28th July 2017 Walking from Broughton Astley (top path) to Cosby,and back via bottom path. app 5 mls.

We set off from Broughton Astley with very grey skies and the forecast was not very promising.

Passing a barn a noisy flock of starlings caught our attention.

 A feature of this walk is that there are mostly dairy farms in the area so we expected to meet one or two of our four legged friends.

                               

It's also well documented that cows love to congregate around the stiles and gates used by walkers which means that muddy boots will sure to need cleaning later.

 Some walkers are not that keen on cows in the fields.

 We hoped it wouldn't be a problem today as there were nineteen walkers in all so safety in numbers as they say.

 Plenty of flattened crops for the farmers to contend with.

 A chink of light in the corner of the field beckoned us that way.

Through into the next field with care because the stile was a bit wobbly - it was in need of some TLC.

The back markers headed on to meet up with the front walkers. 

All together again, and by the looks of it, we can skirt around the next stile.

Approaching the next gate some bullocks decided to give us a wave bye bye, pity they got a little too close.  (We were in too much of a hurry to catch the moment on camera.)

We hot footed on to Cosby and the small cafe Granny Smiths for a well earned coffee/tea and a bit of cake for some.

Relatives of one of the walkers dropped in to say hello and stayed to sample the cuisine.

Leaving Granny Smiths we set off back to Broughton Astley. 

Fun and games over a double stile.

We like a challenge.

Those grey clouds are forcing even the most hardy of us walkers to take refuge a waterproof.

You couldn't get lost in this field or the next because the farmer has left a generous path through.

As we approached the end of the walk some horses came to greet us.

The rain didn't happen despite the threatening clouds. It was a lovely walk to brighten such a grey day. 

P.S. Willie and Sheila sent their apologies. They are packing for a holiday in Canada. Hopefully, we should get some interesting photos from that trip.