4th November Castle Cary. RW, TO, JB, DL, BS, PC, CM and Scrumpy
Under the leadership of Trevor, we returned to the ever-popular route round Castle Cary featuring the ascent of Cock Hill. To ensure visibility at all times, Trevor was sporting a lime green weather proof which he will soon be wearing on the roads as Somerset’s latest “Blood Biker”…a very worthy organization not to be confused with a chapter of the Hells Angels.
We were joined for the first time by Chris Mounsey who entertained us at one point with a passable imitation of Torville and Dean’s classic routine: pirouette round and fall gracefully into the mud. Chris would have been better prepared for the muddy conditions if he had worn suitable walking boots and normally we would be able to rely on Deryck for a great example of classic footwear. But astonishingly Deryck was shod in a pair of suede boots once fashionable in Carnaby Street or on the feet of the groovier artists of Glam Rock. It was John Biddle who dobbed his old friend in it by asking what had become of his standard gear.
Deryck’s explanation was that the well-maintained boots, brushed and polished as always, had been stored in his garage and were now missing. Perhaps a local boot-nicker had taken them from his unlocked garage the day before. One things was clear…the boots had “walked”. This misfortune was greeted with a chorus of cheesy puns at Deryck’s expense. In the circumstances Deryck showed great restraint and unabashed generosity in supplying our sweets half way round the course.
For an account of our route, including all the familiar sites, I refer you to previous occasions when we have circled round Castle Cary. This one had a novel feature : enter a culdesac, admire a caravan and some external clothes dryers then retrace your steps hoping nobody looks out of their kitchen window and reports you to the police as a group of escapees from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.
The landscape had not changed much since our last outing, save for a stretch of roadway from the A359, passing Manor Farm and down into Cary below Lodge Hill. It could either be a side road from the upgraded A303 or a very inaccurate section of HS2…either way it seemed a little over the top for a cattle track. We paused as ever to admire the view across the town towards the dog food factory and into the distance where Glastonbury Tor draws the eye. The weather had treated us kindly and we were in good spirits as we descended to The George for their full English and the cup that cheers.
The walk had lacked Adrian’s detailed historical analysis (and a dog in a window) but we had not lost our way, we arrived on time for breakfast and we had welcomed a potential new member. We take forward a genuine cliff-hanger to the next blog: Will Deryck’s boots turn up? Tune in next week to find out…
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