Ellerhayes Bridge - Bull Bait, Child Catcher, Stingray and Splat - 23 July 2017

Hares required for 3rd and 24th September

[words by Bollards] The weather looked promising for a picnic at the start of the hash.  It was quite warm as we circled up near the car park to receive our instructions from the hares.  I can’t really explain where the trail went as there were many twists and turns as we headed through the woods, but fortunately it was well-marked.  All I can remember is that the first long was mainly up hill, until we re-joined the shorts where it plateaued at the top and had a regroup.

We continued over the field, past some cows and back into the woods where there was a strange horse and carriage that you could put your head through to have your photograph taken.  No-one did.  We were all too busy checking.  On we went until we found a checkback which seemed to indicate that we should head into a quarry, but there was actually a narrow path next to it and we climbed up through the undergrowth to the path at the top.  Not long after there was a sweetie stop at a house that was never built.  This was when the rain started and we all sheltered in a small doorway.

A second long/short split followed shortly after the sweetie stop with the longs winding further through the woods before heading down a steep field and along the main track.  There was an obstacle in the form of a fallen tree, turned into a climbing frame, that the trail went directly over before heading into the main park area where there were cows that looked as if they hadn’t been milked for a long time (massive udders!).  Soon we were on home and the rain started.  Luckily, Mad Max had brought a large tarpaulin with him which we laid under a tree canopy to keep the worst of the rain off.  Twin Peaks and Groucho hadn’t returned which caused some concern because there were keys locked in other people’s cars.  It all got rather confusing for a while as we sat watching the rain and the bovine action from our picnic site.  There was fighting and chasing and general inquisitiveness from the cows (not the hashers).  Twin Peaks and Groucho returned and unlocked everyone’s keys but the weather was really not conducive to a picnic and we gave up and went home.

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Coming up...

31st July: Exmouth Sea Front, Maer Road car park - joint trail with Isca H3 (map).  Back to Topsham Rugby Club for BBQ (£5)

6th August: Dawlish Warren (car park on beach side of railway) - Wide Receiver (map) Bring cash for parking

Weston - Strapo, Mad Max and Swampy - 16th July 2017

Hares required for 3rd, 17th and 24th September

[words by Bollards] Fortunately, hashers had followed the directions from the Hash Blog rather than Facebook and arrived at the right Weston. The two and on trail was hared by Mad Max and Swampy as Strappo had the very important job of manning the BBQ back at Mad Max’s place. The trail went a long way along a lane with a fish hook to slow the front runners down. Unfortunately, I was amongst the first five to get there and had a lengthy trek back up the hill to Mad Max. Stix managed to miss it by sneaking off into a field to water the plants. Eventually we arrived at a long/short split near a caravan park. The longs followed a cliff path; taking in some spectacular views. Sorepoint was held up by a lost normal person, but she still managed to get to the Sweetie Stop before the rest of the pack had devoured them all. A second long/short split saw the longs heading through a meadow before turning onto a lane and finding a ha-ha! Back we came to meet the shorts for another undulating (although not as steep as it could have been) trail along the cliff paths before turning inland back towards the Car Park. Back at the cars, we noticed Woodpecker’s distinctive vehicle. This was a surprise as we’d not seen Woodpecker for the entire trail. We carried on with the circle, then decided to leave a note on his car before heading up to Mad Max’s. Fortunately, as we were driving away, Woodpecker appeared from the wrong direction. Apparently, he was running very late and had started the trail, then turned back. We had a great BBQ. It tried to rain, so we rushed to put up an extra gazebo, only for it to stop almost immediately. Typical!

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Coming up...

24th July: Ellerhayes Bridge (picnic) - Bull Bait and Child Catcher (map)
31st July: Exmouth Sea Front, Maer Road CP - joint trail with Iscah H3 (map).  Back to Topsham Rugby Club for BBQ (£5)

Haldon Hill - Hole-in-1 and Blutoe - 9th July 2017

Hares required for 3rd, 17th and 24th September

Last week, someone left behind a grey lightly checked T-shirt of a silk-like material by the poolside. If they please let Woodpecker know, he will hand over ASAP. 

[words by Bollards] It was the biggest turnout for a hash in a long time. No Butt and Mouthful, Swampy and Strapo and others made a welcome return. Fresh(ish) from the fight (it was over a week ago), Holeinone and numerous helpers had laid a 2 and on trail, with 2 long-short splits, although they had got a bit lost. However, the pack seemed to remain together remarkably well, despite the heat.
The long had a gentle downhill start, which seemed to go on for ages (worryingly). We re-joined the short and before long found ourselves heading downhill again on another split. This time we had to climb up through woods and a fern covered bank which was tiring, but fortunately it leveled out again and we weren’t far from the sweetie stop.
There were plenty of sweets on offer and they were needed as most of the pack felt exhausted, despite only having covered a couple of miles.
The trail continued through a shady section of wood and before long we found ourselves back at the first long/short split again, which we took to mean that we were nearly home, unless we wanted to go round again. Soon we were back at the car park. Everyone was grateful for the reasonable length trail on such a hot day.
There were various fines for nerd naming, dodgy conversations, birthdays and new shoes.

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16th July: Weston (Car park in Grammar Lane) - Strapo, Mad Max and Swampy (map)
24th July: Ellerhayes Bridge (picnic) - Bull Bait and Child Catcher (map)

Estuary View, Woodbury Common - Woodpecker - 2nd July 2017

Hares required for 3rd, 17th and 24th September

[words by Speedy] This week, we have been in Woodbury Common for Woodpecker's 50th year of hashing. We considered his hash to be a fairly dry hash up at the common as it was scorching weather. We started off  at a quick pace and were in to the first mile quickly, after a walk through the car park in confusion. We then went through some forests until we came to the first long-short-wa***rs split. We ran down to a back check then ran through some fields of dead, scorched plants. Eventually we made it to the sweet stop where we enjoyed lots of sweets. We set off from the sweets, and went down a hill where near a pool, Rocky found it appropriate to say "Maniacs that way" to some young normal people who looked shocked to see him. We continued to run through the common. When we reached the car park we set off to Woodpecker's estate. When we got there we were greeted by his swimming pool and an infinite supply of every sort of curry and every sort of pudding.  Unfortunately there were no fines today because the sheriff was not there.

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Coming up...

9th July: Route 5 restaurant car park, Haldon Hill - Hole in One (map)
16th July: Weston (Car park in Grammar Lane) - Strapo, Mad Max and Swampy (map)

Woodpecker's down down after receiving his 50-years-of-hashing t-shirt