Overton - take 2

Pushing to use up some unspent 2010 holidays I took today off and headed solo up to Overton once more. I came here, goodness me it's nearly a month ago, to do the Reindeer Roundabout Ramble series - it was sub-zero, windy and therefore bitterly cold.

Well what a difference a month has made - I might still have been taking two steps forwards and one step back but this time it was because of the mud and not the solid ice. It was +12 degrees centigrade (at 10:00 am, much more by midday) as opposed to -4 degrees last time.

I parked at the Reindeer Inn again, a favoured haunt of MikeG the series owner I believe, and set off on a 4.2 mile jaunt picking up 16 caches on the way. Most of the caches were quick and easy finds which, for me, makes the walk much more fun and this truly was a fabulous walk set in lovely countryside; sun, warm air, plenty of wildlife (squirrels, pigeons, grouse) and also domestic animals (dogs, cows, horses) and generally up hill and down dale through mud, mud and more mud.

Lots of mud. I've got home and I'm caked to my knees where it's splashed up both the front and back.

What a great day! And it's not even over...

I returned to the Reindeer, had a drink and some nice lunch in there then moved the car half a mile down the road and started another smaller series. I had a couple of frustrating did-not-finds on this walk, and the mud was unbelievably even worse, but I felt great after it - likely because of the walk up wet farmer's fields making me work hard.

This walk was 2.4 miles and bagged another 5 caches bring the day's total to 6.6 miles and 21 caches.

PS. I genuinely think that in the height of summer this first series "Denby Delights 2010" (plus a few extras en-route) will probably be one of the best cache walks there is. In the thick mud today, suitably equipped of course, I still rate it as one of my best ever. Thanks Mike.