The Forest of Dean and the hills of Wales

GG and I took our Easter Sunday walk on the Arlingham peninsula, on a bend in the river Severn. We took the Skylark walk, which led inland and up Barrow Hill, the only hill on the peninsula. We did not see any skylarks but heard plenty.

Half way round, we had our picnic. They're getting more elaborate every week. GG did mention asparagus but hadn't actually brought any. The strangest item was a sandwich she'd made for herself: smoked trout in a hot cross bun.

The final part took us along the river bank and then back towards the village. I managed to bump into two sets of people I knew from Stroud. Of course it was a perfect day to be out for a walk: blue sky, washing flapping on lines, grazing sheep in lamb; even the odd Easter Alpaca in the fields.

As we stopped by the church for a second, I noticed that I was feeling quite stiff. Of course, it had been a long walk, though almost all on the flat. 15,000 steps, as it turned out. GG dropped me off at 4pm, I had another bath with magnesium salts in it because by now I was aching all over. Had it been wise to go for a 7.5 mile walk the day after my second jab/jag? Eventually I managed to get out of the bath, only because I had to cook a chicken dinner for a friend who was coming round to eat al fresco.

Believe it or not, the dinner came together really well. The honey and ginger carrots, the roasted leeks went down very well, and the potatoes were spot on. The chicken wasn't bad either! We also managed to hunt some Easter eggs in the garden, though J was slightly surprised that her Easter treat bag contained cheese flavoured crisps, a bouncy rubber egg, a headscarf and a small pot of Ambrosia Devon custard! It is well known that she doesn't like chocolate, but she does like cheese, custard and headscarves.

Bomble got some chicken, too, so he was happy eventually, having moaned and got under my feet for the entire time that he could smell the chicken cooking!

J. left, and Steve and I watched Line of Duty. Now there are three back-to-back episodes of Between the Lines! I've sampled my free from Easter egg from the co op, which tastes ok but is tiny. We also tried out my new boombox/radio CD player. I started with a Pavarotti CD. The sound is excellent.

What a day! Sunshine, company, water, walking, good food and music with friends.

The tree in extras is a very impressive one at the top of Barrow hill.