Whisper heads for the hills

Content as I am with my Cornish home, I must confess to having thoroughly enjoyed a recent change of scene.

I knew something was happening as there was a lot of extra activity in the house. I assumed my humans were going away and either that someone would come to look after me or that I would go to stay with friends. Even though I watched my bed and food go into the car, it took me a while – several hours in fact - to realise I was going away with my humans on this occasion.

It was a long journey and I was pleased we stopped a couple of times before eventually pulling up outside a house I had never been to before. This was tremendously exciting as there were so many new smells to sniff out both inside as well as outside in the garden.

The owners turned out to be people who had stayed with us in Cornwall previously. They made me feel right at home with lots of fuss and my bed and bowls placed in the warm kitchen, where I spent a cosy night.

Next day, we went through a gate in their back garden straight onto the Malvern Hills where they spent several hours walking with my humans while I ran around, energised by the fresh air and sunshine. I met many other dogs, all of whom were very friendly and well-behaved, although I was not too surprised by this as most of them were either Cocker or Springer Spaniels and we are known for our good manners.

This view was reinforced at an outdoor café where every other canine companion was a Spaniel! I was quite happy lying doggo under the table where I was surreptitiously fed all manner of treats by the four humans who clearly didn’t know what each of them was doing. I needed the energy after all that exercise.

After another good night’s sleep, it was back to the hills the following day. The sun shone again and one of my humans stripped off to her t-shirt, which caused a degree of comment. I was getting rather hot myself and was grateful for a tea break and a long drink of water before we headed for home.

And it really was a home from home because there was roast chicken for dinner and, as happens in our place, I had some tasty bits of meat with plenty of juicy gravy.

Good company, exercise, sunshine and delicious food – the perfect holiday!