I had no idea, I really didn’t. However we have had two exciting walks in two days and now my assistant has one arm longer than the other.
There we were yesterday as I woke up the assistants by being ill on the carpet. I had been worried by something on Wednesday and it affected me. It’s happened before and will probably happen again. I am a somewhat sensitive fella who is unable to relax, according to local sources.
In any case, Lenny and I were taken out onto the field in front of the house yesterday for a quick stroll about. We had seen car keys going into pockets which gave us the clue that we were soon to be exploring further afield. As we came back toward the house we found ourselves loaded into our travel crates and off down the lane we went. Turn right, then left, follow the road, off the slip road, over the road bumps and then right along a lane that a mouse would struggle to navigate but, somehow, we managed it in the car. We parked, the boot was opened and we let anyone who was in earshot, in Ludlow, know that we had arrived. Out and along the lane we went, toward the piggery. It should be noted at this juncture that there were a large number of puddles, muddy field entrances, muddy puddles and “field food” kindly left by the local wildlife. Lenny and I set about grazing on the snacks and our assistants set out trying to stop us. I was also trying to navigate through the dirtiest of the puddles whilst Lenny tried to avoid them. This was a battle of wills eventually won by the assistants who turned us around before we actually arrived at the piggery. This was very disappointing as we spied many, many snacks that we would have enjoyed very much. As a result of our disappointment I made it my job to try and get as filthy as possible on the return journey to Ludlow whilst Lenny made it his job to circumnavigate as many puddles as possible. He got praised, for some reason. I don’t think he’s a beagle sometimes. Anyway, we walked past the car and turned up the hill by the castle and then through the town where there was a very interesting craft market taking place. We strolled, investigated shop doorways and strolled some more until Lenny and I realised that our stomach alarm clocks were ringing very loudly. It was two hours past breakfast and this error had to be rectified. We encouraged our assistants to return to the car by trying to pull them back down the steep hill which, in turn, caused much grumbling from the top end of the leads. Having returned home we had breakfast and settled down for the rest of the day. Due to beagle wrangling there were no pictures of our shenanigans so you’ll have to take my word for our escapades.
Onto this morning and there was no strolling past the car. We were let out into the garden to run around like a couple of fools. We didn’t let anyone down. Duly harnessed up we were loaded again into the car for another adventure. I looked at Lenny who looked at me. Nope, no idea what was going on but two adventures in two days? We aren’t going to complain (too much). Down the lane, turn right, right again for about seven miles, left, across the crossroads and park. We had arrived in Church Stretton at the base camp of the Long Mynd. Unloaded from the boot we proceeded to try and pull our assistants whilst forgetting that we are connected to them and they are stronger than us. Through the gate and up the hill we went. The road snaked to the left, the sheep looked down at us from the bankside and we tried not to look at the sheer drop into Carding Mill Valley. As we climbed further we were back out into the sunshine and the views stretched away for miles both in front and behind us. Past Snailbeach and onward we went.
Past the Ratlinghope road sign and we could see the hill cresting in the distance. Lenny was beginning to flag now so I pushed on regardless. He has no stamina that brother of mine. We got to the next ridge and looked over in Wales. The views were brilliant and we turned round to look back across the top of the hill we had just conquered.
Lenny had avoided walking in puddles on the way up but he seemed intent on walking through the puddles, bracken and grassy paths on the descent. I was in no mood to stop him as I was trying to drag my assistant up and down the grassy banks, whilst whimpering at the sheep and ponies, looking over the vertiginous drop into Carding Mill Valley and making sure that she got a full body workout whilst wrangling me.
Arriving back at the car we noticed our stomach alarm clocks going off again and this time it was over two hours since breakfast should have been served.
We arrived home and had to suffer the ignominy of having a wet wash and wipe down before we could tuck into our breakfast, albeit very late. A quick run around the house followed by a session of bitey face led to an allegation of us being a couple of idiots and we were told to go and find our beds. Lenny went off to one of my snoozing beds so we had more bitey face to sort out that difficulty. Eventually we were able to settle into a routine of snoozing, snoring and circling. A good day was had by all. Well, me and Lenny enjoyed it. So there it is, I learned that beagle wrangling is a thing. Who knew?
Dexter 