When we got out of the car at Picket Post the first thing we all noticed was that it was much colder than we had expected so we set off at a good pace to warm up.
The plan was to make our way to Ridley wood and come out on the path at the eastern edge that leads to Sir Dudley's Ride.  A lack of attention led to us exiting the wood at the southern edge and so we walked along the edge of Mill Lawn Brook and jointed the Ride a little lower down.  It was interesting walking along the brook but was also quite wet in places.  There is quite a good path across Backley Plain leading to the underpass the only safe way across the very busy A31.  Much of the area around the path is covered with heather which is worth coming back to later in the year.
There is a noisy stretch alongside the road to Lazy bushes and then it gets quieter as we turn down to Pinnick Wood. This wood is very old and quite mixed.  One its main features is the number of dead old trees lying everywhere.  There were many birds singing in the trees in spite of the chilly day and we saw a large herd of deer here.  At Akercome Bottom there is quite a sizeable pond that is not marked on the OS map but has obviously been there for some years.  As you might expect the area around the Bottom was quite wet but it was reasonably easy to find a way across and into Little Linford Inclosure.  We headed through the Inclosure, up Marrow Bones Hill and returned to the car via another underpass at Picket Post.  It was intriguing to notice how much cooler it was in the lower lying areas where it remained wet and how much warmer it was as we walked onto the higher levels of the Plain.

We drove to the Sir Walter Tyrrell for lunch where the walk leader was lucky enough to be given the option of the last ham hock for lunch.   A very good meal with a generous number of tea bags.

Ever since we met a cyclist, who told us that there was a good walk along Sir Dudley's Ride, Clive had it in mind to check it out.  So he planned this walk.  Well he planned some of it - but he suffered from a lot of unsolicited interference!  In spite of this it turned out to be an excellent tour around this part of the forest.  
The Ride was named after Sir Dudley Forwood, 3rd Bt. He was born in 1912, the son of Sir Dudley Baines Forwood, 2nd Bt. The Forwoods were an old Lancashire family who made their money from shipping in Liverpool. Sir Dudley was the sole equerry to the Duke of Windsor after his abdication in 1937 until the outbreak of war in 1939. After the war he became a farmer in the New Forest and succeeded in the baronetcy on his father’s death in 1961. He was a New Forest verderer,  the Master of the New Forest Buckhounds and chairman of the New Forest and Hampshire County Show.

Having arrived at Woods Corner car park we decided to go through the woods to reach Sir Dudley's Ride.  The path is a bit obscure but technology helped!  We came on to the Ride to find a lot of billowing smoke coming from some controlled burning of the heathland.  It was however not enough to spoil the very pleasant views across Harvest Slade Bottom.  This is a pretty easy part of the route to follow .  The panorama below was taken just before Soarley Bottom and the very active ant nest we found there.
We reached Woolfield Cottage just after 12:30 and decided that we would go off piste and find a way back via Anderwood, Dames Slough and Burley New Inclosures.  The OS MapFinder Maps proved themselves again but it's a shame the app still keeps freezing.
We avoided the made up cycle tracks where we could and this made the route back interesting but a bit tricky.  It was quite wet in places and wading was required at one point.  Still nobody got wet socks! 
It did however mean that everyone was happy to get back to the car and have a rest.
Lunch at The Queens Head in Burley (Old English Inns) was pretty good and the pensioners deal was worthwhile.  Unfortunately they don't have any tea pots!
A thoroughly good day that was enjoyed by everyone.

We started the walk rather later than usual because Peter had a morning appointment at the audiology clinic.  Clive was missing because moving fridges is not good for his back.
It was a beautiful day though the wind was a bit chilly when we first set off at about 12:15.  13:38 stopped for 25 minutes
We had a small wobble at the start as we missed the path and ended up in a boggy corner of the field.  Quickly recovering we headed north east towards Lions Lodge.  There are some lovely trees in this part of Breamore Park.  Turning left at the Chalk Pit we then followed the Drove all the way up almost to Gallows Hill.  There were celandines, some with white petals, and wood anemones along the sides of the track.  The drier weather had given the farmers an opportunity to get some work done in the fields and there were several large tractors at work.  Just before Gallows Hill we turned left again and followed the tree line alongside Grim's Ditch.  Grim being supposedly another name for Woden although the purpose of these fortifications is unknown.
The first part of the walk is through open fields but second part is much more wooded and rather more interesting.  We saw quite a number of deer and heard a woodpecker who sounded very busy and not far away.
A very enjoyable walk on a lovely day.
We drove to the Bat and Ball, which is open all day, and had a remarkably good and low priced pensioners lunch £4.95 each and tea at £1.75 each.   Two tea bags in each pot and extra water supplied on request! The service was also very good and friendly.


http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56891

Parking in Spetisbury is very difficult.  We found  a spot in a small cul-de-sac called Priory Gardens.

We turned right on the main road and took the footpath that runs up alongside a house and along a grass area behind the houses.  We then turned left taking a bridge across the old railway and up along the edge of the fields.  This is a very pleasant, if slightly hilly, stretch with good views back across Spetisbury.

We turned towards North Farm and followed the path towards Kitehill Plantation.  Here we struck our first problem  The path was under water and it was deep!  We returned and continued along the main track which was wet but not too bad except in a few places where we were pleased to take to the field edges.

At the end of this section we stopped in the woods for coffee.  There were numerous larches in bud many of which had been felled recently.

After coffee, and mini pork pies kindly provided by Clive, we turned to the northwest towards the Adventure Activities area.  The paths continued to be wet and muddy not helped by the recent passage of horses.

After passing the cemetery we climbed up onto the old railway only having to climb back down again when we were level with the pub at Charlton Marshall.

The Charlton had new owners in September last year.  The service and food were both excellent and prices very reasonable.  Certainly one of the best we have visited in recent times.  Particularly worth mentioning are the triple cooked chips - top class!

After lunch it was decided, with some influence from Peter, not to walk straight back along the railway - which would be rather boring - but to take a more interesting route across the fields.

This turned out to be a bit more interesting than expected.

As we got closer to the Watercress Beds the path became impassable with a style in the middle of a fast flowing river.  We spotted a path that would take us down to the road which would obviously be fine.  The path was good but the road was not.  As we approached it turned from a road into a quite fast flowing stream.  we were saved by the camber with the very middle of the road just shallow enough to stay below the tops of our foot ware.  We walked slowly and carefully.

Eventually we left the road and headed across the field to the higher ground and back to Home Plantation.  We walked through the wood and back to the car along familiar paths.

There are a lot of open fields in this area which reduces its scenic appeal and the recent weather meant that there was rather too much mud.  Nevertheless  we all had a very enjoyable day.  There were some mentions of fatigue on the following day!