We left the dog at my parents’ a couple of weeks ago to see if he could cope without us for the night (it turns out he would quite happily live with my Mum and Dad), and it gave us the opportunity to go for a run and have a night in a nice hotel.

The location for the run was the Long Mynd from Church Stretton, and very scenic it was too. The ascent started shallow enough but soon turned into the short-sharp-shock variety at the head of the first valley. A nip up to Pole Bank, the highest point, before some off-piste descent from the cross dyke below Round Hill into Ashes Hollow. Another tough ascent to the Boiling Well (which was at best seeping, and certainly not Boiling), before back to the car for some fantastic National Trust sandwiches.

After that we de-camped to the hotel for the night, and had a nice sunny wander around Shrewsbury on Sunday morning. We then returned to my parents to pick up the non-plussed dog, safe in the knowledge that we’re now free to book a houndless holiday at some point in the near future. Hoorah!