The Excitement and Despair Of Getting Lost...

Village Cricket Team, Osmaston Park, Near Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Originally uploaded by Geraldine Curtis

At the end of the path another chocolate box scene , this time it was the village complete with thatched roofs. Following the path we came across the village playing field where chaps in whites were hitting leather on willow, it couldn't have been more idyllic.

Then we began our descent, the sun set, the dew rose and we suddenly became aware that our path had disappeared. Walking in the general direction of the car, we drew comfort from the fact that this path appeared to follow the line on our map, but as we entered a forest the path didn't fit the map. We thought we'd take a short cut to the top of the wood, but half way up we came across a pheasant enclosure, where all the birds had roosted for the night in the trees. As we approached the pheasants they flew scarily off their perches and as we didn't want to disturb them we had to retrace our steps - which was becoming increasingly difficult in the dark. We continued to make our way through the forest with only the light from Robert's mobile phone (which was low on battery), then on through several fields hoping that we would meet a road. Eventually our prayers were answered and we could see a road, but there seemed no way of getting to it. To cut a long story short we ended up going through someone's yard, across their orchard and over their locked front five bar gate. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the story. We were so relieved at having reached a road that we then managed to mis-read the map and set off in the wrong direction and had covered a mile before we realised our mistake. Having again retraced our steps we at last reached the safety of the car, the time was now 11.25pm...