The Rambling Sheep
  • Home
  • Photography
    • The Jurassic Coast
    • Poole Harbour
    • The Lake District
    • The Air Show
    • Sark
    • Birds
  • Walks
    • Meet Wednesday's Walkers
  • Wet Weather Walks
  • Walkers' Blog
  • Canals
    • Breaking Bread
    • The Warwickshire Ring
    • Oliver's Travels
  • Links
  • Cape Warbler

Burley,  South Oakley Inclosure

20/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Date:
Location:
Walk Leader:
Participants:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:  
21 December 2016
Burley, South Oakley Inclosure
Ray
Ray, Clive, Peter
5.5 miles
Forest Car Park
​Queens Head Burley ★★★☆☆
This was quite a short walk as we were looking forward to a Christmas Lunch at the Queens Head.  Following a lot of rain the cycle tracks in the forest looked like a good choice and we followed them for some time.  Eventually we decided to try a few other  paths including some fire breaks but these were very muddy.  In fact we ended up in the woods beside them where the ground was far better.  Anyway it's always pleasant to wander through the woods.
After our refreshment break in Anderwood Inclosure we headed into Dames Slough Inclosure and it started to become very wet underfoot.  We soon reached a little tributary of Black Water but it was not little enough for us to cross and it was very deep. We decided to follow the edge of this stream but that wasn't so easy either as it had numerous loops.  Crossing in the wrong place left you on an island!  After some extensive peregrinations over some rather lumpy ground we managed to reach Dogkennel Bridge.
The path back to the car was quite reasonable but still pretty wet.  Fortunately for us it did not rain for the whole of the walk.
Ray and Peter tucked into the full Christmas lunch at the pub while Clive was a little more reserved.
The Christmas lunch was very good value and more than sufficient in quantity. 
Picture
Picture
The Start
Picture
More Mince Pies!
Picture
Not The Best Of Days?
Picture
A Barrier To Progress
0 Comments

Langton Matravers

13/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Date:
Location:
Walk Leader:
Participants:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:
14th December 2016
Langton Matravers to Durlston Country Park
Peter
Peter, Clive, Ray
7 miles
Langton House
Kings Arms  ★★★☆☆

As an HPB member I thought it would be OK if I used their car park.  There is however another public car park just a couple of hundred yards past Langton House.
It was a lovely morning ideal for walking as we set off at about 10:15.  There are some signed paths that are not shown on the OS maps that cut off the corner as we approached the coastline and this saves dropping too far down the quite steep hill.  
The view back along the coast to the west was just beautiful, shows what a great area this is for walking.  There was a pleasant sea breeze and everything seemed almost perfect.  The we joined the path heading east only to find ourselves in very slippery mud.  The cattle had really churned the path up and it was a bit treacherous in places.  We zig-zagged our way between the path and the fields alongside trying to find the best ground to walk on and the route shows this fairly clearly. 
Picture
Looking West
Close to the old visitor centre we found some nice picnic tables where we sat and ate too much.  Orange and almond cake supplied by Peter,  mince pies from Clive and miniature Xmas puddings from Ray made for a substantial meal.
It was quite wet under foot moving across the fields to South Barn but the path from there was a lot better.  Through the Townsend Nature Reserve the path seemed to become very vague but we found our way to the edge of the Holiday Park.  Here the entrance is not where it is shown on the OS Maps and we had to hunt around to find it.  In the Park it is almost impossible to find an easy way through.  It is very poorly signed and we ended up in several cul-de-sacs.  Considering that this is part of the Priests Way it could do with some improvement.  There was a fair bit more mud walking across the fields back to the car and we would probably have been better off sticking to the Priests Way instead of turning off at Belle Vue Farm.
This was a good varied walk but the mud made it seem much further than it really was.
Lunch was at the Kings Arms.  This is a very pleasant old fashioned pub with friendly locals, friendly staff and good food at reasonable prices.  Peter and Ray had steak and kidney pudding with chips and veg for £9.50.  One drawback was that they don't serve soup so Clive had to have a sandwich!
Picture
Picture
Durlston Lighthouse
Picture
View Over Swanage
0 Comments

Horton

6/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Date:
Location:
Walk Leader:
Participants:
Distance:
Parking:
Lunch:

7th December 2016
Horton
Clive
Clive, Peter, Ray
6.8 miles
​Beside St Wolfrida's Church
Coach and Horses Wimborne ★★★★☆

Picture
Holt Forest Lodge
It was a short stroll from our parking place and down the road before turning into the fields leading up towards Horton Tower. The path became increasingly muddy underfoot as we travelled through Fenrdown Forest but we managed quite well by walking in the woods to the side of the paths that had suffered from heavy hooved horses.  There are numerous paths to choose on arriving at Holt Forest Lodge (House?) and it took a bit of time to find the right one! 
We were then having such an interesting discussion that we deviated from the footpath at Cutler's Farm inadvertently taking the main track down to the road.  It was only a short walk past the school and then onto the clearly marked footpath leading up someone's drive.  Alas the path then came to an abrupt end where the style was completely overgrown.  ​
Back to the road and a lttle further along we found another track that took us back to the footpath we wanted.  There was another sign showing where the path that we abandoned came out.  That was equally impenetrable.  So we headed out across the fields getting desperate to find a spot for coffee and mince pies.  Here we found a winner.  A seat and table especially laid on  for us.  Clive's claims to have placed it out there yesterday were received with some scepticism.
Picture
All Mod Cons?
As Clive and Ray had both brought mince pies we were forced to eat two each!  From here the paths were much easier to find.  The seating arrangements around Uppington Farm deserve special mention as they provide excellent views across the valley and Hinton Martell.  They may prove very welcome as it is a bit of a climb before reaching the attractive All Saints' Church at Chalbury.  We then had a fairly easy walk back to the car though the path across the field and just west of the pond before reaching the eastern edge of Dukes Copse does not seem to be marked anywhere.
​It was a good walking day, dry and just the right temperature.  Clive did rather well to find several tracks that we had never been on before.  In fact 3.6 miles of the 6.8 were on new territory.
Picture
Picture
Horton Tower
Picture
Ancient Tree - Young Men
Picture
All Saints' Church, Chalbury
Picture
St Wolfrida's Church, Horton
0 Comments

    The Walkers' Blog

    If you see something in pale blue such as Wikipedia it means that this is a link.  Hover over it and you will see the hand symbol. Click on it to see an article from somewhere else on the web.  
    ​

     At the end of April 2019 there are 218 walks on the Blog.


    Click on a "Category" at the bottom to select only one particular Leader's walks.

    Archives

    July 2020
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Clive
    Peter
    Ray
    Rob

    RSS Feed

Picture
Design by DivTag Weebly Templates
Picture
Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly