R*n 305: Levens Hall

Congratulations to Toothfairy for arranging hot sunny weather for her run at Levens Bridge in spite of the fact that she had to cross the border into rainy Cumbria to set it.

Congratulations also to Toothfairy for another glorious barbecue in her Silverdale garden in spite of her not having attended very many LVH3 runs recently.

A motley crew of hounds fought with local ramblers for parking space north of Levens Bridge and were joined by two visitors, Al and Trish, who had come all the way from Bedfordshire in the mistaken belief that we were a serious running club. We won’t be seeing them again, unless they’re much madder than they look!

Speedbump and Dormouse spoilt their unbroken record by arriving early, having spent most of the night cycling from Ulverston; but retrieved their reputation by delaying the off by unsuccessfully searching for their bicycle locks, then trying to hide their bikes behind a wall in clear view of the road, then finally agreeing to lock them on the roof of Al’s car – so that he could take them back to Sandy where the terrain is much more conducive to cycling.

Suitably late (and long after Lurch & Morticia’s arrival) the pack set off through the green fields of Levens Park in search of flour.

After emerging into the rocky gorge of the Kent the trail set off through fields of cows and went up hill and down dale and up hill and down dale and up hill and down dale – but which hills and dales shall remain a mystery. At one point a railway was crossed using a footbridge – except for Bitter who wanted a closer look so sneaked across the track. We all thought he’d been run over but he’d simply taken the Wimps trail and was never seen again until the beer stop.

After interminable miles we came close to Crooklands where Baldbrick had set his underwater run some time ago – but nobody recognised the views.

Fed up with hills and dales, we set off back along the canal bank with a few false trails into fields and landed back at Levens Hall once more – a long and hot run for a hot summer’s day.

Down-downs were given to the hare for haring, Bitter for railway short cutting, Full Member for Marathoning, No More Cum for phoning, the visitors for visiting and Speedbump for cycling.

We then set off on a scenic tour of Arnside and Silverdale to spend the afternoon grilling our sausages at Toothfairy’s house and grilling our bodies on her lawn until one by one we retreated into the shade, defeated by unusual sun.

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