Sunday marked a very special Walkabout for London Scottie Club members. Not only were we treated to exceptional sunny, windless autumnal weather this far into November. We also returned to the same site that hosted our last pre-lockdown Walkabout.

A few veterans from that earlier walk in January 2020 were back. Meeting Marshal Zelda and founder George among them. Just like in 2020, so too today, we had nice fresh weather upon Hampstead Heath. So it was a very poignant moment to be visiting a place nearly two years on, and after all that Scottie owners have endured during the pandemic in the intervening time.

But there the comparisons end. At the last walk around Kenwood House we had half a dozen Scotties. And that was enough to earn us a report in the Ham & High newspaper, the widely-read local newspaper. Thanks to which we earned more members!

Fast forward to Sunday where we had no less than 17 Scotties enjoying the beautiful grounds of Kenwood House in North London. Our records show that Kenwood on Sunday was our second-best attended event. second only to the 21 Scotties who attended the first post-lockdown Walkabout in Hyde Park this May.

The unmissable Kenwood House is Hampstead’s landmark and has a fantastic rich history dating back to 1616, changing hands numerous times over the years. These days, we are lucky that it is owned by English Heritage and we can all enjoy its splendour as well as the walks it offers.

As Scotties lined up in front of the imposing white building, it felt like a news conference with many cameras taking photos of the dogs. And there felt a bit of a parallel with home of the US president, the White House, where two famous Scotties once lived with President George W Bush, the famous Barney and Miss Beazley. And if you are looking for any other related highlights of today’s day, consider that Miss Beazley’s father, a Scottish terrier named Clinton (political allegiance unknown), was born on November 7, 2000. Clinton was also the half-brother of the Bushes’ first Scottish terrier, Barney. For some amusing Barney photos from archives that we do not own, head of over to this gallery.

Max, Daisy, Edwyn and their parents continue the acquaintance on the bus home!

At Kenwood, we had a truly impressive range of Scotties aged from 8 months to 11 years old; all were impressively well behaved and able to have a joyful run around in the leaves and (small) muddy patches. The Scotties had travelled from all over London and beyond, it was lovely to see how they were arrooo-ing with each other and having so much fun.

The blue skies gave way to a chilly wind later in the afternoon. So after a 2-hour loop starting from the front of Kenwood House, along pathways which were perfect for walking for all ages, then through an interesting muddy challenge (where a few of us found out that Scotties enjoy muddy parts as a good bio break!) the Sham Bridge, Wood Pond & Thousand Pound Pond , we all ended up at the cafe for a hot cup of tea and a chatter.

The London Scottie Club Member Tags are currently undergoing trials, so members all had their QR codes ready to record and welcome new and established members of the club. We are pleased to say it was a huge success, largely due to the members’ skills retrieving their QR codes! As we must remind you, from 2022 the Member Tags will become compulsory for all London Scottie Club events.

Thank you to all who came along, especially those who travelled far and new members as well. We hope to unwrap our December holidays-themed Walkabout details soon. So stay tuned!

Below you can enjoy our gallery of photos from Sunday’s event. Thanks for sending them in!

 

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