Dave Liquorice used his keyboard to write :
On Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:51:28 +0100, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

It still puzzles me how a lightening bolt chose a tree halfway up a
hill with a sodding pointy church on the top with the mother of all
lightening rods.

It chooses both the best and most direct route to discharge itself.

No, it takes the path of least "resistance", that may or may not be
the most direct route. Think about it, if lightening took the most
direct route why is it all squiggly not a straight line?

You are correct, it also explains why it forks - it 'sees' a similarly
useful path to ground.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk