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19 Fs and a BGT in the Dog House |
The Dog House Hotel |
Getting prepared for the run with bacon butties |
F Register Organiser Phillip Prout waves the first TF off
with his crutches |
Plenty of places to stop en route for lunch |
The BGT tackling a tractor en route |
Four green Fs were first to arrive at Littlecote House |
F Register flag flapping in the flower bed |
This is the red & yellow side |
Circling Littlecote |
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The White Horse Runners |
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| Nineteen Fs and a BGT gathered in
the field next to the Dog House Hotel near Abingdon for the
start of the fourth F Register White Horse Run. Although
numbers were slightly down on previous years the runners were
still eager to head off in to the Wiltshire countryside having
been fuelled on bacon butties and hot tea. Run organiser Philip
Prout waved us off with the aid of his crutches , having
recently undergone a knee operation, as we left the Dog House
and headed for our first white horse. This area is well known
for it's mystical and pagan connotations and our first horse was
the oldest and most famous of them all - cut into the hillside
at Uffington. We drove beside Dragon Hill, a man made mound
where local legend has it that St George Slew the dragon on the
summit (despite him actually being from the Middle East !). You
can't keep a good legend down for on the summit is a bare patch
where the dragons blood spilt and grass has never grown. We had
slight shortage of horses this year - the next had faded into
the hillside and was only just visible and the one at
Marlborough college kept well hidden behind the trees. Still on
the mystical theme many people stopped at Avebury for lunch and
a walk around the huge stone circle before setting off past
another massive man made mound at Silbury hill - across the road
lay the burial grounds of West Kennet Long barrow. If you didnt
fancy the queues for lunch at Avebury then there were plenty
more pubs along the route for that sunday roast.
The first four Fs to arrive at Littlecote House near
Hungerford were all green and set the precedent of parking on
the gravel circle in front of the house. They were soon joined
by the rest of the cars. Tea and biscuits were laid on and after
a minor organisational hiccup over payments we all enjoyed a sip
in the ancient oak lined hall.. Littlecote is now a Warner
Leisure Hotel and as such was busy with residents taking an
interest in the cars during breaks from their many other
activites ranging from bowling to Archery. After a stroll around
the grounds it was off to leave the quiet of the countryside to
face the rigours of the M4 again on the route back home |
Event organised by Phillip Prout Words and Pics Tim Morris |
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