Almost unbelievable ..... but I forgot my camera and so the pictures were taken with an iPhone.

It's quite a while since we last visited this area that provides a mix of open heathland and coniferous woodland.  In fact my last record walk here is back in 2010, surprising since it is so close by.  On the other hand it means either taking the ferry or driving round by Corfe Castle.  We chose to do the latter to avoid getting caught up with the grockles.

Eventually we found a way round, joined the road for a short section and then turned back onto forest tracks.  None of us had come across Burnbake Campsite before but it looked very interesting.  They say:
"We are a turn up and pitch site for tents and campervans, we do not have marked pitches and thus we do not take bookings, except for the Spring and August Bank Holidays."
They also have some attractive looking wooden chalets.  This is not an advert or a recommendation!

After some debate about a good place for lunch we settled on the Toby at Fleetsbridge which had apparently had some recent changes.  It was better than our last visit and at £6 is pretty good value but not wonderful.

It was a funny old day with spells of bright and sunny weather followed by dark clouds that looked suspiciously like rain.  We must have been lucky because it stayed dry all day.  It was quite windy for most of the time but this made for comfortable walking.
This is a very pleasant walk with some good views over the coast from the South Dorset Ridgeway.  This takes you up to about 625 feet above sea level so it is quite a steady climb from the car park.  From half way up there is another good view back over Maiden Castle.
Shortly after we had stopped for our morning break we were surprised to see a short diversion taking us around some old burial grounds.  The surprise was that in the middle of this area there were some quite ugly storage tanks.  This is just by the Tumuli before Shake Holes.  If you would like to see the whole route and have a look at this oddity you can download the file provided below the map and open it in Google Earth.  We gained some unexpected sustenance from the all too few remnants of the pea harvest that lined the edge of this section of the path.
From this point the route is pretty much all downhill.  It is quite straightforward apart from the area around Pen Barn Farm.  We had a couple of attempts before finding the correct path that talk us through as gate on the right and up a short grassy path before leading us down to Grove Hill Bottom, past a small vineyard  and into Martinstown.  There are some lovely old buildings in Matinstown one of which can be seen below.
A short walk along the road and then we were back onto the made up path that took us past Park Farm and back to Maiden Castle.

For a closer look just click on the graph!
From the car we walked along Church Lane and down to the A357 before turning up Norton Lane and as you can see I do mean up.  There is a nice little car park at the top of Norton Lane but it's true it is not the most secure parking place around.
We followed the path through Norton Wood stopping now and again to pick a few of the abundant wild raspberries which were delicious.  Unfortunately this path came to an abrupt end and we had to backtrack  for a short distance.  Our new path then became blocked by a fallen tree but knowing how tough we all are our leader decided to push on regardless.  

Finally we were back on a wide path with more raspberries to help us build up our strength again.  This was vital for having made us climb 370 feet - looks almost vertical on the graph - we, against all instincts, dropped down 217 feet into Hillcombe Coppice.  We were then faced with a climb of 418 feet to the summit of this walk in Blandford Forest.  This heroic effort clearly called for a time out for drinks and other refreshments.
In the spirit of fair play I should add that in spite of the mountains the walk was very pleasant passing through some lovely woodland and alongside open fields some of which had their boundaries lined with  protected areas for wild life and full of wild flowers.

After our break it was downhill all the way.  The path along the edge of the wood and Shillingstone Hill was starting to get a bit overgrown but was not too difficult and soon we were crossing the A357 again to follow the old railway across the Stour and into Shillingstone.  We wondered why they knocked the original bridge down and then had to build a new one!  Before long we were back at the car feeling quite pleased to sit down.
We went back to what is becoming a favourite place for a late lunch, the Lambs Green Inn, where we had a good lunch and some more lively banter.

Why are raspberries good for you?   Click on the link to find out.

There are some interesting properties to look at along the lane leading from the crossroads and down to the old mill.  Then there is the fish farm and a pleasant walk across the fields with plenty of wild flowers coming into bloom.  We passed some really tall Cow Parsley only too pleased that it was not Giant Hog Weed!
This is a nice varied walk with some open fields, some woodland and the benefit of some good stretches of water.  It is also relatively flat although there are quite a few styles.  
There was a large herd of cows in the field approaching Midgham Long Copse.  Clive and Ray were bold Rob and Peter decided on caution and diverted.  Happily there were no incidents.
It was quite a windy day - you can spot this from the way the barley was blowing around - and it was fairly cloudy but an ideal temperature for walking.   A really good day out followed by a really good value lunch at the Bat and Ball.  How lucky is that?

It had to be an area with really good tree cover today as it was forecast to be the hottest July day on record and the forecast provide to be correct.
We parked at the Deer Sanctuary car park because we know that there is likely to be an ice cream van there when we get back - another accurate prediction.
The walk follows a number of small footpaths through the forest but they are not easy to spot at times.  It was one of those times when modern technology is a real advantage.  The paths sometimes vanish among the trees or thick stands of ferns appearing later as clear routes and leaving you to wonder why they are so patchy.
There are some areas of Inclosures that have changed one of the most obvious being at Wooson's Hill where the path on the map goes straight through a six foot high fence!
There were a few places where we had to walk out in the open and they made us realise what a difference the trees made.  It would have been very uncomfortable without the shade for most of the time.  Even then we made a few extra stops on the way.  This included a pleasant interlude at the Reptile Centre where we saw - you guessed - a few reptiles and sat and had our soup, coffee, chocolate, biscuits and a rest.
After  a well earned ice cream we headed off to Burley and the Queens Head for lunch.  The two meals for £10.99 was a great bargain even after adding an extra £1 for the gammon that Rob and I had.