R*n 764: Orton

Willy Wonky took us back to his childhood haunts for this r*n, which was blessed with warm weather and even some sunshine. This was in marked contrast to the earlier part of the day when the cloud was down low on the fells. Does that matter to hashers you ask? Well it did matter to the Rambos who had some fell ascent to look forward to!

The start circle saw us directly outside the chocolate factory, not far from the On Inn. After introductions for three newcomers and some preamble from the hares we were off (all except White Noise who had unaccountably come without suitable footwwear), sneaking out of the village via a narrow footpath. A mix of quite roads and fields brought us to the first Wimp/Rambo split. No More Cum was in the midst of explaining this to his virgin companion when it emerged that he had never realised that W/R also stands for Walkers and Runners. Every day's a school day!

At the end of this split both groups met up again at the Beer Stop. While refreshment was being enjoyed we also enjoyed friendly greetings from several locals out cycling or dog walking. Nice folk hereabouts.

On leaving the Beer Stop we had the added treat of r*nning around a stone circle. Subsequent research shows this to be Gamelands Circle, of Neolithic origin but messed about with in the 1860s. Nothing obviously magical happened to us after a widdershins circuit of the stones so we continued on the trail.

The second split resulted in a degree of uphill effort for the Rambos, rewarded by some wide ranging views and culminating in the cross on The Beacon, one of the highest points in the locality. After that a long downhill r*n led back to the joining of the trails as the Wimps were caught and the village of Orton was regained. Large Package was heard to remark that the later part of the route was the same as the Orton Fell Race. Who is this guy?

A major sporting achievement was celebrated in the circle: Fiddler on the Hoof had just reached his 100 r*n milestone, and was presented with a suitably inscribed tankard. Another sporting hero recorded his 100th F1 win today, but it took Lewis Hamilton from 2007 to 2021 to do this. FotH only needed 2010-2021, clearly a superior achievement.

Well done hares, an excellent trail enjoyed by us all.

On On!