Sutton Bank

Its been nearly a month since we did this walk... and it was so nearly a complete disaster.

Plan was to start from Sutton Bank and take in a walk around the hills (well, actually if you start from the top of Sutton Bank its quite flat really) stopping for a barbie at an appropriate spot.

I'd bought a few portable barbies from Lidl at £1 a piece a few weeks before, and some fresh burgers, kebabs and a few rolls from Morrisons the day before so we were all set. Of course, the rucksack holds all the utensils - plates, knives, forks, glasses etc - so off we went.

The rucksack, by the way, I got free from Staples with an order over £39. Its great. Has a section with all the things described above - including a teatowel, napkins salt and pepper and table cloth! One compartment contains all that stuff and there's another for putting things like the food and the barbie in.

As the weather forecast said a nice hot day in store, I'd put my two litre water bottle in the freezer overnight. So that went in the main compartment, along with the food. Its a marvelous way to get a nice cold drink whenever you need it, defrosting along the way. Although towards the end, as the ice gets thin, it makes a bit of a racket rattling around in the bottle.

Having set off about 9 ish, we walked until 11:30 when we came upon the derelict house shown in the photo. It was a bit early for lunch really, but we always cook near a water source in case we need to put it out quickly and this was the first place we'd seen that met the criteria. Looking at the map, there was nothing else likely for the next couple of hours so we decided to stop.

Its as well we did. As I took my bag off, I had a horrible thought... I've not packed the barbie! Sure enough, when I checked it wasn't there. Still in the garage at home! So we seemed to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with just rolls and raw meat to eat.

Dave took a look in the house and found some wood. Outside, there was a spot that looked as though someone had previously had a fire. So, in Ray Mears style, we built a little fire and cooked the meat on a hot rock inside the billy cans we usually make the tea in. Sorted!

Probably one of the best meals of the Gastro season.

Chin chin!