12z today - Beenham lies under a warm sector with mist, murk and drizzle. Conditions at noon on Sunday: Thickness, 551dam, temperature 11C (dewpoint 11C). Wind from the northwest, 7 MPH. Today's high, 12C, last night's low 9C. (source: MetO, the 12z GFS and NOAA).

Whew, what a day! As you may have seen on the news, there's been a train derailment in Berkshire. The level crossing concerned is a stone's throw away from the Trust and is on the route to the woods where we walk the wolves - indeed, I'd been over that very crossing the previous week. There was a massive police presence today with the main stretch of the A4 closed off and the traffic being diverted through Beenham (and right past the entrance to the Trust). There was also a news helicopter hovering over the scene for some time, which made things seem a bit surreal.

It was gloomy as I left Leysdown this morning, with a temperature of 12C. Conditions didn't change much during the day, with the exception of a fair bit of drizzle - a picture perfect example of anticyclonic gloom.

By the time I wended my way around the back roads to the Trust I was fully expecting to see a padlocked gate, but this time it was unlocked. I know I usually open with a picture of the skies, or perhaps wolves - but this time there was a pheasant perched on the fence as I got out of the car:

The pheasant, with Autumnal colours in the background

The wolves were their usual enthusiastic selves today, with both Duma and Dakota and the European wolves coming up to their respective fences to greet me. Shortly after that they started howling...

This time, I've a short MP3 of Dakota howling - and yes, I was close enough to make sure that it was Dakota rather than the more dominant Duma.

The European wolves joined in:

Not long after that others started to trickle in and after discussing the news events we headed off to do the cleaning - this time I went down to Kodiak and Kenai. The two wolves were keen to come up to the fence and say hello, with Kodiak performing his trademark growling (yes, he growls softly at his friends). Kenai's coat is noticably darker this year, making her white face even more striking - it's been theorised that she's under less stress this year and that's lead to her darkening.

After clearing away a fair bit of soiled straw and giving the bedding areas a scrub, it was back to the Obs Room to discuss today's walk. A group called Spice had booked a walk, but with the main routes into the woods blocked we were unsure as to whether they'd turn up. In the end Duma and Dakota were loaded into their converted horsebox and we went around some small country lanes in a circuitous route to the woods.

In the end 19 of 30 people turned up and went into the woods, while I stayed back on car watch duty. Two more people arrived after that, one of whom ran into the woods and the other turned up as the car watch shift was changing, so I was able to escort them to the main group. Needless to say Duma and Dakota were most interested in the addition to their pack, although Duma still found time to bump me on the nose by way of greeting.

The woods are absolutely sodden for what it's worth, with plenty of puddles and thick mud. None of that mattered to the wolves though...

Wolves have scent pads on their feet. Here's Duma scraping the ground to spread that scent...

Dakota getting some attention from a handler - she seems to be enjoying it!

The wolves had their traditional paddle in the lake, then it was time to head back to the farm, with a ragged procession of cars following us back.

After teas and merchandise had been sorted out, there was time in the gathering gloom for another training walk around the fields. Today I was being lead by Dakota, and as wolves are most active around dusk (and dawn)... well, she certainly proved very good at pulling!
Each and every time I've been around the field I've learnt some nuggets of info, and today's was that if the wolf decides to go in the wrong direction, one solution is to just stop. The wolf will quickly get bored and head off the way you want them to go, and lo and behold it actually works! There was another reminder of planning your route in advance, as the subtle changes in grip on the lead are picked up by the wolves who'll more often than not head know what you want them to do and head in the right direction. There's a heck of a lot of subtleties and needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

By the time the wolves were released into their enclosure it was dark - time to head home, this time via Basingstoke to avoid the jams around Beenham. Two and a half hours I was home, with the temperature still at 12C.

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