Since it was a beautiful evening Graham and I decided to go for a walk from Kellington to the next village of Beal. We set off at a fast pace along the country road and were there in no time, so we thought it would be pleasant to walk back along the banks of the river. The river has a dyke all the way along to prevent it flooding the low lying villages and fields, making a convenient high level flat track for walking. The river forms huge loops and curves however, which meant that the walk back was considerably longer than the walk along the road, so we maintained our very fast walking speed, enjoying the changes in the beautiful pink sky on our left.
After walking a good while we suddenly realised there were heifers grazing ahead on our path, which made us a little nervous as there was little fencing, and it was too late to turn back. We ducked down quietly to the other side of the dyke and tried to keep out of their way as much as possible, coming across several herds as we hurried along. It became apparent that it was going to take us much much longer than we had anticipated to return, and the sky became less and less pink.... However the countryside is totally flat and we were up on the dyke, which meant we had maximum light from the delicately coloured sunset. We had not brought a mobile phone.
Unfortunately the lights of Kellington were not visible at any time as it lies in a dip, but as we frequently changed direction we could keep our bearings with the local familiar power station always visible in the middle distance. After some discussion Graham decided to take the risk of leaving the river, our anchor, and by guiding us in the darkness across a large bumpy (and rather wet!) field he cut out one enormous loop, and we thankfully joined a long but familiar dirt road leading to the village. We arrived back after almost two hours of fast walking from our proposed half hour stroll, with rather dirty shoes needing a very good clean the next day! Richard was oblivious in bed, and Sue becoming a little concerned.
