INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

It's almost criminal that I'd not been to Bradgate park for the best part of 3 decades. I don't count the bit where I walked by the outskirts a few months ago. Predictably we headed up to old John and the war memorial stopping for a coffee at the Deer Barn. The thick fog put an end to any good scenery pictures but it was an excellent walk in good company. We stopped for a couple of drinks at the nearby Bradgate pub before going out own separate ways. 

  Another venture into South Leicester this time half way between South Wigston and Glen Parva.  The first mile was not good along muddy slippery paths constantly watching my footing. Thankfully we came onto more solid bridleways for an easy flat walk. As usual it did have a "this would be great in summer" feel about it, we had another muddy mile via the canal path towards the end. Had a drink at the very historic Glen Parva manor pub, bonus got a lift back into Leicester !!!

  I'd never been to a meetup in the South Leicester area and it was a welcome change of scenery. Great Glen was a nice village to start off in. We headed out to Stretton hall and past a small airport, (I wasn't aware Leicester even had an airport). We did have a navigation dispute at the halfway point as the organizer was following a list of instructions instead of a map.  It was a nice steady flat walk overall, finished off with a social drink at the Greyhound.  

 I noticed something familiar as soon as I got off the bus and walked towards the start of the walk outside a pub. I have always promised myself I won't do repeat walks within a year of doing them before. Unfortunately I didn't check and at least half the walk was what I did back on the 22nd April. We went across Beeston hills fields to Bramcote hills park and revisited the hemlock stone. It was a good view over the hill before walking by the old disused canal through a couple of nature reserves back to the Nurseryman pub and grill. Nobody stopped for a drink and went straight home.  

I was feeling absolutely terrible the previous evening and had to drag myself out the house to attend this event. On one hand this was a welcome break from endless walks and on the other it wasn't a mad night out drinking which I certainly wasn't up for. We met at Leicester clocktower and headed to the park after half an hour. We were some of the first in, the weather was dry and not too cold which is always a bonus. First display I'd been to for years and was amazed by the scale of the even, walked for 15 minutes beyond the stage pictured above, passed the funfair and they had another fire on at the far end. If you didn't get food or drinks first thing (I did) you were going to be waiting ages. A small display for the kids, fire jugglers, a singer with the sound terribly mixed and finally the main firework display at 8pm. Not my video. The crowd quickly started leaving after 8:20, was invited for drinks in town but not feeling it and went home

  Despite being a similar distance from home as Leicester, Derby, Nottingham I hardly ever go near Burton On Trent. I nearly pulled out after getting soaked before even catching the bus, but it had forecast sun by the time I arrived. Burton marina was a scenic although I almost missed the start of the walk by approaching it from the wrong side. It was about as simple a route as you could get, walk north alongside the canal stopping at the Bridge Inn pub. We did a circuit around Branston Water park before retracing our steps for the last third of the walk. Hardly the most creative route but OK.

  A part of Nottingham I'd never been to before near Broxtoe which was the start location. We headed on a mostly flat route that took us through Strelley village. Then it was across small woods and fields pass the water tower pictured above to Swingate then back to the start location. Had a drink in the Holly Tree farm before heading home.

 Missed the bus so ended up cycling to the start point at woodhouse eves. I actually got there a lot quicker than waiting around for a bus connection in Loughborough. It had been years since I'd been to the top of Beacon hill and never by this route. We headed along Brook road to Deans lane before heading off road to the final climb to the top of the hill.  It was downhill all the way back going on a footpath parallel to Beacon road. We turned right and went across some fields before heading back to woodhouse eves.  Then it was the uphill ride home.

 This was a repeat of the Matlock trip we did 2 years ago.  MATLOCK BATH ILLUMINATIONS/FIREWORKS BEER FISH AND CHIPS (insidetheworldofmeetup.blogspot.com) A lot of people dropped out leaving only 5 of us which was unusual for an event like this. We met at the Merry Widows pub opposite the train station and got the train to Matlock Bath. Had a few drinks at the Midland and the fishpond before loading up with fish and chips. As I wasn't sure until the last minute that I'd actually be going I didn't get a ticket to the light show and fireworks display. I waited outside for 90 minutes while the other 4 went in, loads of people watched the fireworks display from the road and entry to the pubs anyway.  We had the same conversation as last time about not paying to watch the fireworks. Missed the pubs to make sure we got on the train, didn't stop for a drink in Derby. Fairly good night despite low turnout.

 I was in London for the weekend with a plan to walk with meetup on the Saturday then watch the London marathon on Sunday. Downe on the Downs - An Origin of the Species walk from Zone 6 (14 miles) | Meetup I woke up Saturday morning to find the walk had been put forward to Sunday due to the heavy rain forecast for that dinner time. Since I had nothing planed as most of the standard tourist attractions I'd seen or now required pre booking. I choose to do a modified version of the walk myself with the plan of bailing out as soon as the weather got bad. I got the train down to Orpington then walked through High Elms country park avoiding stray balls from the golf course. I walked past Charles Darwin's house pictured above before taking a footpath in the general direction of the nearest train station. I ended up in a small village called Hazelwood where the road was fast and a bit dangerous. By this point the rain was slowly getting worse.   I managed to find another footpath...

Only a tiny handful of meetups I have ever come home disappointed from but unfortunately this was one of them. On the surface it seemed to be a good afternoon, nice outdoor pub, food and live music. The pub was very close to where we had been walking just a few weeks earlier. We sat outside from around an hour before it started raining and everyone went back into the small pub and it was a bit of a mad scramble to get a table.  The second problem was the group I was with, it seemed everyone was in the 15-20 years older than myself age range. On all other events there seemed to be a good mixture of ages but this time I felt out of place. A couple of people started to leave before 4 and I left to catch the bus home at 4:30.

  A week earlier I'd been diagnosed with post viral fatigue and wasn't still feeling good. However I needed to get out the house and this walk was a lot shorted than what they usually do. Typically I had a choice between spend 2 hours on a bus waiting for connections or walking for about an hour from Markfield via the edge of Bradgate park. I chose the walk and actually spent more time walking to the start of the walk than the actual walk itself. It was a loop of less than 4 miles and we were back to the carpark within an hour. Short, simple and with how I was feeling glad I didn't go any further. Got a lift to the Badgers Sett pub in nearby Cropston others had food but after paying a hefty 3 pound 15 for a diet coke I waited until I got home. A woman from the walk also gave me a lift to Glenfield and dropped me off at the bus stop 2 minutes before the bus arrived.....

  Been feeling under the weather for over a month, so an afternoon drinking day with the easy option of jumping back on the bus if I started feeling worse was what I needed. It was nice to see some new pubs like the distillery pictured above. Typically over 60 people were on the list and the actual figure was close to 20. I caught up with a few faces I'd not seen for over a year as well as met some new ones. We moved on to the Rutland and Derby where we spent a couple of hours. Then we moved onto the outdoors to the craft beer festival. Most of the beers had already sold out despite it being an all weekend event and not even Saturday night. The rest of the group didn't seem impressed and we moved onto a nearby pub after one drink. The final pub was table service only but all of the previous Covid restrictions elsewhere had been lifted. I was enjoying the evening but didn't want to push my look any further, headed home around 20:30.

 I'd been ill for the best part of a month, a night out in Leicester for that evening was cancelled. I managed to get myself to Shardlow for a walk as it wasn't too far from home. Only 5 of us turned up but it was good to catch up with the organizer who I'd not seen for nearly 18 months. It was good flat easy route alongside the canals, started near Great Wilne. Headed past a couple of marinas and stopped for a drink at the steamboat inn. We all wanted to stay longer but managed to get back on the footpaths. The return leg was basically retracing our steps on a path close to the one we went out on.  Nice area, as per usual the group were stopping for a drink but I was only 15 minutes from the next bus so it was home early.

 I didn't enjoy the majority of this walk, nothing to do with the route or the people of course but the hot weather. I'd been on afternoon shift so it was a late finish followed by an early start which didn't help. I'd never been to Market Bosworth before so as usual it was walking on unfamiliar ground. We followed the path down towards Sutton Cheney. Then up a few hill that wouldn't have been a problem in normal weather to the battlefield visitors centre. We had a well needed pitstop where I felt much better after food and drink. We headed to the canal which I thought was the best part of the walk.  A lot of boats and a lot of people were also walking but a few questioned us for doing that distance in that heat. We walked to the north of Market Bosworth crossing what looked like an old golf course before heading back into town.  It was more than enough, thankfully I got a lift home. 

 With the overdue Euro 2020 under way I was taking a mini break out of meetups but since this one didn't interfere with anything I thought why not. It was also only 5 miles instead of the usual 8, we met outside a pub on the main road and did a circuit of the nature reserve. It was flat and easy despite the muggy weather and another place I'd never been before. A few faces I'd not seen for a year since a few were still cautious about Covid.   To be honest I was a bit on the tired side due to lack of sleep so glad I didn't go any further. Had the chance to stay for a drink but with one bus an hour and the next one due in 10 minutes I opted for the early ride home.

  How long have I waited for this, almost 16 months at a rough guess. An afternoon / evening out drinking away from my own village. Not including short stop-offs at pubs while out with walking groups. We met in Weatherspoon's at 4pm, I caught up with a couple of old faces as well as meeting several new ones. After a few drinks we moved to an outside area where you could order food and drinks from nearby places. I wasn't hungry and the group split into 2 for a couple of hours between those who wanted to eat and those who didn't It was a very hot summers afternoon and with Covid restrictions in place most of the pubs had security controlling the people going in so there were lengthy queues. We ended up going in the cooler indoors at Hogarth's. Just as back in the village near home there were obvious inconstancies on how strict the pubs are with the restrictions. You could sit 7 on a table for hours in one pub without anyone saying a word only to do the same in another and...

A new group had formed during lockdown and I was invited to join, the first time I have had to pay a membership fee, only a few pounds a year so no big deal. I did question spending longer on the bus (one way) than the actual walk itself and the fact that there was only 2 others going. But with nothing else pending and I be sitting at home watching the Euros the next few weekends I went anyway. The other 2 on the walk were friendly and talkative which always helps, we headed to an area north of Markeaton park. The scenery was unexpectedly good and not too hilly.   With the temperature going above 20 degrees it was a good thing it was only around 90 minutes long. Ultimately I had to get my foot in a new meetup group as so many others had closed during lockdown.

  Good news I didn't have to catch multiple busses before I even started the walk, unfortunately I wasn't seeing anything new as the Nottingham group came over to Coalville this week. The turnout was a bit low compared to the usual with less than 8 people. We headed back into Whitwick via the Hermitage lake and towards Grace Dieu ruins via cademan woods, even passing by my own street which was not actually on the route plan. For once I could be a bit of a tour guide but to be fair Edward knew some things I didn't. From there it was up the old railway line between Whitwick and Swannington and back to Coalville. I did about 5 minutes of footpath I'd never walked on before.  Others commented it was one of the best walks we had done which was good to know for my local area.

  Another weekend another walk, this time a 2 bus ride to Melbourne. We met and walked down the cloud trail again covering a lot of ground I'd never walked over in my life. It seemed to be an older crowd this week for some reason but we all still managed the short but steep climb to the top of breedon hill. It was a bit windy so we chose to stop and eat when we got back down. We headed back across farmland towards Melbourne Hall pictured. Then is was back into town where I has a nightmare getting home as I missed 2 connections.

 Typically I had a good walk from Kegworth to East midlands parkway station before I even started. Also typically I was going through an area less than an hours car ride from home that I'd never walked through in my life.  I also wondered why they put a train station in the middle of nowhere. It was a poor turnout, less than 10 people for what was a good walk on flat terrain in sunny but not too hot weather.  We headed through the villages of Thrumpton, Barton (where we stopped at the church grounds for our break), Clifton Grove and Wilford. The area around Clifton woods and along the canal was outstanding. Overall it was one of the best walks we had done, having good people to talk to along the way always helps. Somehow managed do get into Nottingham city center with the maximum of country side on the way in.

Can't believe I have never been to Sherwood forest despite being less than a 90 minute car ride from home. It was a bit further than I thought and was close to 3 hours on public transport. We didn't go the route of the major oak tree but went through some well defined paths towards Rotary wood. After a couple of hours we got to our dinner stop at Rufford Abbey.  It was the best part of the walk around the ground and the lake with lots of people about. Personally I would have like to have spent more time around here. On the way back it was over farmland which was a bit less interesting. The main event going home was having to run through the city to just make the bus home.

  Another 3 months in lockdown without traveling more than 4 miles to and from work. Then meetup walks started back up with waiting lists of over 20 people. I then somehow managed to end up on 2 walks on the same day and had to choose between them. We started at Bramcote hills park, heading north to Trowell, then looping round back to the starting point.  The walk itself was good, the bad weather held off and it was good to catch up with some faces I'd not seen for ages. Hopefully this is the end of lockdowns and a step in the direction of normal life.