After the debacle that was the Agricola scoring last week, I knew I was in for some stick this week so I thought I’d try and calm everyone down with a nice stroll through the lake district. Unfortunately, this was winter and the previous week’s farmers were all for saddling me with the heavy rucksack.

The trip from Ambleside started off with fine weather as expected but with all the target locations in the north west of the map, most of us were competing along the same couple of routes. Steve, however, took an early ferry and started working his way on a more southerly westward tack. The weather quickly turned nasty and my cards meant I was stationary for a couple of vital turns when hoping to get to my first target. Things then took a turn for the worse as I drew the heavy rucksack, hampering my progress even further. By noon, I still hadn’t reached my target but I had just managed to pass on the rucksack, which Nige and Mark K then decided to trade among themselves for a couple of hours without moving. Guy managed to slip past them and was making really good progress and building up a big lead. We tried to slow him down with the heavy rucksack but this just prompted him to try and get back to Ambleside post-haste. He didn’t make it within the hour so we managed to vote it off him and onto ….. me! Lacking in points, cold, and no bus in sight, I vainly tried to get home before the five o’clock deadline, picking up a couple of blisters for my trouble. Mountain Rescue was called – humiliation was complete. Guy won quite comfortably, even managing a trip round the lake before going back to Ambleside for an early supper.

More Backpacks & Blisters is full of theme and is a fun experience. There is a fair bit of randomness but there are things you can do to offset bad luck. Planning your route to best utilise your cards requires some thought but don’t bank on the weather staying still for more than a couple of rounds.