Two walks have been held, the first in woodland at the Basingstoke Canal Centre, this is a regular location offering free parking and facilities including a café. In addition to the extensive paths through the woods, the canal offers opportunity for some splashing about and canine refreshment. There is also a campsite (open March to October), ideal in the warmer weather for those that wish to make a weekend of their visit and perhaps enjoy a boat trip – the Basingstoke Canal runs for 32 miles in total! As always, it was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and for the dogs to explore the countryside; we were also joined by some prospective Eurasier puppy parents allowing us all the opportunity to enthuse over our fur babies. Unfortunately, this walk ended somewhat abruptly when Brigitte jarred her already injured back, and sadly she was unable to stay for a cuppa.
Our second walk was hosted by a much-recovered Brigitte at one of her favourite haunts – Richmond Park. It was a beautiful day and the meet was arranged for the Isabella Plantation which is a woodland garden within the park established in the early 19th century– originally a boggy area of the park and known as Isabell Slade, or Sleyt meaning bog and Isabel meaning dirty or greyish brown, referring to the colour of the soil. The dedicated parking at this location was much less manic than at Pembroke Lodge and the coffee van had a good range of refreshments. There was an excellent turnout of dogs including two super cute youngsters and of course their families and once again several prospective owners enjoyed the opportunity to see our dogs ‘in the flesh’ and find out more about our wonderful breed. The walk was not totally uneventful as Murphy decided he wanted to explore the garden area which resulted in the loss of Peter who had gone to look for him and then became lost himself !!
