It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

This has got to be a first -- being led through the snow in near white out conditions on a short cut to find the way marker to start our day's walk...by a blind man.  Seriously.  We awoke to a mini blizzard and ventured out via the instructions of our host.  Problem is -- directions mean zippity-do-dah when you can't see a bloody thing.  Then along came some dog walkers, including a friendly bloke with an innate sense of direction.  He was totally blind in one eye and had about 5% in the other, a mere pinpoint of light.  And damn if he didn't guide us right to the spot we needed to be.  

The day proceeded from the ridiculous to the sublime and back to the ridiculous.  The sublime?  The sun came out, the snow melted, and it was the clearest day yet -- all the way to Wales.

The ridiculous?  Yesterday, when we thought we'd seen all possible forms of muck, well, it turns out we hadn't.  We had not yet seen cow pasture muck. Muck so deep, in a swath so wide, there's no possible way to pick your way through.  So you just say, 'sod it' and wade on in.  

And despite what most of you are probably thinking, it was an amazingly awesome day.  If you're not totally into walking there's no way to explain it.  I will admit, this is a totally tougher slog than any day on the Camino.  But sometimes you just stop, make a 360 turn and remind yourself where you are -- walking across a beautiful section of England, seeing things you'd never see in a car.

And mud washes off.

Eventually.

Beer du Jour - Old Hooky Bitter.  Oh, and today's traditional cuisine? Beef and ale pie.  OMG.