It was quite overcast when we pulled up in the car park at Abbots Wood. We were without Jean, as Cassius had ripped out a claw earlier in the week and, though he was healing, he needed to be rested.

We set off along our normal track into the woods which leads us to the lake.

Because all the tracks in Abbott’s Wood are not too wide, and the planting is quite dense, it is very easy for a hound to break away and go out of sight quite quickly. To my mind, this has always been a disadvantage with this venue. We have had rebel hounds go walkabout in the past, and it also happened this time.

Amelia Plant, who normally behaves impeccably, decided she did not want to remain with the group. Her absence was not initially noticed, but after some time searching, she was recovered after returning to the car park on her own - clever girl.

The less rebellious hounds enjoyed themselves, though there was a tangible disappointment from some of them that there were no fishermen to harass when we reached the lake. We are normally guaranteed to cause havoc at this point as hounds either dive into the water or attempt to steal sandwiches, bait, or tackle from their bags. After the lake, we followed the route back to the car park.

The Old Oak pub is about half a mile from this walk and so some of us retreated there for a well-deserved pint and a bite to eat.

The weather was taking a turn for the worse as we sat in the pub’s garden, enjoying our lunches in the gently falling rain. Mad, or what?