| Date: Location: Walk Leader: Participants: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 7th January 2015 Ashmore Ray Ray, Peter, Rob 6.2 miles Alongside the pond The Three Legged Cross Wimborne ★★★ |
Our first walk in 2015 and we were all pleased to get back into the countryside. Our last walk was on 17th December so we had had a three week break and it soon showed. This walk was a bit shorter than some of those towards the end of last year and we all felt grateful for this.
This was the first outing for Rob's new boots. (We think he has been keeping them at home for the last year trying to see if they would breed.) This was another good excuse to keep the distance down.
We parked beside the pond at Ashmore which is a nice quiet spot that we have used before. We set off along the road and into Halfpenny lane. The wind was whistling up the hill straight at us and it felt a lot colder than we had expected. We looked forward to reaching the woods! Once we had achieved that the wind ceased to be an issue. Unfortunately the ground was pretty wet and muddy for a large part of this walk. That made it a little bit harder going and gave us another reason to be pleased it wasn't too long.
After Hanging Coppice we started the seemingly endless climb up the Wessex Ridgeway. Luckily it was time for a morning break when we reached the top. We found three nice tree stumps to sit on and a third which made a handy table.
On reaching the Gallops we walked along the side of the gallops themselves as the ground was much better than the very muddy footpath. It was interesting to see how the stands of corn had been left as cover for the birds but the now grassy straw mounds were a bit of a mystery. Until one of the residents came to spy on us and find out what we were up to.
After another uphill stretch that made us all happy to know that the end was near we admired a few of the local properties before arriving back at the pond.
This was the first outing for Rob's new boots. (We think he has been keeping them at home for the last year trying to see if they would breed.) This was another good excuse to keep the distance down.
We parked beside the pond at Ashmore which is a nice quiet spot that we have used before. We set off along the road and into Halfpenny lane. The wind was whistling up the hill straight at us and it felt a lot colder than we had expected. We looked forward to reaching the woods! Once we had achieved that the wind ceased to be an issue. Unfortunately the ground was pretty wet and muddy for a large part of this walk. That made it a little bit harder going and gave us another reason to be pleased it wasn't too long.
After Hanging Coppice we started the seemingly endless climb up the Wessex Ridgeway. Luckily it was time for a morning break when we reached the top. We found three nice tree stumps to sit on and a third which made a handy table.
On reaching the Gallops we walked along the side of the gallops themselves as the ground was much better than the very muddy footpath. It was interesting to see how the stands of corn had been left as cover for the birds but the now grassy straw mounds were a bit of a mystery. Until one of the residents came to spy on us and find out what we were up to.
After another uphill stretch that made us all happy to know that the end was near we admired a few of the local properties before arriving back at the pond.
 Ashmore Pond |  New Boots |  Welcome Break |  Last Resting Place |
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