The weather had been really hot for the previous couple of weeks, and the forecast was set fair for the day itself.

A large group of members and hounds had assembled in the car park, and we were very pleased to discover there was a total of thirty-four hounds plus owners, all eager to commence the walk on this very hot morning.

Frankie wasn’t feeling very well, so she walked to the seats overlooking the Warren and had a rest. Terry and I had Annie only did part of the walk and joined Frankie, where we had a great view of the rest of the party, and could see them when they were at the top of the monument. They then circled and eventually got back to us.

(Ed writes: In these hot conditions it was inevitable that the pack quickly split into faster and slower groups. Some hounds - and owners - are fitter than others.

At the bottom of the steep, stepped, section, which some find hard to negotiate, I halted the vanguard (or so I thought) and looked back, waiting for the trailers.

However, my command of the walk was not as total as I imagined and an enthusiastic number went walking off - gaily taking the wrong path while chatting obliviously with each other. Our webmaster - who really should know better - was in the midst of this breakaway group of rebels. I had to yell at the top of my voice to get their attention and make them return.

As I said at the time, “Pay attention, we’re not here to have fun”.)

As it is a little way to Jill and Brian’s from the walk, there were several sets of follow my leader to “The Barn”, eventually, everyone making it safely.

We were very sorry to learn that Sheila had had a nasty fall the day before, resulting in a good many stitches in her knee and a wait of over three hours in the hospital. However, Sheila and Dennis arrived with her speciality raspberry and beetroot salad, which I can thoroughly recommend.

Brian took over cooking on the barbeque, with help from Chris and Russell, and Jill and Sue laid out a selection of salads etc. in the kitchen.

Everyone had a drink and sat back in the sunshine in their lovely garden. It was very relaxing and in no time at all the food was cooked and we all enjoyed different meats, sausages, quiches and salads. After this came the pudding course with again a great variety. Everyone just enjoyed the food and drink and sat around chatting. The dogs had a really good time chasing around or finding a bit of shade to have a sleep.

In no time at all the afternoon had gone, and I’m sure everyone thanks Jill and Brian for an excellent day out. How many years is it now Brian? It’s always such a success due to both his and Jill’s great hospitality.

Due to technical difficulties there were no photos in this report. Photos have been added for the website.