'And the rain came down and the river came up'

The weather could have been better, but people’s spirits were not totally clouded over, and after a slightly delayed start due in part to ‘innovative’ navigation by the curate the group set off up river, under the canopy of the trees. After an introductory chat from Carolyn, Barrie led us upstream to the next bridge, where we crossed over and walked back down to Tarr Steps. The walk was shorter than the original plan, but the shelter from the trees was much appreciated, and to finish we had a drink in the warm and dry pub rather than a picnic in the increasingly heavy rain. During the walk we stopped at 3 spots for discussions based John chapter 6 (the feeding of the 5000), and shared sweets and biscuits amongst ourselves and with some bedraggled walkers. At the finish Sam gave us a short concluding thought and we finished with a prayer by the river.

Next month… 23^rd August, Croyde Beach for games, reflections on ‘holiday’ and maybe some surfing, 10am meet at Homebase, BYO surfboard (we’ll get hold of a couple of learner boards for novices) and picnic. Pray for sunshine, bring your friends.

Walking in the rain

Sunday 26th July, walk from Tarr Steps on the River Barle... meet up point at Homebase carpark in Barnstaple 10am. Bring waterproofs, picnic (optimistically!), money for the cafe (realistically/pessimistically!), and decent shoes for walking...

The planned walk is fairly much under the trees and in the river valley, so should be sheltered from the wind and the rain, as much as anywhere. If its vile we'll shorten the walk and go for having the discussion time in the cafe rather than the planned idyllic meadow.