A Simple Night Walk?

It started out at programme planning with me suggesting a night walk, and at the end of the walk, having fish and chips in Copped Hall, a Georgian mansion near Epping, which is being restored after a fire in 1917 and subsequent neglect.

Towards the date an e-mail was sent by Cliff to members listing the varieties of fish and food which were available. The responses started to come in and in and in.

In the past when I’ve organised these walks we have had about fifteen to twenty members turning out to enjoy trampling about in the mud of Epping Forest. By Thursday we were up to thirty-two, and then Peter B. asked if he could bring some of his Scouts and parents, which of course he could, bringing the numbers up to forty-two.

I had a route in mind using horse rides in the forest, but what with the recently melted snow it proved to be too wet to get to the rides with so many people. I had a route we’d used before that was only a couple of miles long, circumnavigating the land of Copped Hall. On the Saturday morning the dogs and I proved we wouldn’t need a wet suit and snorkel to walk the route that night, and with the fish and food order confirmed, all was ready.

We arrived at the Hall to open up and I left Maz there to collect the money whilst I returned to the gate, ticking the group off as they arrived. Needless to say I blundered by not noticing that Lynne hadn’t turned up when I went back to the Hall. Oops! Thanks to mobile telephones that was sorted.

Eventually we were all ready to go. Duncan was staying behind to light the fire in the room where we were going to eat.

The Scouts were great looking after the dogs, Katie and Eddie, on the walk. The weather was a bit misty, but as far as I was concerned OK, as I didn’t get lost in the dark and got back to the gate in time to go and collect the food. To get forty plus people around the course in the dark without losing anybody is quite a feat, and that was down to Jim, as tail-end-charlie. Well done. I hope everybody enjoyed the mini-adventure and the food that followed.

Peter G.     8th February 2010