not getting there

Small girl and I set out this morning to walk along the Roaches and find Lud’s Church. I had Made A Plan. I love plans (and maps, and timetables, it’s worryingly close to being a trainspotter, I know…) And I especially love to complete my plans and tick them off. Ah, yes, horribly goal-orientated, me. This is not always a good trait for relaxed days out with children.
 
So I had my bag packed last night, and this morning I dragged small girl from her bed. We were there early. There was LOTS of space to park. (This is not an outing for a sunny weekend, but I am always delighted by how relatively quiet weekdays are, even in the summer holidays. I guess that’s because some people have jobs to go to…)
 

 
It was sunny as we climbed up through the woods.
 

 
Scratching post.
 

 
View from the ridge.
 

 
Doxey Pool.
 

 
We looked for the mermaid, but couldn’t see her.
 

 
But there were clouds to admire.
 

 
Trig point.
 

 
It had clouded over by this point. We were sticky and sweaty, and we looked at the map, and the landscape laid out below us, and considered our options.
 
“Lud’s Church is over there somewhere.” (MUMMY POINTS)
“Mmm.” (THOUGHTFUL PAUSE) “So we’d have to go down, and then back up again?” (MUMMY TAKES PRIDE IN SMALL GIRL’S ASTUTENESS)
“Yes…” (MUMMY SENSES A CERTAIN LACK OF ENTHUSIASM IN HER WALKING COMPANION)
“Or we could stay up here and pick bilberries and then go home and bake more muffins…?” (MUMMY CONSIDERS THE MERITS OF THIS PLAN CAREFULLY)
“We could do that.”
 

 
So I still have never been to Lud’s Church. But it turns out I don’t mind. We’ll do it another day. And in the mean time, we will eat muffins…