Todays permitted exercise!

[anthonykay]

3h27m of fairly relentless, but not fast, walking, with plenty of mud. Northwards through the western fringes of Loughborough, out towards Hathern and then down to the River Soar near the Normanton-on-Soar chain ferry. Then back along the river and canal bank to the town centre, and back home. The river was flowing fast, but hadn't come over the top of its banks.

The sign at the chain ferry said that it operated at weekends from 1st April to 30th September. £1 per person, 50p per dog, 50p per bicycle. A dog plus a bicycle is of equal value to a person. Discuss.

[Travs]

If the dog is riding the bicycle it should be allowed on for free...

[Graham Breeze]

Perfectly edible

Many things are. When I was in Cambodia the menu outside a tourist restaurant, including items such as Chicken Curry Soup, assured potential customers that they did not serve, Rat, Cat, Dog, Monkey or Worm. That menu was in English.

The menu for Cambodians may have carried different information.

[Graham Breeze]

I remember hearing about "the squirrel woman" years back, woods below the golf course? Never met her but I only became obsessed by the rats after we moved here and conservation of the last reds.
Grey squirrel days (years in truth) are numbered, reading an article in "The Squirrel" magazine today (I can forward it on to you Graham ) about genetic engineering to control them and other invasive species. Phase 1 is completed by Edinburgh university and given cash and a few years it will hopefully be rolled out and see the total end of greys in around 15 years.

Interesting but I fear "not in my lifetime"

[Graham Breeze]

If the dog is riding the bicycle it should be allowed on for free...

If the dog is riding the cycle I think it should give up the day job of being a dog and be promoted to be chain ferry captain.

[Mike T]

9.19 miles, 2,800 feet, 2 hours 34 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Very little snow at this level, and no ice; terrain saturated and slippery. Mainly overcast, with the odd ray of sunshine; occasional flurries of graupel - I could see large showers in the distance. Not particularly windy, despite the yellow weather warning, but I suspect it was grim higher up. Not many about - as many runners as walkers.

[Mike T]

7.74 miles, 3,694 feet, 2 hours 52 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including three times down the race route to the kissing gate. Sunshine, no wind. Terrain mainly frozen, with patchy snow still present above 1,200 feet if not in the sun. Microspikes were brilliant today - the most dangerous surfaces were the pavements in the town. Lots about - they were not enjoying the steps on the tourist path.

[noel]

Microspikes were brilliant today

What sort do you have? I've read reviews, but it's normally more useful to have a recommendation from someone "in the know".

[Mike T]

What sort do you have? I've read reviews, but it's normally more useful to have a recommendation from someone "in the know".

Kahtoolas - they are several years old, and will probably see me out. They are really good on ice/frozen terrain/slippery rock/"dry" snow. They don't work so well with slush or muddy grass - they just fill up with gunk every few steps. They can be left on on tarmac - just in case there was still some ice on the roads yesterday I wore them all the way home, which involves about half a mile of tarmac. They come with a storage bag so they do not mess up your bumbag - though you may need to pay extra for it.

[JohnK]

+1 for the Kahtoolas