HOLFORD,Somerton & Higher Hare Knapp Circular Hike, PART II,'Crossing The Fords of Hodders Combe'.

Описание: A peaceful wander along Hodders Combe to the fords and the fast moving and deep streams which I will have to negotiate wearing just walking shoes.Being of a more advanced age I take extra care to find the right spot to cross but the banks are steep and the fords deep so after some deliberation I step toe over balancing precariously on wet slippery stone.....No leaping or balancing across wobbly log bridges these days......In order to cross I had to wonder further upstream resulting in an unplanned diversion into Somerton Combe and so glad I did having not visited this beautiful quiet glen for several years.
A combe where the deer gather by the streams and on the hills and within the trees. Somerton Combe is one of the combes where the deer try to hide from the Hunt that still roams here in the Winter chasing the Stags with the master of the hunt dressed in a red jacket, gun and leather holster on the saddle and his horn at the ready to alert other hunts people charging around ---the deer know and run for safety. Kettled in the combes the female deer gather together but keep dead still and try to blend in with the vegetation but hunting dogs still on their trail sniff out the Stag who literally runs for his life may be to a neighbouring combe appropriately named Slaughterhouse Combe where in the past I have seen the carcass of a huge stag.....
The hike continues folks with further parts to follow for the dedicated followers, subscribers, insomniacs, the Russians and Americans and other parts of the planet, Outer Space and maybe even Mars. A really beautiful day embraced by the beautiful Quantock hills of beutiful Somerset, UK.