When Will was finally ready we set off for an adventurous ride up Dean Hill, fixing Dillan's puncture halfway up the climb. The sun came out from behind the cloud at times as we passed through Bloody Pool and was very encouraging while we ate ice creams at Shipley Bridge. John, who doesn't really enjoy tracks at the best of times, enquired about whether the moor would be boggy today. Michael replied truthfully that he didn't know, although later admitted that if he were to speculate he would imagine it would be quite boggy in places after the recent rains.

The private road along the Avon looked delightful today with the sunlight shining through the autumn leaves. Lawrence was telling us that he had recently been hiking on the moors with his cousin and that to the left of our road was more than 20 miles of barren moorland.

When we arrived at the reservoir, which today was still and calm, some moorland mist was settling around us. After some stone skimming at the back of the reservoir we had to negotiate some boggy sections on the way to the Abbots Way - not without its challenges as Will discovered when he got his new shoes soaked.

By the time we had reached the top of the hill there was thick mist all around, preventing us from seeing any of the fabulous views normally afforded from this location. We had one more boggy section to complete, just past Water Oak Corner: Lawrence found the first bit so easy he thought he would ride the second bit, but sadly his bike had other ideas and he ended up in the mud. He remained cheerful all the way home however, riding through the ford near Cross Furzes to get rid of the worst of the mud.