Well, Larraine and I went out training together today. Larraine very nearly didn't make it, she had a little mishap in Marks and Spencer's in Staines. She went into the shop yesterday just for a little browse, leaving me in a local hostelry having a rest and a little libation; I don't drink much, I spill most of it! She returned to meet me and when she found me, she was in fits of laughter. Once she stopped giggling, Larraine told us what happened in the shop. Unbeknown to Larraine her white cane had become entangled in a dummy, Larraine fell over and the dummy fell over next to her. In the confusion Larraine thought it was a person next to her, she put her hand out to assist, what she thought was a person to find they had no knickers on! To her great relieve she then discovered it was a dummy. Luckily Larraine hadn't hurt herself and when she was telling me and my friends we couldn't stop laughing! We all thought it was a good job the dummy hadn't been a man, that would have been so embarrassing!
We set off this morning to Egham train station, and got a train to Virginia Water, its only about five minutes away on the train. From there we set off walking past some nice Tudor style shops and on through the Wentworth estate, which is famous for its golf course and very large houses that film stars, pop stars and TV stars live in. We carried on and headed for the A30. We had to cross this road to get to Virginia Water Lake, which is still part of the Queen’s back garden. We were a bit anxious about crossing this very busy road, but I said to Larraine if she steps out first and I don't hear the squeal of skidding cars, I'll follow her! So we both bravely risked it… We got over ok and then carried on to the lake. After a couple of hundred yards you come across a beautiful waterfall, it is absolutely fabulous. For some reason over the last couple of years, they've changed the name from the Waterfall, to the Cascade. I'm an old stick in the mud, so I'm still calling it the Waterfall! I hope my militancy won’t affect my getting a Knighthood!
Anyway, back to our walking. We passed along the left hand side of the lake, which is sheltered by a large range of trees and some very old Roman ruins. We carried on to Black Nest Gate and then turned right; this takes us past Smiths Lawn, which is where they play polo. Because its a large open area, it was very windy across there this morning. After passing Smiths Lawn, we turned left and headed for the little village, which is within the park. There is one little post office shop there, so we stopped and bought a couple of chocolate bars to sustain us on our journey. We only stopped for a minute or two as we didn't want our muscles to seize up. By this time we had done about eight miles and we had another four to go! We then headed off to the Copper Horse, which allegedly is haunted by the man who made it! The story is that when he made this very large copper horse, he forgot to put the stirrups on it! So being very upset about this mistake, he then hung himself! It’s probably not true, it’s one of those urban myths.
We saw several young ladies riding horses, they always seem to be very polite to Larraine and I; they say good morning or afternoon, depending on the time of day. When horses are passing us we always stand still, as we don't want our waving canes to panic the horses and cause a serious accident to the riders or any one else. I think the riders realise what we are doing and always thank us.
We then set off from the Copper Horse, knowing we only had another three miles or so to go. We walked down a long straight road, which is called the Long Walk, it is three miles long and leads directly to Windsor Castle. About two miles up the Long Walk we have to cross a very busy road, but luckily for us there's a set of traffic lights about a hundred yards to the left, we can use. We crossed there and continued our stroll up the Long Walk right to the Castle Gates. We knew that we had done twelve miles then. We were a bit exhausted, but we had to walk another half a mile to a bus stop! Fortune was on our side, we only had to wait five minutes for a bus home. We got home, jumped into the bath and had a nice soak and we bragged about who had the biggest blisters. I decided to be a true gentleman and let Larraine win. She wouldn't have stopped going on if I hadn't! Larraine cooked me a lovely dinner and we plan to sit down now and watch the TV afterwards. I think when we go to bed tonight, we'll be asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!
Best wishes
Clive x
We set off this morning to Egham train station, and got a train to Virginia Water, its only about five minutes away on the train. From there we set off walking past some nice Tudor style shops and on through the Wentworth estate, which is famous for its golf course and very large houses that film stars, pop stars and TV stars live in. We carried on and headed for the A30. We had to cross this road to get to Virginia Water Lake, which is still part of the Queen’s back garden. We were a bit anxious about crossing this very busy road, but I said to Larraine if she steps out first and I don't hear the squeal of skidding cars, I'll follow her! So we both bravely risked it… We got over ok and then carried on to the lake. After a couple of hundred yards you come across a beautiful waterfall, it is absolutely fabulous. For some reason over the last couple of years, they've changed the name from the Waterfall, to the Cascade. I'm an old stick in the mud, so I'm still calling it the Waterfall! I hope my militancy won’t affect my getting a Knighthood!Anyway, back to our walking. We passed along the left hand side of the lake, which is sheltered by a large range of trees and some very old Roman ruins. We carried on to Black Nest Gate and then turned right; this takes us past Smiths Lawn, which is where they play polo. Because its a large open area, it was very windy across there this morning. After passing Smiths Lawn, we turned left and headed for the little village, which is within the park. There is one little post office shop there, so we stopped and bought a couple of chocolate bars to sustain us on our journey. We only stopped for a minute or two as we didn't want our muscles to seize up. By this time we had done about eight miles and we had another four to go! We then headed off to the Copper Horse, which allegedly is haunted by the man who made it! The story is that when he made this very large copper horse, he forgot to put the stirrups on it! So being very upset about this mistake, he then hung himself! It’s probably not true, it’s one of those urban myths.
We saw several young ladies riding horses, they always seem to be very polite to Larraine and I; they say good morning or afternoon, depending on the time of day. When horses are passing us we always stand still, as we don't want our waving canes to panic the horses and cause a serious accident to the riders or any one else. I think the riders realise what we are doing and always thank us.
We then set off from the Copper Horse, knowing we only had another three miles or so to go. We walked down a long straight road, which is called the Long Walk, it is three miles long and leads directly to Windsor Castle. About two miles up the Long Walk we have to cross a very busy road, but luckily for us there's a set of traffic lights about a hundred yards to the left, we can use. We crossed there and continued our stroll up the Long Walk right to the Castle Gates. We knew that we had done twelve miles then. We were a bit exhausted, but we had to walk another half a mile to a bus stop! Fortune was on our side, we only had to wait five minutes for a bus home. We got home, jumped into the bath and had a nice soak and we bragged about who had the biggest blisters. I decided to be a true gentleman and let Larraine win. She wouldn't have stopped going on if I hadn't! Larraine cooked me a lovely dinner and we plan to sit down now and watch the TV afterwards. I think when we go to bed tonight, we'll be asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!
Best wishes
Clive x
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