I’ve not been out and about much for the past few weeks, after a bout of flu before Christmas, swiftly followed by an annoying cough in time for New Year. Plus, we’ve had day after day of chilly, grey, wet weather.
Today though, conditions were perfect for an excursion. The sun finally put in an appearance. My cough has become slightly less annoying than it was. Most importantly, our nearest pub, The Star at Harbottle, recently changed hands, and is now serving coffee and cake on Wednesday mornings.
It’s a 7.5 mile round trip on foot, through some beautiful countryside, in low winter sunshine.
It was lovely to find the pub full of ladies (and yes, it was all ladies!) meeting up and enjoying cake and scones, especially when so many rural businesses are struggling. The place had a real buzz, together with a warm welcome and a pub dog. Oh, and I highly recommend the cinnamon and apple cake.
I expect to find my boot heels wandering in that direction again, especially as I can extend the route to include Biddlestone and Alwinton, and really earn that cake.
