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Hod Hill

29/3/2017

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29 March 2017
Hod Hill
Clive
Clive, Peter, Ray
5.8 miles
Nutcombe Wood
Lambs Green Inn ★★★☆☆
The forecast promised quite a decent day but unfortunately as the pictures show it remained damp, overcast and drizzly for most of the day.  Perhaps Clive was right when he claimed that Blandford has a micro climate and it is always wet!  It was however quite a nice temperature for walking and we were pleased to be out.  It was good to see the first few wild bluebells of the year.
The small car park by Nutcombe Wood was packed last time we drove by but today we were on our own.  We took the middle path between the two that are marked Private Woodland and descended towards the River Stour.  It was a bit of a squelchy track but not too bad continuing like this alongside the river.
We turned west where the track meets the road beside Stourpaine Village Hall and playing fields where there is a fairly large car park that may be handy for another walk in the area.  ​
The history of the old railway track is perhaps a little more interesting then the walk along it though it does provide some views of Hod Hill and Hambledon Hill.  In case you are dying to know the line connected Bournemouth and Bath.  What a shame it was closed in 1966. Bath is not too easy to reach by road these days!

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The Old Railway
It wasn't too long before we turned off into Eastcombe Wood.  The bridleway shown on the map seems to have vanished in a few places and we walked along the other track for a while.  Spotting a good seat courtesy of a fallen tree we walked up the slope to it and had our break.  It then seemed easier to continue up the slope to the higher level bridleway which was now visible.  We continued along this until we dropped down the quite steep slope to White Pit.
A short stroll through the outskirts of Shillingstone, a dash across the A357 and we were back on the Wessex Ridgeway.  There is a decent footbridge crossing the Stour and the route back through Hanford Farm is quite straight forward.  The grass in the fields was however a bit long and very wet and so were my feet - not long - wet.
We were too late to try the Charlton Inn where later research shows "if you are over 65 then they do a great lunchtime deal for five pounds. Liver and bacon, Pie and mash etc." but they stop serving after 2:30 - damn!  Never mind we went back to an old favourite the Lambs Green Inn which is open all day.
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Hambledon Hill
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Forecast - pah!
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By The Stour
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Athelhampton

22/3/2017

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22 March 2017
Athelhampton
Ray
Ray, Clive, Peter
6.3 miles
Athelhampton House
Worlds End  ★★★☆☆

It looked rather unpleasant when we were driving towards Athelhampton, persistent light drizzle with harder rain at times.  The forecast promised it would brighten up later and "in spite of Brexit", as the BBC would say, it turned out to be a very pleasant day and our walk was very pleasurable.

The inspiring conversation destroyed Ray's concentration and we strode past the intended turn at Park Farm.  The path goes into a small filed at Southover Farm and then we turned right at the road by Southover House.  The house, which sleeps 14, is available to rent for three nights for between £1000 and £1500 depending on the season.
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Southover House
There was a fair bit of water flowing down the path going up towards Southover Heath but it was not too bad.  More inspiring chat caused us to overshoot the next turn but we back tracked to walk along the field edge turning in to Mansel's Plantation at the top.  Leaving Southover Heath Plantation it looks, on the map, as if there is a bridleway straight in front of you.  This is shown as continuing down to Pallington and back up again.  We were unable to find it anywhere and, as you can see from the map below, we followed the "other tracks" which are well established and signed in various places.  There are one or two interesting and unusual signed which we spotted around Pallington Heath - see pictures below.  Forest Enterprise England is apparently an executive agency, sponsored by the Forestry Commission.
Earlier memories of a muddy experience at Admission Farm also led us to remain on a similar path through compound wood.  A short downhill stroll saw us back at the car after a very enjoyable walk.

​We had a fairly good lunch at the Worlds End.  It is a bit on the pricey side with rather a limited menu but it is open for food all day.

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Fungi
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Blooming Gorse
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Fun Guys - After Refreshments
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Sign entering Pallington Heath From South
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Woodland Track Pallington Heath
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Sign Pallington Heath
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Melbourne St Andrew

15/3/2017

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15 March 2017
Melbourne St Andrew
Peter
Peter, Clive, Ray
7.3 miles
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak  ★★★★☆

We were pleased to find that The Royal Oak serves meals from midday until well into the evening and that they were quite happy for us to use their car park while we went on our walk.
​The road leading towards Coles Farm was very quiet and there is a nicely planted area where the path on the right leads towards Frogmore Farm.  We took this path in 2004 and in 2010 and on both occasions decided it was less than wonderful.  The daffodils at the junction were however lovely.
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Spring Is Really Here
We only met about three vehicles before turning left along the side of Melbourne Wood. ​ It looked as if a lot of coppicing had taken place along here and there were a few spring wild flowers such as primrose and wood anemone scattered among the hazels.  After crossing the road the land opened out and we were walking along the edges of newly ploughed fields.  There is not a lot of photogenic scenery along here but the views are pleasant and it is reasonably easy flat walking.
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Primrose
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Wood Anemone
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Dare I Move My Tractor?
We then climbed the slope up to Weatherby Castle, a multivallate Iron Age hillfort (multivallate apparently meaning "surrounded by two or more ramparts forming multiple lines of defence").  My goodness what you can learn from a walk!  Whatever its original purpose it was a great place to sit and have a drink and take a picture of three happy souls munching Fry's peppermint cream bars.
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Defending The Ramparts?
There is a large obelisk built in 1761 hidden in the woods which are quite overgrown.  We wandered around the edge and down to the road.  The paths are very indistinct but it was easy enough to spot the style in the corner of the field.  This stretch of road was surprisingly busy and we had to stop in passing places three times to let vehicle by, including a very large tractor.
Passing Foxhound the footpath appears to go into the corner of the field and then onto the far side of the fence.  This is not accurate and the footpath is actually on the south side of the fence at this point and there was no need to cross that field diagonally.  Never mind we did not want to make the walk too short!
​Lunch at the Royal Oak was very good.  The steak and ale pie was big enough for two and filled with meat.  Ray and Peter both struggled manfully through though while Clive tucked into what looked like the best filled ham sandwich I have ever seen.  The service was excellent too.
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Wareham Town and Forest

10/3/2017

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10 March 2017
Wareham
Clive
Clive, Peter, Ray
6.25 miles
Sika Car Park
Backers Arms ★★★☆☆
Having chickened out on Wednesday when the forecast looked dire we woke up to lots of mist in Westbourne this Friday.  Magically it vanished as we approached Wareham and the day brightened up considerably.  It wasn't sunny but very pleasant for walking.
Leaving the Sika Trail car park we walked along the road towards Wareham, crossed over and joined the track taking us back towards our starting point but inside the fence line.  We need not have bothered because there is an entrance right opposite the car park!
The path across Cold Harbour Heath started very well, with a large solar farm on our right, became a bit boggy and then we found an excellent boardwalk across the next wet patch before turning left at the junction.  We soon reached the road which was very quiet but it was nice to turn back again onto the Wareham Forest Way.  At Ferncroft Farm we found it a bit of a struggle to see exactly where the path was supposed to be.  There may have been some recent re-routing but we managed reasonably well.  Although it looked very muddy the surface was hard underfoot and it was not a problem.  
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The Beautiful Countryside
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The Beautiful Countryside
Shortly after going under the railway we crossed the River Piddle using the bridge by West Mills where the water was running at quite a speed.  It was then an easy path to reach the bridge passing under the A352 and coming to a small car park where there is a seat that is ideal for three.  It is also a little memorial place for local people who enjoyed the countryside.
A sign for the Wareham Walls Walk provides a reminder that life could be harsh in times gone by.
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Wareham Walls Walk
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Don't Loose Your Head
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I'd Rather Walk
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The Beautiful ........... Gorse

​A short stroll along the high street and back over the railway took us through the Northmoor Park hosing area and out onto Northport Heath which we think of us typical Wareham Forest territory.  Good wide paths with opportunities to branch off onto more grassy tracks and bright yellow gorse to enliven the scene.  We chose to walk around the outer edges where we could.  It was very pleasant and quite easy going.
After a fairly easy walk back to the car we drove to the Baker's Arms where we had a very good lunch.  Peter and Ray splashed out on two nice rump steaks but only because a voucher could be used to pay the difference between that and chicken pie.  Thank you Vintage Inns!
A good walk with a lot of variety including fields, country lanes, a high street with shops, a housing estate and some open heath and forest.
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Cranborne

2/3/2017

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2 March 2017
Cranborne
Ray
Ray, Peter
8.6 miles
In the street by Cranborne Store
​Sheaf of Arrows
Another very pleasant day.  It's odd but Thursdays seem to have better weather than Wednesdays at the moment.
We were delighted to see a sign outside the Sheaf of Arrows saying they serve lunch up until 3pm.  We knew we would be back before then!
​We took the small path from the high street that leads on to the Jubilee Trail and then followed this alongside the River Crane as far as Cranbourne Farm.  We enjoyed the open country view from here across Blackish Down.
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It's Rural Around Here
At the farm we left the Jubilee Trail and headed along the footpath that runs past the barns that were full of young calves all mooing loudly.  The path loops around and down to a ford that was quite deep but has a bridge to the side.  After a few yards we went through a gate and onto the track that leads to Squirrels Corner.
The B3081 can be surprisingly busy and difficult to walk beside safely.  We did however find a nice wide grassy track just inside the field to the right of the road.  Almost opposite Monkton Drove Track we found a convenient spot where there was no fencing and we were able to cross the road without a problem. 
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Red Kite


​We were delighted for a second time walking along Monkton Drove when we saw a Red Kite just overhead.  It was a little further away by the time I had my camera out and ready bit it was still readily identifiable.
At Monkton Up Wimborne we walked along the road to see the source of the River Allen, hence the little spur on the map here.  Unfortunately there was nowhere to sit so we continued up the hill but soon found a magnificent old yew tree with a large chunk that had fallen off providing a good spot to stop for refuelling.
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Source of the River Allen
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Wimborne St Giles


​We then followed Coach Road joining the tarmac to walk into Wimborne St Giles.  The Bull was closed and has apparently been for some while.  In the village we met two other ramblers one of whom kindly took our picture. 
We took the road out of Wimborne St Giles past the Manor House and back onto the Jubilee Trail. 

We stayed on the Jubilee Trail all the way back to Cranborne arriving there at about 14:20.
We were a bit surprised when the Landlady told us that they had already stopped serving lunch.  However after a short discussion regarding the signs outside and the fact that it was now March she happily agreed to have a word with the chef.  We enjoyed two very large plates of fish and chips and two pots of tea each with two tea bags each.  Good value for £10.25 each and a friendly landlady.
We agreed that this was a good walk that would be worth repeating at another time of year.
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     At the end of April 2019 there are 218 walks on the Blog.


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