On Sunday 9 October 2011 Robert Slater led the ramble from Baldock to Royston.  We were a small group of ramblers but Robert provided his usual high standard of ramble interspersed with historical details of the countryside through which we were walking.  I had my new camera (a souvenir of our Kerry holiday a few weks previously) and this was it's first outing on a ramble.

I did not activate the camera until the lunch stop and a notice in the pub giving the collective noun for all sorts of wildlife caught our imagination.

Excellent Lunch was served up by the Moon and Stars. We resisted the temptation to buy some "moon eggs" that were on offer!!

With so few walking boots were on again after lunch in record time.

Outside the pub this excelently preserved 1938 Bently was worth a shot.

And on the roof of the house next door were the thatcher's trademark straw pigs.

Early in the afternoon walk we passed a lama farm, although unfortunately the wooden fence restricted the view from the camera.

Soon we were walking through pleasant woodland and a fallen tree with parasites entwining it provided a good backdrop for our walkers

At various point on the walk we touched or walkin along the Icknield way and saw several examples of the waymarks

And here we discussed where we were going next (although the late season blackberries were of more interest to Marie (in the background in this photograph)

We hoped to see some longhorn cows but the nearest we got was this hornless beauty (who seemed to find us more interesting than we found her.

After some minor hills early in the walk most of our day was spent walking across the plateau and as we began the descent into Royston we got this glimpse of the Church tower in the centre of town