Walkie 3 - An historical walkie

Length
About 7km ish

Noms
In Bedwyn and also seasonally at the beam engine in Crofton. During the summer they have very nice BBQs and also a Cafe. There is a licenced bar seelling local ales and cider too for the hoomans. I had sossige and was very nice.There are also pubs and small shops in Bedwyn.

http://www.croftonbeamengines.org/

Parking
Several areas for parking in Bedwyn and also Crofton.

Why should I do this walkie?
How often does oyu get to see the oldest of sumfing in the werld? Not that often I would guess, but on this walkie you go to Crofton Beam Engine, its the oldest working beam engine in the whole werld! An for those that hasnt seen one before it moves water from the canal to the top of the hill using a coal fired steam pump.

Its a nice flat walkie but if you cross the canal to the beam engine you does have to walk over a lock whcih might not be suitable for very big furfriends or those hoomans you might bring who arent too steady on the pegs. Worse case though they could stay one side of the canal and you fetch them noms from the tea room, its a very pretty spot to wait. If you does like more 'istory then you also get to walk through the churchyard of St Marys in Bedwyn. Inside is the tomb of Sir John Seymour, father of Edward & Jane Seymour, Jane being one of the wives of Henry VIII's (a very norty man).

Wild Lifes

Red Kites,Geese,Canada Geese,Frogs

So onto the walkie...

I started at Bedwyn and ended up back there to, you could start and end at Crofton but for the description we start at Bedwyn, is my walk so I am telling the story :)

So, set off down the canal on the opposite side to the railway and the railway is on you right. You is allowed off your leady on the toepath but you needs to be careful as there are locks and steep sides to the canal so you doesn't want to go swimming cos you wont get out :(

As you down the canal bank you will see lots of pretty plants and intersting anipals. I did see lots of king cups and a very big frog.

There doesn't be many instructions now as you cant go too far wrong if you just keeps walking so enjoy the views and think about what noms you want at the halfway stop. 

You will see the steam beam engine in the distance and if you is lucky it will be a "steaming" day and you can see the chimney smoking. If you want to walk even further there is a footpath up to the left to Wilton Windmill but for me I had smelt the barbeque and windmills didn't sound so exciting from where I was standing.

Bar and Noms at Crofton Beam Engine

Your final half way challenge is to cross the canal., here is a picture of where you walk, I dussnt be joking, you has to walk over the little bridge at the side of the lock gate. 

Yes, you does need to walk across...

Once you has made it across you just follows the signs under the railway line and up the steps. There is a bar,cafe and sometimes barbeque. You best check their website for the different times in the year. Dogs aren't allowed inside but then I can see why, there is alot of things you could falls in or get stuck in and people shovelling coal. If your hooman wants to go in they can have a tour at certain times but they does have to pay for that. Its free to walk around the grounds.

Inspecting the coal

Moley was worried about the water pump

So after your rest stop its times to walk back, cross back over the canal and back the way you came. You can carry straight on but we made a detour to St Marys Church, you can see on my map you will need to cross the bridge down to the railway line. Then you needs to be super careful and on the lead even if you are very well behaved because you need to cross the railway line. The trains are mainline Great Western and go very fast so we did wait to be extra sure and then walked very swiftish over the railway line. Once safely over follow the path across the grass into the churchyard. Once though the churchyard you are on the main street where there is a little shop if you need more supplies. Walk along the high street back to your starting point and probably a well earned rest.

Happy Walking 

Hetty

The Biggest Doggie Show on Earth

Once more brought to you by the furry paws of Hetty the Bear (now slightly less furry thanks to the grooming parlour)

Some of you know I like to do my running, running and Terriers go together so I will be honest it comes naturally, although more naturally if squirrel's or bunnies are involved..... Anyway, as the culmination of my running year so far I went running at Crufts last week. Running and Birmingham I hear also go together as I am told some parts are a bit rough and you best be running if you want to escape but I didn't see any of that luckily.

As Crufts is on the television I had to be looking my best, this meant a trip down to the grooming parlour,  somewhere I am not a great fan off not least because its run by poodles and painted pink but apparently it was an important part of the preparations what with HD filming and the fact the camera puts pounds on you if you have not had your hair stripped recently.

More sensitive dogs than me might have taken offense at being bought this

Then we were off to Birmingham. Birmingham is quite a long way from where I am living and even for a travelling dog like me I get a bit bored. On the way we developed a puncture on the car, due to the cost cuttings where the staff is working there was no spare tyre and just a can of foam which to me didn't look quite up to the job and also like it might be a bit messy for those of us who have just had their fur done. This meant we had to go to a tyre repairer. Luckily being near to the big doggie show they were very kind to me and gave me crisps and a nice warm place to sit.

Waiting for the puncture to be mended, bit dull....

Then it was time to go to the hotel, I have never seen so many furry friends in a hotel before (apart from the places people call "hotels" but are actually kennels, don't be thanking I am so stupid as to fall for that). There were little furry dogs, huge great dogs and more Red Setters than I thought there were anywhere. The nice people at the hotel were well prepared though, there were 3 bowls of water in reception ( tried them all because you cant be too sure) and they gave me a dental chew when I checked in. After all that excitement I needed a little snooze.

I am liking the Holiday Inn thank you

Next morning I had to get up early which is not one of my strong points but I was smuggled some bacon from the breakfast buffet and sat under the table so things could have been worse and I was excited to be going to see my running friends, particuarly Mitch, he is a Border Terrier too and he has to drive all the way from Scotland which I hear is a very long way.

I am open to royalty payments for allowing myself to be have my picture taken next to the controversial Crufts logo

So then it was time for getting ready for the running...After I had collected my race number there was lots of time to look for things I never knew I needed. Everyone was very keen to get me to try their treats and sell me dogs beds. I don't think I have been fussed so much in one morning.

I was very excited!

I had to be very quite backstage, it was very difficult because all I wanted to do was run and everyone was barking but I tried my best.

See, trying best not to bark, honest

Then it was finally time for my running!! I ran around the arena and More 4 did film me because apparently I was quite amusing being quite little.

Then I was running outdoors... For those that have time on their paws you can see me running about 5.5 minutes into this clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZYO-SRoF0k

I was running quite fast as I have heard there be gangs and such around Birmingham so I was taking no chances ...

After all the running I was tired again, even after my bacon breakfast and lots of free dog treats so it was time for a bit of a swim in the lake.

We are all having a drink and a swim in the lake after our sprinting



After all that excitement there was time for a bit more doggie retail therapy, although I wasn't too sure about some of the things on sale..



Not sure there would ever be a time or a place for a cowgirl outfit thank you


Finally it was time to head home but not before I claimed my free picture from the nice people at Venture Photography, not sure they captured my best angle but I can safely say its different to my other pictures!



Thanks for reading, signing off now for a snooze,
Hetty