50 up!

Here she comes - Parkrunner extraordinaire - Vicky has now completed 50 Parkruns and will receive the famous red t-shirt! This shot is from the Oldham Parkrun on Christmas Day morning which takes place in a lovely old Victorian park (not flat!) We must go back on a summer's day!

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New pub for Dinbych.

Found! Just opened for Christmas - a new micro pub in Denbigh!! Y Goron Fach (The Little Crown) is tucked away on a side street by the town hall. DIdn't look much like a pub from the street but sure enough there was a row of hand pumps clearly visible through the steaming windows and a good crowd of happy customers enjoying themselves. We'd only gone out for a walk with Skip but we were in luck! The head brewer from the Denbigh Brewery was serving local ale (without the benefit of a bar we should add!) Three different brewers were represented all located less than 5 miles away which fits with the pub's mission which is to reduce 'beer miles'!

She's a winner!

Fame at Last

A big smile on her face and an unexpected win. But Vicky deserved the victory winning the Denbigh Harriers Johnson's Handicap shield for 2016. The seven mile race follows the lovely Afon Ystrad for much of it's course and passes the ruins of a cottage once lived in by Dr Samuel Johnson hence the name of the trophy. The route also passes the Johnson's Monument, an interesting piece of sculpture in the middle of nowhere, plus Gwaenygog Hall where Beatrix Potter did some of her writing - so a literary gallop through the woods and vales, Johnson was apparently not too impressed with Wales but the scenery, even in the depths of winter is delightful and Conde Nast traveller magazine recently described Gwaenygog Hall as having one of the top ten gardens in the UK. Vicky's win was slightly assisted by an energetic Skip on a lead - sadly Martin failed by 10 seconds to make it a first and second family victory!

The Johnson's race was a muddy one but the previous weekend Mortimers Forest Trail Race in Shropshire had been a lot muddier! I'd worn trail shoes basing my clever decision on my spotting the word 'trail' in the race title. 24 hours of constant rain prior to the event had turned the narrow forest tracks into an endless quagmire - when we finally found a bit of road (see the pic!) my inner racing demon was unleashed and I managed to pick up a few places on the run in.