Dam It!

DH, BFS, PC, AC, PCL, Sully. With guest appearances from LF, HM & Ollie.

Richard and Trevor had decided they had better things to do this week, Trevor opting for the north coast of Cornwall for his exercise, so having one spare space we invited Luigi to be our duty “healthy person” for the morning.

Heading out through Bruton station we bumped into another Sexey’s stalwart in the form of Harry taking his collie Ollie for his morning walk. The opportunity for him to join in with a different walk and scintillating conversation had him fall in line and tag along without any further thought.

Heading down to Batts Hole we turned right into the fields bordered by the railway on the right and the River Brue on the left. Sully was first to recognise the sound of running water and made a beeline for the first access point he could. Ollie being a bit older and wiser stayed on higher ground. A steady 15 minute stroll up to the track, passing under the railway and on up to the dam wall. It was here we gathered for the tales of the great flood of Bruton 1982 and the subsequent construction of the dam and water flow channels that have kept Bruton dry since. If you’ve never been to Bruton dam before, a strange setup with no water to be seen, today at least.

The mercury continued to climb and so did the terrain, as we made slow and steady progress from around 60m at the start of the river to close to 140m at the top of Dropping Lane. This was familiar ground for Ollie but for Sully, new and exciting territory with many challenges to be overcome. Being of the blonde variety, at times he sometimes makes a total and utter fool of himself, and today he excelled. It really wasn’t that difficult to follow Ollie’s route through and under the fence which ran alongside the deep cattle grid, but no, today this was not an option. Was it too small a gap, did he have claustrophobia at the thought of his head and body becoming trapped in the gap, or was he just been a big girl and showing off! I opt for the later, but despite much coaxing, shouting, mockery, you name it, Suly through the hole was not going! This left some very limited options, and as all my every helpful co-walkers were already the other side, it soon became clear I would be writing a new verse for “The Bear Hunt” any minute!

We're going on a dog walk.

We're going to catch a big one.

What a beautiful day!

We're not scared.

Uh-uh!

A cattle grid!

A big wide metal one.

We can't go round it. We can't go under it.

Oh no!

We've got to go over it!

Pick up big heavy stubborn retriever

Stumble trip! Stumble trip! Stumble trip!

Argh!!!

Safely back on “terrafirma“, Sully jumped out of my arms none the worse and promptly continued his walk with even a cursory nod of thanks! Thankfully no one was quick enough with a camera this week to record the incident.

We passed a few strange inscriptions on flat stones, (I do not understand modern art) and having waited for Pete to complete another hedgerow scavenge for his weekly blackberry supply, we were down to Hauser & Wurth, across through the allotments, collecting a bit of free veg for lunch ( I can’t remember who or what), before bidding farewell to Harry & Luigi and heading back to Petes for another cracking garden breakfast, with some great tasty sausages. Another one for the record!