Still there are now 183 existing walks to choose from although some may be repeats!
Perhaps the ground will have dried out by then.
School holidays, Easter holidays and visitors from the other side of the world mean that there will not be any new posts until around the middle of April. Unless of course we get cabin fever.
Still there are now 183 existing walks to choose from although some may be repeats! Perhaps the ground will have dried out by then.
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Health Warning: You could end up in a similar place if you tackle this walk after bad weather!!
It was only a short distance along the road before we came to the long footbridge over the River Frome. We were a bit concerned about the track before Moreton Plantation that appears, on the map, to run across the middle of a couple of fields. We were pleasantly surprised to find that this was a well maintained grass track between two wire fences. However a nasty surprise was just waiting.
Through the kissing gate (no we didn’t) and we were onto a better more solid path. Entering the wood we were faced with a small lake where there should have been a path. We struggled to find a way round this, through some quite thick rhododendrons, but finally made the other side where the path improved again. Unfortunately this sequence of events continued to repeat itself. We climbed across tree trunks, stepped gingerly along branches lying on paths covered in running water and even walked the plank at one point.
It may look as if we were to the side of the main Jubilee Trail but it has obviously been re-routed since this map was drawn as we came out at a point where there was a marker showing the path where we had come from. We could rename this stretch the Jubilee Trial. It had taken some time to get through this section so we decided not to go past Cul-peppers Dish but to cut across to the west using the path running almost parallel to the Hardy Way. We found an excellent spot to sit, have a drink and relive our recent adventures. Although this looks like a minor path it is in fact well made up and reasonable dry. The positions and existence of some of the adjoining paths are however not accurate. The path continued to be good after crossing the Waddock Drove Road. We remembered from previous times in this area that some care is needed where the path crosses under the pylon lines. The main path seems to swing round to the right but the one to take is the minor one down the slope. It passes, through a gate and into a field. The exit from the field is through another gate in the top right hand corner and comes out on a road beside a very small group of properties. Everything was then easy going until we reached the track from the road and on past Waddock Dairy. This was full of large puddles and pretty muddy too. It was however possible to avoid the worst bits by carefully selecting a very zig zag route. We then enjoyed a short stretch of grassy bliss before rejoining the path we started out along. We stopped for lunch at The Bakers Arms in Lytchett Minster where we had the excellent chicken and ham pie. The food here is now consistently so much better than it was a few years ago.
With a lot of water still around we opted for another of the areas where we know we can find some good dry paths.
Wareham Forest has a good mix of made up cycle tracks and sandy tracks with good drainage. The kind folk at the Silent Woman were happy for us to park there while we went on our walk and the Brunch that we had on our return was excellent. The track into the forest starts a few yards up the road from the pub and is guarded by a couple of enormous stones preventing vehicle access. We weren’t too sure how good the path around the edge of the Bog area would be but thought it worth a try. It turned out to be a bit wet in a few places but we never had any real problems. It was interesting to see how the scenery changed from the dead straight path through the conifers that took us down to the Poole Harbour Trail to the wide open boggy ground of the bog. A few trees have tried to find a place to survive in the bog but they find it a tough existence. We started to look for a comfortable stopping place as we passed the Lookout Tower by Decoy Heath but ended up carrying on as far as Decoy House before we found a good spot. We had a brief look at the area by the beehives but the bees were quite active and we gave that a miss. It looked as if there was an unmarked path leading to the west where we had taken the sharp east turn toward the second Lookout Tower. After our break we went a short distance down the Hardy Way but could not see any sign of this path joining up with the Hardy Way. There are lots of options at the top of the path where you can see a long way over Morden Heath. We decided to carry on along the ridge for a little while to enjoy a bit more of this view before turning south on the way back. We arrived back at The Silent Woman at about ten past one a mere three and a quarter hours after setting off. We enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, the service, a nice big pot of tea and a brace of brunches. It was a very pleasant bright and breezy day and our only disappointment was the lack of wildlife. Perhaps everything was still recovering from the snow. |
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July 2020
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