Jennie said that this was the most beautiful bull she'd ever seen, so that surely merits inclusion. Coupled with the fact that once again It's the only photo i took today. This photo was taken an hour from the end of today's walk. At the time the weather was sunny, so we were in high spirits. Within 10 minutes it was pouring down and blowing a gale, and we were stuck on top of a hill. I'm lucky that jennie likes this sort of weather, so i didn't feel i had to apologise for it. It was raining when we set off this morning, and it stayed wet for a couple of hours, after which it was dull but dry, until the grand finale downpour. On the whole it was much better than the forecast, but then it almost always is. It's simple really, if the forecast is good and the weather turns out not to be, the met office get loads of complaints (the hurricane in 1988 springs to mind!). However if the forecast is rubbish and it turns out nice we see it as a bonus. So surprise, surprise today was nowhere near as bad as predicted. A bonus! I didn't find today's walk any easier than yesterday's really. Three big hills with lots of little ones in between. The scenery, once we could see it, was similar but slightly more dramatic than yesterday, with the black mountain beginning to loom large to the south. We had an indian meal tonight. Meal rating 8/10. Great value (£20 for a three course meal for two!), but the spices needed a bit of variation. Had a couple of good pints beforehand in quite strange pubs (wye valley and arrow breweries). Our bed and breakfast, southbourne, is once again lovely but a bit out of town, so we did a few extra miles this evening finding food. Up onto hergest ridge tomorrow so i can sing that old mike oldfield song: 'hey and away we go.......'
