A walk

When we were looking for a house to buy, we told the estate agents that it had to be detached - not only because we didn't want to hear what the neighbours were doing but because we like to play our music loud! What we didn't say was that we would like it to be within walking distance of a baptist church or chapel and that we would like to put our boots on indoors to walk the hills - ie. we didn't want to drive first!
Fortunately three years ago, a suitable house came on the market - the fact that we still are no-where getting it to how we would like it is beside the matter, but also goes to explain why we have not walked across the fields and up our favourite hill since we moved here!
Until today!
We made the decision on Thursday and watched the weather forecast which improved over the last two days - but we go prepared for rain anyway.
I was quite surprised at my energy levels and we walked further than we last went four years ago. There was a little precipitation in the air when we stopped for coffee but there were pockets of blue sky by lunch time and as we sat on the top we could see Hereford and the Malvern Hills in the distance and the Bristol Channel in the other direction.
The sheep on the top had very thick coats which seemed much whiter than those down on the fields.

As well as the sheep, there were wild ponies. In the past these ponies would have been taken south to the valleys and then down the mines where they would have stayed for many years.

We are on Hatteral Hill looking across to The Skirrid, a hill that we usually climb up the sharp angle, which is the quickest way from home.

These two ponies were obviously friends, rubbing their heads and necks together and you can see from their manes and tails, it was quite breezy!

Our legs were a bit wobbly as we got nearer home and it tried to rain but by the time we had stopped to put on our over-trousers the rain left off and we didn't get the deluge promised by the weather forecast.