Shere luck

A couple of days ago, I had a hankering for a bit of countryside and decided to drag David with me. The weather wasn't all that great, but hey, you takes your chances in old Blighty, don't you? We started at Silent Pool, a beautiful spot which comes with the added bonus of a highly improbable ghost story. If you've been there you'll know that the water is so crystal clear - due apparently to the close proximity of the lake to the source spring - and so you can see very clearly that it's definitely not deep enough to drown in...

Once we'd had our fill of the lake, we headed off Newlands Corner, one of the most spectacular views in Surrey. Or at least it should be. In fact, due to the drizzle and general bleughness of the day, it actually looked like this:

A quick wander out of the car to see if the view could be improved upon (it couldn't), resulted in slipping in the mud and getting my jeans very dirty, so back in the car for a quick trip over to Shere village in search of a cream tea. We found one at the Lucky Duck tea rooms, where we could also buy some local farm eggs. Nice. There is also a ford in Shere (a bit where a stream goes over the road and you have to drive through the stream - remember to test your brakes afterwards!) which I delighted in going through twice for no particular reason.

On the way back I spotted a sign for Bocketts Farm, so off we went, hoping to find some animals to pet. And we found them! Lots of lambs, two of which had only been born that morning and there was still a bit of blood in the pen to prove it. Too much info? Ach come on with you, we're all born you know. We also went to watch the pigs racing. My pig - Frankie de Snorter - ambled in last, while Curly Sue romped home.

All in all, an enjoyable, if rather damp and mucky, day.

For my family: Cow Lick.

Update on the cats: We've temporarily gone back to the red disc for Rudy's sake, as he was struggling with the concept of the hole in the amber one. Gertie had no such reservations, she's been perching over the hole and doing her 'business' right down into the loo. I find it bloody hilarious! But given that Rudy went over 24 hours without peeing - despite clearly being desperate to do so - and peed for about 2 mins the moment I replaced the red disc, I think we probably need to give him a bit more time.