Category: Peter

Hamptworth

25/4/2019

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25 April 2019
Hamptworth
4.5 miles
Near Golf Course
Bat and Ball Breamore

There’s a small lay-by just outside the Hamptworth Golf Club that seems a reasonable place to park. There is an alternative place opposite the Cuckoo Pub from where a parallel path could be taken.

The semi made up track beside the club house leads to Sandford Lodge but our walk took us across a small footbridge and then along the edge of the golf course. This is a very pleasant stroll through the woods with a few bluebells scattered among the trees. Turning west at the “cross roads” we very soon came across masses more bluebells on both sides of the path all through the area of the Langley Wood National Nature Reserve. This was really delightful walking on a day when the sun broke intermittently through the clouds and really brought the woodland to life.

A Promising Start

Almost A River

Proper English Bluebells

What A Great Walk

Any Spot Will Do

We found a well placed log to sit and have refreshments and noticed that a few buebells had even managed to plant themselves on the fallen trunks.

After we crossed the road we found ourselves in quite different terrain walking on a damp grassy track on the edge of the fields. We soon entered another wooded area but still quite damp under foot. At Little Mount we joined a path which was signed the Wiltshire Cycleway which came as a bit of a surprise. According to the Wiltshire ~Council web site http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/leisure-wiltshire-cycle-ways the Wiltshire Cycleway does not go anywhere to the east of the A338 - update needed?

Really?

From here we were back onto very pleasant wooded paths until we came to some more open fields close to our start point. Here we saw one of the biggest herds of deer we have ever seen on a walk. They were strung out in a long line across the field. As we approached they vanished into the woods through a large gap in the fence and we could see no trace of them as we passed.

A Line Of Deer

This was a rather short walk as a result of feeble feet and gurgling guts.

We then drove to Jim Dawes’ World Garden Plants in West Wellow to pick up a quite large bamboo and then on to The Bat and Ball at Breamore for a very good lunch.

Bere Regis

28/2/2019

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28 February 2019
Bere Regis
5.1 miles
Town car park - free
Drax Arms

There is a very good free car park in Bere Regis. Travel west along West Street passing the Drax Arms on the right, turn left into Manor Farm Road and then take the first left into Turberville Road. The car park is at the end on the right.

We set off from here and made our way along a few paths that lead down to Elder Road where we turned left to join Southbrook Road and then first right into Southbrook Road. The Hardy Way starts at the corner of Southbrook Road by the cemetery although we could not see a Hardy Way sign. We followed the Hardy Way to Turners Puddle but found the route over Black Hill a little difficult to find at the start. The rain started to become a bit heavier as we reached the top of the hill and continued to come and go with quite a few sharp showers until we turned right at Yearling’s Drove.

We had come across a couple of quite muddy patches on the stretch from Damer Hill to Turners Puddle. We had not expected this as it seemed to have been quite dry warm weather recently. When we crossed the bridge by the watercress beds we found that the water was flowing really fast so a lot of water had come from somewhere!

Elf Caps

The rain stopped just as we found somewhere to sit and enjoy the pork pies Ray found in his rucksack and spotted a few elf cap fungi growing by the path. This was the first time it was dry enough to get the camera out.

As we turned into Spears Lane we found that some kind sole had left a few pieces of furniture there for the use of tired walkers. We were not impressed. It was an easy flat walk from here back to the car and we arrived back just before 13:00.

Disgraceful

We walked the few yards from the car park to the Drax Arms where we had a good meal though prices seem to have crept up a bit since our last visit. The service was quick and very good but there were not very many customers.

After lunch we paid a short visit to St John’s Church which has a superb 15th Century nave roof. There is a notice inviting visitors to “light up” the roof and a series of lights pointing upwards but unfortunately we were unable to find a switch. See https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=4556 for more information.

St John's Church

Unusual Roof Ornamentation

The Interior

Just for fun I used a "rambling man" figure as the track log icon and included it in the image below. The icons are usually "hidden" but I thought it was time for something different!

Blashford Lake and Rockford Common

31/1/2019

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31 January 2019
Blashford Lake
5.8 miles
Moyles Court
The Smugglers Haunt, Ferndown

Yes this another repeat of a previous walk! This one from October 2017. Finding new walks has become quite a struggle and not that rewarding when the weather forecast is less than encouraging - snow expected later today.
There was surprisingly little frost on the forest, shame as I was expecting some interesting photos, but parts of the lakes were frozen over. Although it was a very dull grey day it did not seen that cold while we were walking but most people seemed to have decided it was better to stay in doors. We hardly saw anyone all day. We did however see the lovely thatched cottage pictured below with wonderfully bow shaped walls. We also found a few places where the local authority had kindly provided wooden walkways that took us round the edge of what would have been deep mud in warmer weather.
The paths are all quite easy to follow but some care is needed to avoid wandering too far off the route across the common. We decided to weave a strange path through Appleslade Inclosure in deference to Ray's knee but this turned out rather well as it meant that we spotted the silver birches growing on a tiny island in a pond. One of us could not resist the temptation to go and take a few photographs while the other sensibly stuck to the main path.
A 40% discount voucher came in very handy at The Smugglers Haunt, a Beefeater establishment in Ferndown. As it is open all day for meals it is a little surprising that we have never, as far as either of us could recall had a walkers' lunch there before. It was a pleasant location and good value.

The Ford, Moyles Court

Thatched Perfection

Walkway

Beautiful Birches

Birch Island

View Just Above Moyles Court

A Watery Walk - Longham

20/12/2018

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20 December 2018
Longham
6.9 miles
Bridge House Hotel
Bridge House Hotel

This walk turned out to be very different from the planned version! Do not however get put off this area. We have had some good walks around here on previous occasions. A search for "Longham" will provide details.

We started from the car park at the Bridge House Hotel where we planned to have their excellent cavern for our lunch.
Turning right outside the hotel we took the Ferndown Stour and Forest Trail along the edge of the Stour but not for long. After about a third of a mile the path was underwater and there was no way we could go any further.
We turned back and took the same trail this time leading north beside the Longham Lakes Reservoir. Looking over what should have been farm land to the west the extent of the flooding could be plainly seen.

The Stour

Farm Land! - Looking West From The Lakes

We turned off towards Coneygar Farm and rejoined another section of the trail towards Ferndown with the intention of taking the footpath to Knoll Gardens. Alas this footpath had vanished. We carried on for a short distance to see if there was an alternative route to the gardens but no we had to turn back again. We felt we deserved a break now so we found a decent log to sit on while we regained our enthusiasm.

This time we thought we would take the bridleway across to Knoll Gardens but we were faced with another submerged path that was impossible to bypass. We had to turn back for a third time. We have never before been forced to turn back three times on one walk. In fact we have hardly ever turned back at all!

A Minor Obstacle We Overcame

A Car Plant?

If you would like to see many more strange pictures of cars have a look at the International Car Forest of The Last Church. Here's a link on Tripadvisor .
Eventually we found a reasonable route back and happily reached the Bridge House at 13:30 in good time for lunch. It was a very nice lunch for a very nice price.

Wilverley and Holmsley Inclosure

6/12/2018

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6 December 2018
Wilverley and Holmsley
6 miles
Large car park, north east of Wilverley Inclosure
Cat and Fiddle, Into Admiral

In spite of the rather dull day there were a lot of people parked in the large Wilverley car park. We saw very few of them once we started walking, partly because we started out on one of the minor paths which may not have looked too inviting to most of the dog walkers. We did however come across a group using trees, bungee cords, mats and other paraphernalia as an outside gym.

Every now and then a small, rare burst of sunlight helped to make the bracken glow with a lovely golden colour.

We have never been able to find a way of reaching the style to cross the road without having to take the rather grotty route that goes under the bridge. It seems impossible as the road is fenced on both sides. We followed a route that we have used several times before along the disused railway. The picture of the reflections of the trees gives some idea as to the extent of the water in the forest after the last few days rain.

Pure Gold!

The Next Train?

Treeflections

We stopped for a break close to Holmsley Lodge and then walked along a short stretch of the road before taking the small track on the left which leads to the bottom of Lodge Hill. It wasn’t as wet as we feared and after passing through the gate at the bottom we had a fairly easy stroll before crossing the road and splurging our way to the footbridge over Avon Water - it is quite close to the road and could easily be missed which would prove difficult!

We walked around the road and back towards the Tea Rooms looking for a place where we could cross the fence. We noticed a horse rider taking the track under the road to our east and thought we would check this out for future reference. The answer is you need a horse or very long waders.

Just A Tree

Not For Walkers

Retracing our footsteps we went through the gate into the Inclosure and followed the cycle track for most of the way back to the car.

Lunch at the Harvester, Cat and Fiddle, at Hinton Admiral rounded the day off nicely.

Ferndown Forest - 2

25/10/2018

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25 October 2018
Ferndown Forest
5.7 miles
Golf Club car park
Forest Inn

Tangled Webs

We started from the golf club car park again but this time headed north on there Ferndown, Stour and Forest Trail.

It was a bit cooler than most of our recent walks had been and the dew was clearly visible on the numerous webs on the gorse bushes.

We planned to follow the track that takes a dog leg across the heath and joins Newman’s Lane beside Newman’s Farm South. We could see no sign of this path but spotted quite a decent track under the pylons so we followed this. Unfortunately this ran out and the ground became very uneven and quite boggy, what you might describe as “tussocky lumps”. We decided to cut across to Newman’s Lane but this was easier said than done. We eventually fought our way through and came out on the lane where the path should have been but again could find no sign of its existence.

After another three hundred yards or so the made up track finished and we went through a gate onto a smaller track. On our left we found a nice looking boardwalk and decided to try that. It ran out just as we reached the pylons but there was a nice dry sandy track to follow all the way across the heath to the road just east of the Cross Keys pub.

View Acrosss The Heath

Ray On The Boardwalk

Impressive

Another Good Track

We carried on past the fishing lake which is closed at the moment and climbed up to the trig point on Bull Barrow before continuing across another area of open heath. Just after crossing the road we managed to find a log which provided just enough seating for two at a convenient spot for a break.

After a further stretch on the open heath we entered White Sheet Plantation and walked along some very easy paths back to the car park. Ray spotted a rather unusually coloured stem on a blackberry bush and then we had to stop for a few minutes in Hamwood Copse as there were some rather nice examples of fly agaric which had to be photographed.

Colourful Blackberry Leaves

Fly Agaric

We enjoyed another all day breakfast and an accompanying pot of tea at the Forest Inn. The only downside was the golfers who either could not read or felt the large sign saying “Please Use The Main Door did not apply to them. This made a seat near the door rather too drafty.

On the way home we dropped in to pick up some carpet being edge bound by Kristina at “Quick Bind Carpet Binding” in Ferndown and can highly recommend her service!

Ferndown Forest

11/10/2018

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11 October 2018
Ferndown Forest
5.6 miles
Ferndown Golf Club
The Forest Inn, at there golf club

It’s hard to believe that any ardent walker would prioritise a haircut over a walk but it happened today. This meant that we started a bit later than usual and so sought out somewhere near to home. As it turned out this actually worked to our advantage.

We have walked in this area before but not for some considerable time and not from this starting point. The people at the Forest Inn at Ferndown Golf Club were very amenable to our parking there, going for our walk and then joining them for lunch which they serve until 17:30.

Walking back along the approach road to the club there is a good clear sign to the Castleman Trailway. The right turn after 1 mile, which passes between banks of solar panels, is not quite so obvious and we missed it on our first attempt. After a pleasant stroll through the woods we emerged onto the road, which later turns into a broad unmade track, and followed this up to White Sheet Plantation. On the way we passed two splendid but quite different properties, first the relatively modern Red Bridge and then the more traditional Gardens.

We took off onto one of the smaller tracks running through the plantation and stopped for drinks bananas and biscuits on a side track with some inviting logs to sit on. It is interesting to see how much open land there is in this area, so close to the main conurbations, and so few people out enjoying it. At the White Sheet Hill car park we had to track back a short way to get onto the correct path and then had a very pleasant and breezy walk across the heathland.

Suitable Seating

Ready For Action

Not A Soul In Sight

Autumn Colour

Looking from Holt Heath back towards the plantation we could see the autumn colours really starting to show along the edge of the woods.

The wind was starting to build up by now and the leaves were having a hard time staying on the trees.

Blowing In The Wind

Rather than going right through the plantation we decided to turn right along an earlier track. This was not a good decision as the track became very muddy and uneven. Marked with a x so we remember it next time. At the end of this track we turned right onto the Ferndown Stour and Forest Trail and had an easy journey back to the car park where a small entrance brought us out just a few yards from the car.

We both enjoyed the all day breakfast at the Forest Inn. It iwas good value for money, nicely presented and the staff were all very pleasant. A good area for some other fairly local walks in the winter especially as apart from the one muddy track the paths are well made up and mostly sandy.

Breamore

30/8/2018

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30 August 2018
Breamore
6.6 miles
Bat and Ball
Bat and Ball

Breamore House

The Water Tower

Our second walk from the Bat and Ball this month but a completely different route this time. It was interesting walking along the road to Breamore House because we noticed so many buildings, set back from the road, that we had never noticed before. This was simply because we had usually driven along the road and parked by the church.
We have walked past the house numerous times but Peter has never visited it and Ray not for xx years. The web site says it is open for guided tours between April and October and there are excellent reviews on line so that is something to remedy.

From Breamore House there is a quite long but gentle climb all the way through Breamore Wood but after that it is downhill all the way back to the pub - well apart from one little dip and rise near the end. There is also a slight rise if you decide to visit the Mizmaze . This is one of only eight surviving turf mazes in the country and is surrounded by a grove of yew trees. It is fenced in to preserve it. We have visited it before but long ago.

It was a lovely day and the views over Breamore Down were so nice that we decided to continue to the end of the wood before taking the “hairpin bend” at the top. This was fine until we turned back and found the first part of North Chagford Drove very overgrown. The path across the bottom of the wood would have been a much better choice and the rest of the Drove was fine.
Walking along the Drove we saw a farmer spraying a field of flax and thought what a wonderful sight that must have provided when it was in full bloom. It was a massive field.

Breamore Down

Flax

Approaching the A338 it looks as if there is a path across the corner of the field but we could see no sign of this. Not wanting to walk on the crop we cut across just after the Chalk Pit. There is a path here but it was quite overgrown at first opening up after a few hundred yards. We looked for a sign of the path across the field but could still not see any evidence of its existence. We failed to find another path just after leaving North Street. We wanted to join the lane we started out on but were forced to take the other path that took us out onto the A338 again. Although there is no footpath for a short distance it was not a problem as it is pretty decent for most of the way back to the pub.

We had decided before we set off that we were going to have the Bobotie for lunch and very tasty it was too. In one respect it was a shame the walk had gone so well! We were in the pub by 13:45 and it was really busy so the service was a bit slower than usual but we had nowhere to go so we sat with our tea and smarties and put the world to rights.

Breamore

9/8/2018

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9 August 2018
Breamore
5.75 miles
Bat and Ball
Bat and Ball

Leaving the Bat and Ball we crossed the rather busy A338 turned right and into the lane running behind the school. We found we had to look quite hard to spot the path we wanted and it was a little overgrown in places but still easily passable. Although we have walked around the beautifully kept Whitsbury Stud before we could not recall having reached it via this route. Looking back I found that we had been on some of the sections in 2008 and 2010 some time before starting this blog!

Green - as far as the eye can see. Whitsbury

From Outwick to Whitsbury it is a very pleasant walk, on a hot day, through nicely shaded woodland. Notices by the track across the fields leading to St Leonard’s Church at Whitsbury, tell you that it is dangerous to walk across the fields when there are horses there. We don’t want to chance upsetting racehorses so took the long way round. We took advantage of the well placed benches to sit beside the church and have refreshment break.

From here it is pretty much downhill all the way back to Breamore where we had another opportunity to admire a few of the very fine old buildings. There are so many attractive houses hidden away around Breamore that you only really notice while walking around the area.

Back at the Bat and Ball we enjoyed our pots of tea, with accompanying smarties, and liver and bacon casserole.

Stour Valley Way

21/6/2018

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21 June 2018
Stour Valley
6.45 miles
Mill car park, Throop
Table Table, Holes Bay

Throop Mill

This is a fairly flat and straightforward walk following the Stour Valley Way. We started walking at 10:00 and were back at the car by 13:20.
It always looks inviting to stroll along beside a river but for much of the first part of the walk it is not that visible.

Approaching the airport we soon reached the Adventure Wonderland but we managed to resist the temptation and kept going. Apart from seeing a few planes coming and going there is quite a lot to see on the walk along to West Parley. It almost seems as if you are in a different part of the world. The path, which is rather overgrown, runs around the back of some buildings close to the Equestrian Centre. This seems surrounded by lots of small specialist companies who don’t seem to advertise their presence but can be found on the internet. The easy road through the middle says it is private!

The path leads onto Church Lane and after short walk to the north there is a path on the left which was a blooming lovely sight at this time of year. This in turn leads to the A 347 which is not so lovely but there is a very good footpath across Ensbury Bridge. Shortly after the bridge we turned down a side road that brought us alongside the south bank of the Stour. Here we found a pleasant spot to sit beside the river and enjoy some refreshments. There are a few places along this part of the walk where families can come and enjoy a splash in the river and several people were taking advantage of this as we passed by.

Bloomin' Lovely

A Choice Spot

Shortly after turning away from the river there is a Sewage Works. At least that is what it says on the map. This is obviously not an attractive term in the eyes of the authorities so they have renamed it!
After returning to the car we drove to Table Table in Holes Bay where we had a pleasant meal which we finished in perfect time to pick up Peter’s car from the garage next door after its MOT test.

A Sewage Works - Reimagined