Slogging Through The Mud

Today my hiking group held its holiday luncheon. We decided to celebrate in January as many of us were either very busy or traveling out of town during December. We started the day of, as usual, with a hike, this time from Bilton through the Nidd Gorge. When I had heard we were hiking the Nidd Gorge I knew we were in for some muddy going. This will be my third time hiking the Gorge. Each time has been muddy. I really HATE hiking in mud. If it hadn't been for the holiday luncheon I probably would have skipped the hike. Today the mud seemed worse than ever. Nigel, our local outdoors expert, also joined us on the walk. I hadn't brought my camera because I knew the Gorge wasn't particularly photogenic and I wanted to be able to keep up with the group for a change. Well, I ended up bringing up the rear again as I stopped with Nigel to do some bird watching along the way. We didn't see much at all except some lovely little dippers in the River Nidd. But sticking with Nigel had its benefits...he knows the shortcuts and before long we were at the head of the group.

The luncheon was held at a place called Dr. B's. It is a restaurant run by the charity Barnardo's. Aside from being a lovely little restaurant/coffee shop. Dr. B's is a training facility for youngsters with learning needs. I have to hand it to those kids. They handled our noisy group of about 40 or so hikers with panache. We did have to wait a long time for our orders to arrive but all the food was really good. Except my main course. It was supposed to be pan-seared tuna with orange coulis and cardamom. What I got was overcooked to the point of almost dessicated tuna topped with a sickeningly sweet sauce that tasted like orange marmelade. Oh, but I shouldn't be so mean. The rest of the meal was really delicious: Leek and potato soup with a tasty cheese roll. Dessert was the highlight: apple and blackberry crumble with custard. Absolutely scrumptious.