Blog Archives

Stour Valley Way

21/6/2018

Date:
Location:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

21 June 2018
Stour Valley
6.45 miles
Mill car park, Throop
Table Table, Holes Bay

Throop Mill

This is a fairly flat and straightforward walk following the Stour Valley Way. We started walking at 10:00 and were back at the car by 13:20.
It always looks inviting to stroll along beside a river but for much of the first part of the walk it is not that visible.

Approaching the airport we soon reached the Adventure Wonderland but we managed to resist the temptation and kept going. Apart from seeing a few planes coming and going there is quite a lot to see on the walk along to West Parley. It almost seems as if you are in a different part of the world. The path, which is rather overgrown, runs around the back of some buildings close to the Equestrian Centre. This seems surrounded by lots of small specialist companies who don’t seem to advertise their presence but can be found on the internet. The easy road through the middle says it is private!

The path leads onto Church Lane and after short walk to the north there is a path on the left which was a blooming lovely sight at this time of year. This in turn leads to the A 347 which is not so lovely but there is a very good footpath across Ensbury Bridge. Shortly after the bridge we turned down a side road that brought us alongside the south bank of the Stour. Here we found a pleasant spot to sit beside the river and enjoy some refreshments. There are a few places along this part of the walk where families can come and enjoy a splash in the river and several people were taking advantage of this as we passed by.

Bloomin' Lovely

A Choice Spot

Shortly after turning away from the river there is a Sewage Works. At least that is what it says on the map. This is obviously not an attractive term in the eyes of the authorities so they have renamed it!
After returning to the car we drove to Table Table in Holes Bay where we had a pleasant meal which we finished in perfect time to pick up Peter’s car from the garage next door after its MOT test.

A Sewage Works - Reimagined

0 Comments

Fiddleford

13/6/2018

1 Comment

Date:
Location:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

13 June 2018
Fiddleford
6 miles
Fiddleford Mill
Fiddleford Inn

The Fiddleford Inn has changed hands many times over the last few years and we were not certain whether we would want to have lunch there so we parked in the nearby Fiddleford Mill car park.
The route as far as Hammoon is hard under foot being part disused railway line and the rest road. The tracks shown on earlier maps no longer exist though later we did see locals walking across the fields. Hammoon is a small, even tiny, village but is very pretty. We have always enjoyed seeing the Manor House and the Church.

We enjoyed this notice in St Paul's Church and hope you like it too.

Welcome to St Paul's Church

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, rich or poor.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or can't hold a note. You’re welcome here if You're “just browsing”, or if you haven't been in church since baby Peter’s baptism.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not yet grown up, and to children who are growing up too fast. We welcome football dads, multitasking mums, coffee lovers, vegetarians or junk food eaters. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you're down in the dumps or, if you don't like “organised religion”, we've been there too.

We offer a special welcome to those who work too hard, don't work, can't spell, all because grandma is visiting and wanted to go to church.

We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, or got confused by satnav and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters… and you!

The Stour

After crossing the Stour the path marked on the map is not that easy to spot on the ground so an accurate GPS track or some good compass work is needed.

Care is also needed to spot the path just after joining Lower Common Road as it shoots off behind the houses. After the houses there are some pleasant open fields and looking east into the distance you can see the outline of Hambledon Hill. Think how lucky you are to be walking on level ground!

Hambledon Hill

Under The Disused Railway

We had a relatively easy stroll back to Fiddleford, but as it was getting a bit late we called in at the Inn before going back to the car. We did not wish to miss lunch! We had a very pleasant lunch and then a nice short walk back to the car park.

1 Comment

Damerham

7/6/2018

0 Comments

Date:
Location:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

7 June 2018
Damerham
5.2 miles
The Compasses Inn
The Compasses Inn

I was rather surprised to see that we have not visited Damerham since 2008. It’s a very pleasant area with lots of footpaths providing a number of options for walks of varying distances. Mind you the 11.4 miles we walked in May 2008, taking in Cranbourne as well, is a lot further than we manage these days so this walk is a lot shorter. Rob’s aversion to what he regarded as the “Twee pub” may have kept us away but the pub is now very different and has quite a rural atmosphere and we enjoyed it.
We parked at the Compasses and after a short stretch along the road turned south down a well marked footpath.

St George’s Church looks very unusual and we could not resist having a look inside. We were very pleased that we did. It is very old indeed possibly dating back to Saxon times and it has the feel of a church built for the people to pray in rather than to the glory of the person who paid for for it. There is an interesting and detailed guide to the church at: A Guide to the Church of St. George, Damerham. This link will immediately download the two page pdf to your download folder.

Bridge Over Allen River

St George's Church

As we walked across the field leading down to the Allen River we heard some high pitched squeaking and spotted a tiny bird sitting in the middle of the path. We gently encouraged it to move just off the path where hopefully his parents found him (or her) later.

We thought it would be nice to follow the track along beside the water. It was however almost impossible to see the stream or lakes and when we finally crossed the lakes at the south easterly end we found a rather dirty looking patch of water rather than the pristine fishing area we had expected.

Some excellent work had however been done to put in a new wooden bridge across the river. Soon we came across the Hawkhill Mill Farm Caravan and Motorhome Club CL where we had stayed with Juliet, Matt and our granddaughters a few years back. The path somewhat surprisingly runs between the old mill house and its garden. It must be a lovely place to live but this seems a bit of an imposition.

We were more than a little amused by the wonderfully named hen house.

All Alone

Ha, Ha, Ha!

It looks as if there is a footpath across the corner of Lower Bull Hill Farm but all we found was an impenetrable hedge. There is however a well signed bridle path at the corner of the left bend. It did not look as if this was used very frequently but it was perfectly adequate.

There were a few wild orchids as we approached our right turn in Ashridge Copse and then an easy stroll across a field where the farmer had made a perfect path through his crop of wheat. As we walked past the houses at the south end of Damerham we spotted a wonderful wooden caravan in someones back garden. A real work of art. We had a nice friendly chat with a gentleman to whom we were grateful when he told us he opened the church most mornings.

Back t the Compasses we enjoyed gammon egg and chips and chicken and ham pie. Although a tad on the expensive side we agreed that both were top of the list when it came to quality.

A Work Of Art

Style For The Older Walkers

0 Comments

Ashmore

1/6/2018

0 Comments

Date:
Location:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

1 June 2018
Ashmore
5.1 miles
Green Lane, next to the pond
Coach and Horses Wimborne

A little bit extra:
Ashmore is the highest village in Dorset yet it has retained its village pond for centuries. According to an article in Dorset life it was probably created in Roman or Saxon Times. (http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2015/06/the-dorset-walk-ashmore/)
Dorset Magazine also has a soft spot for this area see: http://www.dorsetmagazine.co.uk/out-about/walks/dorset-walk-fontmell-wood-and-ashmore-1-4030177
There is now an annual festival, called the “Filly Loo” at the pond and you can find more about it, and other British Local Traditions at:
http://calendarcustoms.com/articles/filly-loo/

Ashmore Dew Pond

We parked in our favourite spot beside Ashmore Pond and then walked along the road in a south westerly direction to join the long straight track down to Washers Pit Coppice. It was a shame that it was quite a misty morning considerably reducing the lovely views to our right as we walked along the edge of the hill.
Compare this with the same view in April 2016.

We always enjoy the views as we climb up from Hanging Coppice along the Wessex Ridgeway although today Ray did find it a bit hard going. As I am keeping up the pretence of being a honed athlete I ran most of the way.
We decided that it would be nice to deviate from the main path which was very muddy in places and take to the woods. Unfortunately the paths shown on the map are not visible on the ground and we would have been better sticking to plan A.

Washers Pit Coppice

Stubhamton Bottom

Washers Pit Coppice is a fairly dense coppice and looked quite foreboding on this dim misty morning. The descent from the coppice to Stubhampton Bottom caught us by surprise by just how steep it is. A glance at the contours would have warned us before we got there!

As anyone might expect Stubhampton Bottom tends to be rather wet underfoot as it was today but there always seem to be little side paths through the woods which mean that progress is not hindered too much.

Organ Pipeds St Nicholas' Ashmore

Returning onto the Wessex Ridgeway it was easy going on wide well made up tracks along Halfpenny Lane and back to the car. We did however stop to have look in the church where we saw another well decorated set of organ pipes.

0 Comments

Stour Valley Way

Fiddleford

Damerham

Ashmore

The Walkers' Blog

Archives

Categories