The biggest challenge for today’s walk was finding the start!
It’s been a few years since I’ve walked here.
After being nowhere near to where I thought the walk was I ended up using the OS Map app to feed into Apple Maps to give me a route to the start.
As we got nearer to the start things started to come back to me.
I’ve tried to recall how I found this walk. But for the life of me I have no clue, except I was not told about it.
The final bit of road saw us pass a kestrel perching on an overhead line.
Little did I know that this would be one of the handful of birds I would see this afternoon.
Start Point: TF 42634 19713
Distance: 2.1 miles
Total Distance: 10.12 miles
Dolly keeping watch on a guy riding an e-bike.Mystery solved?
Near the start of the walk glimpses of the first flowers of the year were showing. A small patch of snowdrops, two or three patches of daffodils. It’s no surprise these were early in the walk near the boundary of a garden.
Unlike yesterday this was not a windy walk, every now and then there would be a light breeze.
What surprised me about this walk was the lack of bird life. I saw a single gull, and a couple of crows. Maybe that regular bang of the bird scarer a farmer was using was working. But I didn’t see anything on the water.
However I did find maybe an answer to the mussel mystery. As the photo above shows I found the remnants of some baby mussels on the base of some reeds that had been dredged out of the drain.
During the walk I was reminded of bringing Nico here with Strider. Especially of the time Nico was chased by a flying pheasant. But boy did Nico like going off into the crops making the walks last a lot longer than they should have taken.
On the way back an egret flew across the drain.
As we walked towards the car I was paying attention to the tracks in the mud. There are some big dogs being walked here going by the size of the paw prints. But I also saw evidence of deer using the path as well. You didn’t need to be a tracker to know horses were also rode here.
If you feel you are able to make a donation you can use one of the donation links below.
I’d like to say a big thank you for doing so and if you weren’t able to I’d like to thank you for reading this far and hopefully sharing the page.
After a day off from the fundraising challenge due to union meetings after work yesterday it’s back to clocking up the miles.
With hindsight I think this photo could have been used on Saturday to celebrate Nan’s birthday and the start of fundraising challenge.
But I wanted to remind folks why I’m doing all this.
I know I wrote a post about it about a month ago when I first decided to do this. However I think as I do this thing I’m doing in Nan’s memory I actually remember Nan.
Nan with her guardian angel Loki.
Loki was Nan’s little guardian angel. often I give the following as an example of just how cunning attack chihuahuas can be. There was a couple of occasions when I’d come home from work only to find Loki on top of Nan’s bed with her dentures! Yes Loki is so cunning he can get the teeth out of an old lady!
Like Timmy and Rex our family dogs when I was a teenager, Loki loved drinking the remnants of Nan’s cup of tea. His head is perfect for fitting into a mug to get those last drops of tea.
But Nan loved having not only Loki but also Nico. They couldn’t wait to go round to Nan each morning.
The two little furballs were great company for Nan.
Today technically I took Dolly to the coast.
Our walk was going to be along the sea defences at The Sir Peter Scott Lighthouse on the Lynn side of the Nene at Sutton Bridge.
Start Point: TF 49335 25484
Distance: 4.91 miles
Total Distance: 8.02 miles
Phantom Ultralight Stove in the BCB mk1 stoveMy coffee for todayMERMOO YILAN Collapsible Pour Over Coffee DripperOuter Trial Bank
This was a very windy walk with the wind coming in from the west. Which meant as we walked back it would be into the wind.
The advantage of a “midweek” walk is we hardly see anyone. On our walk out the only people we saw were far off into the distance on the mud flats. And it wasn’t until we got nearly to the end that we bumped into anyone else.
Unlike the walks by North Level Main Drain there was no mussel shells, or shells of any kind. I did see a kestrel struggling to hover above the embankment in the distance. But it was gone by the time we got even close to where it was.
Other wildlife spotted were a couple of gulls, plus a couple of flocks of ducks flying inland.
One landmark you can’t escape as you walk along this part of the sea defences is the Outer Trial Bank. I’ve dreamt of stepping foot on this artificial island for years. Not just stepping foot on it but wild camping on this desolate “remote” island. One day.
As we walked along the sea defences looking out across the mud flats towards the wash and the Outer Trail Bank. It was hard not to remember younger, more innocent times on the opposite sides mud flats. When as a family at weekends during samphire season navigating the mud flats and the many channels picking samphire. Which when home mum would clean, and the boil, before pickling in vinegar. My mouth is drooling just remembering eating the pickled samphire or even having it in a sandwich. I’ll try and dig out some photos that dad took of us doing this.
About half way back we did get to see and hear a pilot practice on the target range on the opposite side of the wash. We’d hear its jets before seeing it drop out of the low clouds to do its attack run, before sharply pulling up disappearing once more into the clouds. The pilot (I’m assuming it was a single plane) did this about six times before returning to I assume base.
Once back at the car I made use of the picnic bench to brew up using the Phantom Ultralight Stove with the BCB crusader mk1 cookset. The Phantom is an alcohol stove that has carbon felt in it that soaks up the meths. So if it did get knocked over the meths doesn’t spill everywhere. However it fits really nicely into the mk1 stove, and is a nice light alternative to using solid fuel.
As you can see from the photos above I used my MERMOO YILAN Collapsible Pour Over Coffee Dripper to make today’s brew. I like that in its case you can fit some paper filters. My actual coffee was from Artisan Coffee.
I was going to enjoy my coffee at the picnic bench but more cars started to arrive, and one of the dog walkers I bumped into on my way back. I wasn’t going to get a time to enjoy the peace here. So I dug out my travel mug so I could enjoy my coffee on the way home.
Once home I measure the route we took. And I was amazed by the mileage Dolly and I did today. It’d explain why she is lying next to me snoring as I write this post.
It never ceases to amaze me how generous and giving people can be. So when friends and family, even strangers make a donation I’m so thankful. It’s not easy in this day and age for everyone. I know not everyone can donate. But there are ways that people can help that doesn’t cost anything. Sharing this post or the donation page is one such thing.
If you feel you are able to make a donation you can use one of the donation links below.
I’d like to say a big thank you for doing so and if you weren’t able to I’d like to thank you to for reading this far and hopefully sharing the page.
Sunday is a work day for me. Luckily I get an extra hour in bed with the store opening to staff at 7am.
But even that extra hour in bed was not enough for Dolly. When it was time to get up, answer the call of nature, and go next door to mum. All Dolly did was lazily lift her head, give me that look that said “I don’t wanna get up I’m happy here in bed.”
I had to lift an almost rebellious Dolly doing her best limp body, I shall not be moved impression.
Anyway I had to carry Dolly and Nico (don’t ask Nico doesn’t do stairs!) down. Even downstairs Dolly was in her best protesting mood sitting her bum down refusing to go out. I had to shut the stairs door before she made a dash back up to bed.
Work could only at best be described as frustrating, even challenging. The upside for me is that I finish midday. What helped get me through the shift was the thought I’d be out soon enjoying the fenland landscape with Dolly.
Today our walk started on the Newton-in-the-Isle side of North Level Main Drain. The actual parking spot for this walk is about .4 of a mile away from the drain. So technically a little walk in to get to the drain.
Start Point: TF 42406 14330
Distance: 1.77 miles
Total Distance So Far: 3.11 miles
We were going to park a little bit further up the road and actually end up opposite where we were yesterday.
However tractors had really trashed the public access path. It was so cut up and muddy it wouldn’t have been pleasant to walk along for Dolly or me.
Our walk turned out to be a there and back again along the bridle way.
As I said we had a little walk before getting to the foot bridge over North Level Main Drain.
On this side of the drain as we approached it I once again saw a kestrel hovering this time over the field the bridle way bordered.
The sun was out, although not warm, and a slight breeze gave us a lovely fenland afternoon. A complete contrast to the previous day. On days like this the fens can compete with anywhere.
I saw a couple of mussel shells as we headed in the opposite direction to yesterday. So the mystery continues as to how or why these are here. And even why this side of the drain has so few compared to the other side.
I also saw only a couple of crows today. Once again far fewer than yesterday.
There was a new spotting of an egret. I first saw one of these back around 2008, maybe 2009 on a hiking trip down south with my departed friend Alan.
We also saw three cygnets swimming on the drain. Luckily they managed not to upset the fisherman on the bank that we saw, or run into his lines in the water. Apparently today was not a good day for the fisherman he was not having much luck when asked.
It’s hard to make these there and back again walks along the drains sound exciting. But it’s interesting to see what wildlife they attract.
Tomorrow will be a “rest day” I have a couple of meetings after work meaning I won’t be home my usual time. So our next walk for this fundraiser will be Tuesday.
It seems apt that the first day of this 28 Miles In February starts on Nan’s birthday.
If Nan was still with us she would be turning 98 today.
Happy birthday Nan. There is not a day I don’t think of you or miss you.
Separating Tydd St Giles from Newton-in-the-Isle is North Level Main Drain. Like a lot of the water ways in the fens this is man made. You can tell because of its unnatural straightness. I’m not a historian but if this wasn’t built as part of the big draining of the fens in the 1600’s I’d be surprised.
Dolly and I arrived at our start point on the Tydd St Giles side by accident. I was looking for another walk. But my poor memory led me here instead of the correct location.
I do actually have a start point for another walk on the other side of the drain that brings you to the other side of the foot bridge we were parked next to. You can see part of this and a drone shot in better weather on this post from last year.
Today would be Dolly’s introduction to the stunningly stark fenland landscape. The land of the endless sky.
Start point: TF 41973 15019
Total Distance: 1.34 miles
I’d say today was a typical winter fenland day. Overcast and windy. I didn’t think it was that cold.
This particular walk is a there and back along the bank of the drain. The majority of the “path” is more a boggy, uneven tractor tract. Absolutely no cover for a midway brew stop, or have suitable dryish spot to stop.
One thing along our route I kept spotting were mussel shells. Something I never expected. How they got here I have no idea. Maybe mussels were being used by fishermen on this stretch of the drain as bait.
It’s hard not to miss the fishing platforms and other signs (litter) of the local anglers.
As we headed out away from the car I saw two distinctive white shapes in the distance on the path. There was no mistaking these were swans. But as we got nearer the swans did move down onto the drain. When they did this we were not that close. But I’m glad they did.
I also saw a heron ahead of us that relocated else where by the time we got to roughly where it had been.
On the way back to the start I saw a kestrel I think hovering just above the edge of the path.
There was the usual crows spotted during the walk in neighbouring fields, and I think some starlings.
Back at the car I decided to have the brew up I was unable to have during the walk. Dolly sat in the car out of the wind, curious about what I was doing.
The passenger side of the car acted like a windshield as I used the BCB crusader mk1 with a BCB Firedragon solid fuel block. It was too windy to use a lighter to ignite it. So I used a windproof match.
Considering I did not use a windshield I thought it did ok in the conditions.
But it was nice to have that moment at the end to enjoy a coffee and remember Nan. The person whose memory I’m doing this all for.
Dolly did well to deal with the uneven, muddy, boggy tractor tracks that passed as a path.
I’ve not decided on tomorrow’s location for our walk. Probably make that decision during tomorrow’s shift.
Currently after updating the mileage covered today on my charity fundraiser page I noticed I am now sitting £1 short of £300. That’s incredible. Words just escape me really for expressing my gratitude to all those that have donated. I’m also thankful for all those that have shared my donation links even if not in a position to donate.
If you are able to donate you can use either of the two links below.
It’s been nearly a week since I’ve posted anything.
So you know what means.
Yes a proof of life post. Where I tell you I’m still alive and life has been happening.
Indeed life has been happening.
I’ve been off on a union three day health and safety rep course. Which was great fun, really informative, and inspiring. It also meant that Dolly had three days and two nights with mum. While I was off chilling out in a hotel and enjoying the English breakfast buffet (the black pudding was not even remotely close to the black pudding from Stornaway) mum was getting the full Dolly experience. Such as Dolly barking at the tv. Currently and previously I’ve never had a dog that has paid attention to what is on the ol’ tv. But Dolly does and she will start barking for what appears to be no reason.
I did cave (with a little promoting by Duncan) and ordered some more Stornaway black pudding. Yes including the postage it is a tad more expensive than buying it from a local supermarket. But it’s worth every penny. I think it’s that good.
Last Sunday afternoon after my shift I did play a game of Battletech with Diego at the Wisbech St Mary Sports and Social Club.
We used the mechs from the Alpha Strike starter set.
Our game ended in a draw due to running out of time. Our gracious host was closing up.
This time next week Dolly and I will be starting our first walk in this fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Which means my timeline on various social media platforms will be full of photos from the walks, and our progress. Obviously there will be posts on here as well.
In the last week or so I’ve dug out the OS maps for the surrounding area. Refreshed my memory of where I used to walk the wolf pack. Measured out the routes making sure we will clock up enough mileage each day.
I had retired these walks with the passing of Strider. I think initially when I visit each one they will bring up some strong emotions as I remember my beloved four legged companions (they weren’t pets).
I’m looking forward to introducing Dolly to brew time, and sharing stories of the wolf pack and Nan with her. Yes I’m one of those dog owners that talks to his dogs.
The current amount I’ve raised so far is £279. Which is a fantastic amount.
If you are in a position to donate and so inclined you can make a donation using one of these two donation pages.
Friday evening, must be a Fenland Gamers club night of some description.
This time it was a regular club night.
To which six brave souls braved the cold winter night. Storm Éowyn (so cool to have a Tolkien named storm) barely touching this part of the country. It seems being on the opposite coast of where it hit protected this bit of the fens from the worst of the storm.
In the warmth of the sports and social club gathered the six hardy souls. Beverages in hand we settled in to play some games.
Our first game of the evening was Spectacular.
For a six player game it was a fairly quick play.
The theme of building a zoo/safari in this dice and tile drafting game doesn’t seem that strong. The mechanics really don’t support or enforce the theme at all. Yes the art is there. But it felt like the theme really could be anything.
There is definitely feelings of other games mechanically. Or should I say it has similarities. I definitely got a Cascadia vibe with the tile placement and creating zones.
The drafting and placing tiles in your zoo/safari park reminded me of Moving Wild. Which I think did it better with the cards.
But having said the above it’s still an enjoyable experience. I’d definitely play again.
We had a lot of fun playing the game. Anthony I’m sure was trolling Marcin over the rules and how to play during the game. I was correcting Marcin over the incorrect for using dices throughout the game. Pointing out dice is the plural.
Dave just romped home with the victory.
Our second and final game of the evening was my recently arrived copy of Rebel Princess.
This really is a fun trick taking game.
There are no trumps. So it’s highest value in the lead suit that wins the trick.
Each player has a unique power they can use once each round. Which reminds me the game is played over five rounds, with the lowest score winning. How do you score points? You get points for each marriage proposal (basically prince suit cards or frog prince card) you have in the tricks you won.
Each round at the start you give a number of cards to the players next to you. Plus a special rule is revealed that changes the game for that round. Both determined by the same card.
These two factors of variable player powers, special rule cards give a massive amount of replay-ability.
There is a rule that if you get all the princes and the frog prince in a round instead of getting seventeen points which they add up to (the frog prince is worth five points) you get ten points instead as a reward!
This really is fun. You are trying to get rid of your prince cards whilst not winning a trick that has prince cards played. Which is harder than you think.
Theme wise it’s not that strong. But had me thinking Love Letter because of the shared emphasis on Princesses.
Rebel Princess might after just one play have become one of my favourite trick taking games. Yes it’s that good.
Dave also won this game. A clean sweep of victories for him.
With no more six player games we called it an early night.
It was a great night especially catching up with one or two friends who aren’t able to make club nights as regular as they would like.
I can trace that fondness to playing knockout whist with my dad’s aunt Joan as a teenager.
So it should come as no surprise that once I heard about the game Rebel Princess from a video that I would order a copy.
Not only did I order the deluxe version, but I also ordered the promo princess card for it.
That deluxe copy of Rebel Princess arrived last week.
So I’m waiting to get it to the table which will hopefully be this coming club night.
Thanks to a Facebook ad for an online retailer I have used in the past I ended up caving in and ordering my third version of Sushi Go.
This version is the 10th Anniversary Bento Box edition.
There are only 10000 copies of this particular version. After ordering I regretted I didn’t order a second, even third copy. Which I could then later on sell for an inflated price on eBay. But then I thought that’s just not me. I don’t want to exploit another person for personal gain.
Anyway my copy is due any day now. Once it arrives I’ll share on social media what number my copy is.
I did get the Heroscape Battle for Wellspring Battle Box as well earlier in the month too. I’m slowly building up from the Age of Annihilation Master Set and Lands of Valhalla Terrain Expansion.
I’ve still got to get this to the table. But I know I’ll like it having played the failed MtG spinoff years ago.
One that arrived this month and shockingly has been played to is Lure and its expansion Deep Waters.
Well that’s it for this month so far. Finspan is taking orders tomorrow and you know that it will be on its way to me.
Also there is a remote chance Tiny Epic A Game of Thrones might turn up. By remote I mean slim to not happening at all. It’s meant to have been posted from China (and I’ll rant about this once it finally arrives). So who knows when it will turn up.
And now the awkward end of the post. One day I’ll work out how to finish a post.
It seems the gaming has stalled this month. The difference between last night and the previous Friday was gaming took place a week ago.
Last night no one apart from me was free! Life happens as they say. I can’t be too disappointed because it meant I got extra doggy snuggles.
Nico and Dolly snuggling up to me
There was also a chance to game session today but it starts too late for me.
But the previous Friday gaming did take place with initially five of us, that grew to six while we played our first game.
Our first game of the evening was my recently arrived copy of Lure and its Deep Waters expansion.
I decided to go all in even for this initial learning game because the expansion added an extra die for each player and some cards.
This is an interesting game where players using their dice are bidding to go first in attempting to catch the fish cards in the middle.
So secretly each player selects a number of their dice (hidden behind their screen) with lure tokens and everyone reveals the amount they selected at the same time. The player with the lowest number of dice goes first in attempting to catch the fish. This reminds me of that old game show Name That Tune where contestants bid to name a tune using the least number of notes. With the lowest bid getting the attempt to name the tune using the number of notes they bid.
A player catches fish by rolling the dice they used for their bid. If the total of the dice and lure tokens is greater than the value on the fish cards, and they meet any other criteria on the fish (such as having a die with the value of 2 in the results, or all odd value dice) the player can capture the fish. In fact any of the available fish they qualify for.This means it’s possible for a player to take multiple fish, even all of them, leaving none for the other players. In this situation the other players get a lure token.
There are special dice that are not six sided. But if you use them you lose them for a turn. Kind of like a cool down mechanic.
I do like this mechanic. It makes a nice change to the bidding mechanic. You have to weigh up when to use your special dice, how many dice you need to capture the current fish, if you are going to use lure tokens.
(Shipp, 2024) provides a definition of “Theme in hobby board games is a subject in a setting (that may be unspecified) with at least one connection point to the mechanisms which results in an undetermined progression of events at both the mechanical level and the thematic level.”
So the question is does Lure feel thematic?
Obviously the art of the game helps convey the theme. Here the cards have drawings of fish on them.
There is no setting in the sense we can assume it’s a current day fishing trip of some sort.
But I do feel that there is connection mechanically and thematically with the dice rolling and catching fish. Not meeting any of the fishes criteria does feel like you failed to catch anything. Using your special dice feels like you are using a fancy special lure to catch a fish.
It’s definitely not the strongest of themes. But it’s there. It doesn’t feel pasted on.
For the record I won the game.
Our second game of the evening was Tiny Towns.
When Tiny Towns first came out there was some buzz around the game. At one or two points in the months afterwards I nearly pulled the trigger and bought a copy. I can’t recall why I never did.
But I was glad that Charlene bought her copy and we got to play it.
It’s interesting thinking about the game. I liked it. It was fun. But I felt that this game abstracted the theme a bit too much. To such a level this almost felt like an abstract puzzle game. It’s hard to make cubes thematic. And we constantly referred to the cubes by colour over what they represented. Maybe if they had used wooden tokens that were coloured and shaped like the resource they represented.
Somehow Diego won this game.
My final game of the evening was several plays of the trick taking game Seas of Strife.
This really is a good example of a themeless game. The art on the cards really has no connection with the mechanics of a trick taking game.
However because there is no theme does not mean the game isn’t fun.
The twist from your usual run of the mill trick taking games is that you don’t want to win the trick.
But after a handful of fun games it was time to head home.
It was a fun evening of gaming. Sadly thanks to life not repeated this week.
Shipp, S. (2024) Thematic integration in board game design. Boca Raton ; London: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group (CRC Press guides to tabletop game design).
