After what really had been days, weeks and months of rainy days and miserable Sundays getting many of us down, the Ricardo led Milton Keynes walk of Sunday March 24th was transformational! A sunny warm day for us GOC members to enjoy. The meeting point was Ridgmont, a small village located near to Junction 13 of the M1 motorway close to Woburn Abbey. I have read that the name Ridgmont was taken from the French ‘rouge mont’ which when translated means red hill.  There were 18 members on the walk that commenced just after 11:00. The start of the route followed the Greensand Ridge, a feature that rises from surrounding clay vales that gives a landscape of gentle rolling hills and small valleys, the features up until the lunch point were wooded and rich in wildlife. There were signals throughout the day of the blossoming new life to come. The lunch stop was on the hilltop overlooking Brogborough Lake, with benches and picnic tables for comfort and whilst munching on our snacks there was the glistening of that lake, it appeared calm in the warmth and view of windsurfing and topper boat sailing made it all very picturesque. To add lovely visions of men in rubber.  When our time of ‘repas’ had ended with the sparkles of the lake under the gentle sunlight that created a relaxed atmosphere for this short period of rest; we set off for the afternoon part of our sunlit Sunday jaunt. The gentle wander back to the start point of this delightful circular walk continued to be a jolly congenial event even if there were some slight mud challenges given the past watery weather, there was a sizeable field of churned soil to cross but it proved firm to soft accompanied by sight and the sound of the motorised plough giving life to the fertile land bringing nutrients to the surface for the seeding, the thrum and hum a characteristic of the season that precedes the summer in the countryside it was most definitely seasonally palpable . The walk ended just after 15:15 and about 14 of us took advantage of the Rose & Crown for some refreshment to cap the day. Such lovely company with banter, catch ups, words of wisdom and best of all those hilarious jokey disparagements. Thank you, Ricardo, for such a beautiful boon and the experience of an English Spring.