Sunny days have been few and far between in this January of 2026. So when the sky turned blue one Saturday, Toby and I decided we needed to get outside. There wasn't time for a ten-miler, so I shortened the next section of the Portway walk and announced that we would do a loop from Dale Abbey to Stanton-by-Dale. This is not unknown territory. We have done a few family hikes around here - in fact, more than I remembered. When we got to Stanton, Toby said, "Haven't I been here before?". I said I didn't think so, but then as we moved along the main street a few memories started to surface. Oh yes, we had walked this way before. And the reason for that is that there are several interesting things to see. We passed the towering east window, all that remains of the abbey at Dale. There were snowdrops blooming outside the odd little semi-detached church (the other half is now a house and was once a pub - an odd pairing!) We slithered down steep steps to look at the herm...
Getting through life one cake at a time.