Saturday afternoon: we’re out on the Wenlock Edge, enjoying some winter sunshine. There was a moderate sprinkling of snow at home – perhaps there would be a bit more up on the edge? No such luck – just an occasional dusting to prove we were in the same county. Sadly, one or two short stretches of the (public foot)path have been deeply churned by tractor tyres and are almost unwalkable. In fact they are unwalkable. The only progress that can be made – very cautious hedge-hanging, slithering and clambering out of one rut into another – cannot be described as walking. We’ve walked these same paths and tracks in previous winters, and one or two stretches can get a bit sticky, but now they’re seriously damaged. (Did the local farmer get a new tractor for Christmas? One of those really huge, heavy monsters that completely fill the lanes? I hope it came with a rut-filling attachment…)