If you are not a current member of the NT you can adapt this walk by starting at any of the other nearby car parks and slightly changing the route.  All the paths are well marked and easy to follow.
We started from the NT car park at Kingston Lacy and walked down through the woods to Lodge Farm.  From here we had a pleasant stroll through the open countryside and  High Wood to join the Hardy Way by Highwood Cottage.  From this point the track is very made up, not really like country walking, all the way round to Daffodil Copse so it is very easy going.  The only snag we found was the lack of anywhere to sit for a break!
St Stephen's Church at Pamphill is worth a detour.  It was built by the Bankes family and finished in 1907 but was preceded by a much earlier church from 1229.
​We seem to have lost our bearings a bit on the way back through the park but made it back to the cat without too many difficulties.  Perhaps we should have stuck to The Hardy Way.
Lunch was, as usual, excellent value at the Coach and Horses in Wimborne but do they really need to get a Christmas Tree up before we have even reached September?  That picture really was taken today 30 August!

We parked by the old beams and walked along the pavement by the very busy A338 to the bridge that crosses the River Avon.  It looks nice and simple to follow the Avon Valley path but it wanders around various clumps of trees and is not that clearly marked so we had to back track a couple of times.  At Harbridge Farm we had to walk along the drive to the house for a few yards before turning right through the gate and into the fields.  There is a lovely old threshing machine at the farm which is pictured on another walk from Ibsley we did on 1 November 2016.
At East Moor Copse there was a large group of cattle at the gate and it looked as if the mud was about three feet deep!  We decided to see if we could find a less challenging route and although we managed it it was quite a loop around.  The path after the very smart footbridge is pretty damp and would be difficult, to say the least, in wet weather without wellies.   We found a convenient footbridge to sit on for refreshments just opposite the sluices.

We hit a bit of a problem approaching Midgham Farm.  There is a style over the fence but the one for the second fence, about ten feet in front, is missing.  We turned right and after 50 yards or so came to a wooden paling fence that was easy enough to climb over.  The short footpath that is signed with a finger post and  looks as if it runs along the edge of the wood is totally overgrown and surrounded with barbed wire.
The style leading off the lane and into the field was also very overgrown.  Having fought our way through we had to laugh when we saw a gate about 20 yards further along the hedge!
​We found Kent Lane surprisingly busy given that it seems such a minor road so we were pleased to leave it and get back on the Avon Valley Path again.  This time we didn't make any wrong turns.
We drove to Breamore for lunch at an old favourite the Bat and Ball (http://batandballinn.net) .  The pensioners lunch is great value for £6.45 and it is a nice friendly pub serving food all day.

The path from the road to Pegg's Farm didn't look as if anyone had used it for some time but once there we had a very nice chat with the owners having stopped to admire their lovely new calves.  After making the turn back towards the south we stopped and had our break sitting in one of their fields on a felled oak tree.
Reaching the road again and following the path in the area of The Nursery we found ourselves walking right in front of a group of houses but this was definitely the right way.  There was a path sign through a gate at the end of this little stretch but it was really overgrown, with lots of nettles, so we went through a gate into the field next to this and this took us along a much more pleasant route.
We walked through the attractive grounds of Clayesmore School (Boarding Fees £11,910 and
Day Fees £8,740 a term) but found it difficult to spot the way out.  We were eventually successful and having just passed the Talbot thought it might be nice to stop there for lunch.  The walk back was fruitless as a sign outside said NO FOOD.  Shame we missed it earlier!  Never mind it was not that far back to the car and the Coach and Horses is always great value for money.  Two decent meals for £9.95 - what a bargain.​

This is a short but very pleasant walk starting in Westbourne, going down Alum Chine along the promenade and then back to Westbourne through the Bournemouth Gardens.  It was nice and shady in the Chine and through the gardens, hot bright and sunny along the prom.
As Westbourne is home ground for us we had no need for parking and as we were eating out later in the evening there was no lunch stop.
For those who don't know Westbourne it has an excellent bus service M1, M2, 16, 50, H1, R1, R2 and there are well over 20 places where you can eat.  Parking is not that easy near the centre of Westbourne but is possible in some of the side streets where one needs to look out for time restrictions.
We walked down Alum Chine but the walk could be extended by walking down Branksome Chine, not visible on this map but just over half a mile to the west.
Ray kindly purchased two tickets for the pier.  In the summer season they cost £1.20 and last for the whole season.
The Lower Gardens are very busy, as you might expect, near the pier but after crossing The Square it becomes much quieter and for much of the time the path runs alongside a small stream.  The walk could be extended by continuing  beside the stream to take a look at Coy Pond close to its most northerly point.
​We stopped for a short break and a coffee at the small cafe by the tennis courts just before the underpass.