It was great to see old and new friends who managed to find the remote location in the middle of the forest. We had to give warnings about the wildlife we were likely to see, including the ponies, donkeys, cattle and deer. As it was there was only one hooligan in the whole bunch and that was our own dear Isha, who has a memory of an elephant when it comes to remembering where she had seen deer before and became selectively deaf as she went off to find her ‘friends’. The route we decided on was a mix between plantation, ancient woodland and heath. It gave everyone a good idea of how diverse the forest is and included a coffee stop at one of the old ponds in the woods. The first stop was at the oxbow in the stream called the swimming pool. All our furry friends had a paddle and a drink but no one ventured any deeper than their elbows. It is a long steady incline up through the woods till you get to one of the higher points in the forest. The mud round the pond proved irresistible.
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| Kopi 'going deep' |
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| Ann doing the de-mudding of Murphy |
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| Caroline and Vico |
From the pond, the walk takes you along the side of the heath down to a wooded glade with yet another stream to play in. Kopi actually being the most adventurous and going deep.
After telling everyone about the wildlife, finally three ponies were spotted in the distance.
We finished back at the car park and all went for a cream tea. Lots of lovely comments from the other customers about how wonderful our dogs looked and of course we all basked in the praise.
by Ian Cottrell
