine excrement from our guide dog puppy walking leader.
Bern’s route misses the Zag, so Pete who is waiting there, is fetched by a volunteer whilst the main group head up to Teggs from the broken road to murder farm (also still technically Teggs nose lane).
Full lights needed for a fast and loose descent (minding the two walkers near the bottom) a hint of slither on the traverse to the track to the car park, and bats flitting in the dusky gloom.
A long climb from a very low bottoms ressie all the way past the Leathers up the road, onto the track, past witches cottage and up to Hacked way lane (for a breather), up the steep tarmac to the start of Charity proper.
Chazza damp but not as wet as you would have thought, the extension strewn with baby’s head rocks, and no Bern gravel dancing this week 😉
A final section up to standing stone, across to Nessit and down the descent and round the ressies gives us a respectable >2000ft of climb for the evening, and a hankering for the pub.
The Leathers has shiny new signage and lights (although no marks for the sparky who has left wires running across upstairs windows!)
The bike security debate spurns the presidential offer of the secure bike shed of mum’s flat, and we opt for lots of locks in sight of our table. The redwillow beer is good, but the attitude less so as the pizza oven has been switched off, and they are not keen on us bringing in takeaway! to make matters worse last orders is called at 9:30!!!
Ops leader Bern bails deciding he has to drive to Brum to get cheap building supplies (cue deep discussion with the Troll on local options) The president takes charge, orders Pappa Johns, and we prep for a divert to 5 Clouds and mix with the late urban cosmopolitan crowd. Ruth arrives in the van to give a Pizza assist, and all is well. Tis a bit chilly and windy al fresco, but once the food is consumed we get an inside table and enjoy warmth, mirth on the habits of plasterers “not quite housetrained, and only an inch above orangutangs!”, and bish bash bosh, board & skim, Loaaads of monnney! 🙂
Apparently the state of their radios is a whole other conversation!
Well some of the best nights are when the plan needs to evolve, and tonight was definitely one of those nights -even if 10:22pm may rank as the latest we have eaten in a very long time.
Proper pudding stout at 12% meant 1/3 was the right answer.