Harry and the panthers!

This was a truly wonderful day, the last day or two the sun has shone, the breeze has been slight and the air warm. In fact there has been no hint of autumn in the last two days. For this morning's walk I took Harry up to the long barrow above Foxhole.  It was a nice but plain walk and the whole time I was tempted by the soaring long barrow above me to my left but it was completely fenced off for the whole walk. The path at the base of the watch hill is still very high in itself and I looked out towards Newquay and the sea to the south. Most of the walk was in the shade of the barrow so whilst I was looking over a patchwork of green sunny fields with birds singing and cows lowing I was in shadow. At the turning point of the walk we came across a house that was being built with a sedum roof and a glorious view looking over the county down to the sea shining on the horizon. SW 978 540 GB The views from the top of the watch hill would be amazing, looking down on Blackpool pit and from up there you would easily be able to see both coastlines



I'm not much for chatting to people but I ought to be more receptive, you hear some great stories. The first man I met was walking with his cocker who had just grabbed a rabbit, the man took the rabbit (dead I'm afraid) and threw it into the hedgeow. I mentioned to him that I just couldn't get Harry to willingly give up his rabbits, what was the secret. "Well now" he says " I had a springer just the same and the trick was to come up quickly behind him and yank the back legs up in the air." "Oh no" says I, "that would never convince Harry to let go, he'd just hold on tighter." "No!" He laughed, "Not the rabbit. Grab the dogs' back legs and haul him up in the air!"  Very funny and bizarre, and can just imagine me trying to hold Harry up in the air by his back legs. I am fairly certain though that it would make him drop the rabbit.

We were at the end of our walk and heading back to the car with me still casting an envious eye up to the barrow when I came across another couple about to set out. Apparently the barrow is private land and access is restricted, there are sheep and goats up there so dogs are highly disouraged. However, the chap said that he had been up on the barrow at night with Newquay Zoo, I thought it was odd but he was also dying for me to enquire further, so I did and it turns out that he was up there tracking for panthers and other big cats. It left me grinning as I went back to the car, I could just picture Harry running into a bush after  a rabbit and come dashing back out pursued by a puma!