Things to do on a slightly grey and drizzly bank holiday weekend when you haven't gone biking/camping with friends because of dog faff: visit a castle!
This is the view from the top of the keep at Goodrich Castle.
looking north - note River Wye on the left
We've had this one on our list for a visit for ages now - a couple of years ago we used the car park and walked up Coppet Hill, intending to go in afterwards... but ran out of time. I'm certain I'll have been dragged around it as a child, of course.
It's a dog friendly site, and the admission charge includes a really good audio guide. And I'm saying that as someone who easily gets bored of listening to commentaries! It had plenty of interesting information, but without being waffley.
The tearoom was very good too - I had a massive cheese scone, Jon had some very chocolatey cake, and the dogs got some biscuits and a fuss from the staff.
If you follow me on instagram, you'll have noticed that we've had a new addition to the household recently. This explains why I seem to have disappeared into some sort of antisocial black hole recently. (sorry friends)
Anyway, meet Tilly!
She's a 2 year old lurcher, who we are fostering from the Forever Hounds Trust. Hopefully she'll be staying with us permanently - she has some issues with separation anxiety which we need to address first, but we do seem to be making good progress thanks to being able to work at home, and her settling in and getting used to our routine.
Over the last two and a half weeks she's been on lots of walks, trips to several different pubs, a BBQ, a castle (more on that later), dog training sessions, and we've both taken her out running several times - which she absolutely loves! Busy busy
Bonnie seems to be enjoying having a new friend, even if her snoozing frequently gets interrupted because Tilly wants to play.... Here they have having a rest in the garden after running around after each other.
Or, for a possibly more official name, "Skechers Performance 10k Trail Run". Who knows.
I'm sure I've mentioned many times before how much I love the Forest of Dean. This run was on fireroads and decent forest paths, and on a warm sunny day that meant no mud on my shoes. Lovely. There were around 200 runners (plus others doing 5k/1k), and a choice of medal colours. I went for the one that didn't involve any pink...
Starting at the Speech House field, the route headed to Mallard's Pike. Downhill! I also started off too fast (not a surprise).
Well deserved ice cream, and some bling
Once over the lake, we started on what seemed to be a never ending hill. I tried my best to keep going, but I ended up walking a few times.
There were two water stations, at about 3.5 and 7km ish. Turns out I can't drink from a plastic cup and keep moving, even if I slow down - which is not ideal. If I take water on a normal run I've got one of those stupid 'hole in the middle' running flasks, or more recently a soft bottle which is much easier to deal with (also good for rucksack side pockets, bike jersey, ski jacket, etc etc)
tags: castle 
