Wantage Circular
Start: 10:30am @ Wantage, The Beacon (formerly the Civic Hall), Portway (SU397877, OX12 9BX)
Description: Regular short walk from Wantage held on the third Thursday of every month.
This walk was with The Vale of White Horse group.
It was a frosty morning, my car needed deicing before I set off. I had an errand to run in Wantage so this walk tied in nicely with my plans.
This was the biggest group I had rambled with so far, there were eighteen of us, and two doggies, a husky and a standard poodle with a very bushy tail.
Our walk was a mix of roads, paths through woodlands, fields and alongside Letcombe Brook. We strolled through Letcombe Regis, somewhere I had never been before. I was informed by a fellow walker that The Greyhound pub here does very nice food. I checked out the menu later, quite pricey and really not my sort of thing at all, but I bet the beer is good!
There were a worrying few minutes when the husky dog vanished and we were all watching out for it. It had gone on ahead and the owner eventually caught up with it.
One of my walking companions was delighted to come across some wood ear fungi growing on an elderly tree. She picked them for cooking, apparently they are great in omelettes. There were two more opportunities for gathering wood ear (previously known as jews’ ears but named changed for political correctness).
The path alongside the brook was extremely muddy and a bit slippery in places. I was glad to have my poles to ensure I stayed upright!
