Ryhall January 2023 – in words and pictures

Pictures from Tom,  notes from Hilary

Why pay for costly gym membership when Peterborough Ramblers can offer you all the benefits for free? The group who joined the walk were well briefed: it was to be “muddy, and even waterlogged”.

The first 45 minutes concentrated mainly on thigh muscles, with the addition of ankle weights – well, foot weights, actually. We traversed fields with slippery mud paths, leaving the paths several centimetres lower as we went.

Everyone concentrated hard as they slithered, and successfully passed the test without incident. The next section, thankfully, was on tarmac and hard tracks. The back marker could well, however, have placed a ‘Mud on Road’ sign behind the group as we stamped the extra kilo or so of mud off each boot. Once clear, we then encountered the next stage of our workout in the form of a very strong wind, which seemed to blow directly at us, regardless of the direction we took. This gave us the full upper body resistance work that was so rewarding.

The halfway break was much appreciated, as we were sheltered from the wind, so normal social conversation could resume. Then it was straight into a steep uphill section which once more tested leg and thigh muscles. A cooling drizzle met us at the top of the hill, but nobody minded as we were by now swinging along on the homeward trail.

We passed the sleeping dragon at Tolethorpe, which was sensibly sheltering from the worst of the weather under a bush. We were then soon negotiating the final section of potholes on the private road that led us back to our cars.

Our thanks go to our leader, who ensured that we maintained a cheerful demeanour throughout and gave us a generally enjoyable walk.