Tag: Muddy Marathon

Hi-Vis Beating

Whilst in Essex, we were lucky enough to be invited to go beating on a small family shoot near Rochford. Now, between the two of us we’ve done quite a lot of beating over the years but have never been kitted out with all the paraphernalia that we got on this day; hi-vis jackets, gardening… Continue reading Hi-Vis Beating

Deer and Beer with the Essex Young Farmers

We had a great time at the Essex Young Farmers Deer & Beer night on a farm near Chelmsford.  The young farmers are a really nice bunch and we were very impressed at their ability to turn an empty barn into a great party venue with a fork lift, a bit of tarpaulin and a… Continue reading Deer and Beer with the Essex Young Farmers

Down on Jimmy’s Farm

With a bit of time on our hands before the evening’s ‘Deer & Beer’ night, we decided to go and have a snoop round Jimmy’s Farm.  There was no sign of Jimmy, but his girlfriend Michaela came out to say hello when she saw the van and was really nice. It was much smaller then… Continue reading Down on Jimmy’s Farm

Radio Masts at Dawn

A man from BBC Essex Radio came to interview us at about 7am in the farmyard we had parked in the night before.  He had trouble finding us and was slightly disgruntled to find there were so many overhead wires.  We couldn’t understand what the problem was until we finally found a wire-free area and… Continue reading Radio Masts at Dawn

Horse Play at the National Stud

We don’t know much about horses and we know even less about racing, but when an opportunity arose to look round the National Stud, we jumped at the chance to get an insight into a world that we know so little about. Created in 1916 when Lord Wavertree presented his stud and bloodstock to the… Continue reading Horse Play at the National Stud

A Day with a Norfolk Thatcher

We’ve just spent the morning with Dameon Layt, a reed thatcher from Norfolk. Things didn’t go entirely to plan when the job he was supposed to be working on was put back a few weeks because they’d found bats in the roof, but he still kindly agreed to meet us at the barn (thatched, of… Continue reading A Day with a Norfolk Thatcher

Hunting with Harris Hawks

“If you think you might fall, save the bird” This morning we were at the Bird of Prey Centre in Bedfordshire; home to the English School of Falconry and nearly 300 birds. The centre is run by Phil Gooden and his daughter Emma and is nestled into a patch of woodland in the magnificent grounds… Continue reading Hunting with Harris Hawks

Muddy Pub Quiz at the St John Arms

The Muddy Marathon got off to a great start with our first ever ‘Muddy Pub Quiz’ at the St John Arms in Melchbourne, Bedfordshire. There was a great mix of people including locals from the surrounding villages and Muddy Matches members that had travelled from a bit further afield.  Some of our fishing week competition… Continue reading Muddy Pub Quiz at the St John Arms

Let the Marathon Commence

After months of planning and an inordinate amount of chat about motorhomes, we are finally ‘on the road’. We were greeted with the usual number of problems one gets on important days when you’re trying to leave on time but we didn’t let the odd flat car battery and a complete lack of mobile phone… Continue reading Let the Marathon Commence