Stratford upon Avon Circular 6.3 miles (12/04/22)

Members Present: K Maguire, M Simmonds, P Cotterill, M Farkas, D Chambers, A Dulson and M Sadler. (7) We arrived at Stratford Parkway Station via various routes and congregated in the sumptuous carpark to celebrate Mary's **th birthday with the 'Caterpillar' Cake that Phil had brought along. It wasn't the only Caterpillar in attendance.....Mark was sporting a superb new moustache ...Dickie Davies style! When we last walked this a couple of years ago, the weather was wet and windy and upon the journey down, I feared it was going to be the same, but luckily, the rain stopped and it remained dry throughout the walk. There were a couple of good short climbs that got the coats peeled off, lots of stiles of varying condition to climb and a busy road had to be crossed twice. Lunch was taken at a huge Farm Shop complex before we entered the Welcombe Hills area. Here, stunning views were to be had as we made our way to an obelisk next to the stunning Welcombe Hotel. We left here negotiating the undulating hills before arriving into the posh suburbs of Stratford. Almost at the walks end, we came across some boaters having trouble with a canal lock. Luckily, we had our canal expert, Derby Dave to assist them. At the walks end, the club reverted to type and returned to the 'old norm' and we had a few beers in the Micro pub near the Station before returning for home. Karl Maguire 07926096259