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Bloxworth - Wareham Forest

22/11/2018

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22 November 2018
Bloxworth, Wareham Forest
7.5 miles
Bloxworth
Bakers Arms, Lytchett Minster

There are not too many places to park in Bloxworth but we managed to find a decent spot just opposite the church close to the path that leads across the A35 and into Wareham Forest. We then took a small track on our right which took us back onto the Hardy Way having cunningly avoided walking down the road all the way from Bloxworth.

A Load Of Hash Trash

As we crossed the Sugar Hill road we were surprised to see a large pile of plastic bags and a truck waiting to clear them up. We were told by the driver that this was becoming quite a regular occurrence in the area and the bags contained the residue from illegal cannabis farming.

We had a nice variety of tracks and different views as we made our way around the forest and followed the Hardy Way towards Bere Lodge. We then turned onto what looks like a fire break on the map but was more like a major thoroughfare. We did have some difficulty finding a place to sit but made do with a couple of logs in the long grass.

A Load Of Hash

Watch Out For Lions

In The Long Grass

This took us to Stroud Bridge where we admired the octagonal houses. Crossing the road we followed the small path that took us to the junction with the Wareham Forest Way. We decided to have a a little climb to the trig point on Woolsbarrow Fort to find it almost, but not quite, submerged in the gorse.

Octagonal Houses

Trig Point

We then took to the smaller tracks to wind our way back to the crossing point on the A35 and back to the car. We enjoyed the chicken and leek pie at the Bakers Arms on the way home.

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Deer Sanctuary, New Forest

15/11/2018

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Location:
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15 November 2018
The Deer Sanctuary, Bolderwood
5.3 miles
Large Car Park
Cat and Fiddle, Hinton Admiral

The leaves are all turning and it seemed a good idea to head to the New Forest making sure we could avoid the long hold upas on the A338 on the way home. We settled on the Deer Sanctuary going via Ringwood but returning via Christchurch and this worked pretty well.
Although there was a plan we made up most of this walk as we went just taking paths that looked interesting and led in the right sort of direction!

This provided an opportunity to see the small pond near Mogshade Hill which looked as if it might be a great place for Dragonflies in the summer.

We were rather disappointed to find that the “human tree” we had last seen in September 2015 is now looking very sad and no longer wants to wink at anyone. Click this link to "See him in his heyday".

At The Start

Oak In Autumn

The Sad Tree

What A Bunch

View From Burnetts' Bench

On A Gate Post

Spot The Deer

I Can See It

Just A Fern

At The End

Following the path between Stonard Wood and Hart Hill we spotted two holly trees that had the most amazing clusters of berries, even worthy of a photo. We had planned things carefully enough to ensure that we reached the Burnett’s beautifully positioned bench at roughly our half way point just in time for drinks, bananas and biscuits.

We continued to wander along tracks on a somewhat random basis and all went well until we tried to cross Highland Water in Hollywood Inclosure. The water was just that much too wide to jump across and too deep to wade through so we had to retrace our steps a few yards. We then took an unmarked track to our left and this took us back to the cycle track. We followed this for a few more yards before turning off again onto minor tracks. These took us almost all the way back to our starting point. Although it was only 5.3 miles Ray said it felt much longer!

We took advantage of the Early Bird offer at the Cat and Fiddle Harvester and had a very good lunch with nice friendly service. With the excellent 33⅓ % reduction in the prices (not now advertised on the menu) it becomes very good value and a nice surprise if you did not know about it.

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Tarrant Crawford

1/11/2018

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Date:
Location:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

1 November 2018
Shapwick
6.2 miles
Shapwick
Coach and Horses, Wimborne

We parked in the small car park beside St Bartholomew's Church in Shapwick. It is interesting to note the sliding gate that is part of the local flood defences.
Walking along the road with The Anchor pub on our right it was not long before we reached the footpath that leads towards Hyde Farm. We knew from previous experience that this is an easy one to miss. It was a nice autumn morning for the walk along The Swan Way up to the B3082 and the avenue of trees.

Flood Defences

It was very noticeable how the trees were still pretty well covered in leaves whereas last year, at the end of November there were no leaves left. It was good to see how well the new line of “replacement” trees is growing.

The Old Trees

How Long Before They Catch Up?

One Of The Murals, St Mary's Tarrant Crawford

This is quite a busy road but there is a reasonable verge to walk along on the left hand side with a view over the not quite so lovely pig farm on right.

There was a short rather wet area just before we took the right fork to Tarrant Crawford but it was not too bad. We were very pleased to see a nice bench just in the corner of the church yard ideally situated for two walkers to sit in the sun.

Feeling well refreshed we followed the short slope between the fields, onto the road and over Crawford Bridge. We then turned east and followed the river bank rather than walking across the middle of the fields. This is fine but it is important not to miss the crossing by the pump houses.
It was very noticeable how the wind had increased and it was blowing strongly along the riverside.

In The Breeze

We had an interesting but twisty drive back into Wimborne taking Mill Lane rather than returning to the B3082. We returned to the oft used Coach and Horses for lunch but the service there was painfully slow and as this is the second time we have had this problem we may give it a miss for a while. The staff say it is because the kitchen is so small but it doesn’t seem to have shrunk!

Another very enjoyable easy walk with very few hills or styles.

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Bloxworth - Wareham Forest

Deer Sanctuary, New Forest

Tarrant Crawford

The Walkers' Blog

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