Write up courtesy of Rob Butcher.   
A fine day was had by the team (Clive, Ray and leader Rob).  Lovely trout stream on the Crichel estate. Avenue of trees on the road into Moor Crichel is quite magnificent, what sights the accomplished leader brings to the eyes of his followers!  Overall a bit too much tarmac but the quest for new routes is the spur that drives Rob on? (sic)  Where Mr P. Shepheard is we know not.

Editors comment:  If you read last weeks report you will not be surprised to find that this one is pretty brief too.  I leave you to decide whether the self congratulatory comments are justified.

We parked at the Vintage Inn at Woolsbridge and walked across the fields towards Potterne Farm.  By the time we reached there we were searching for a spot to stop for refreshments.  We eventually found a well positioned seat towards the south end of the lake.  It was very pleasant sitting here and an ideal place for a team photo.  We then started to pick a route through the numerous tracks within the Moores Valley Country Park.  It was half term and there were loads of people close to the children' play areas but virtually no people in the rest of the Park.
Having found our way down to the road we crossed over towards Ashley Heath.  We were amazed to see an old station sign for "Ashley Heath" which none of us had seen before.  The station was originally opened in 1927 and finally closed as part of the "Beeching Axe" in 1964.
We stayed on the Castlemain Trail for a while but hit a snag.  Rob's plan was to take the track past Little Lions Farm and back to Wools Bridge.  Unfortunately this was gated and a sign clearly said No Access.  We decided to press on leaving the trail at the next Footbridge.  We headed towards the Depot and it became apparent after a while that we were getting into some difficult and very uneven ground.  We stumbled around for a while, starting to feel pretty hot, but eventually found our way out through an area where they were carrying out some major earthworks.
Another good walk on a warm day with some sun and some threatening cloud.  Just a little bit more than we had bargained for. 
We were all quite shattered by the time we got back to the pub but we soon recovered and had a very pleasant lunch.

The lay-by car park opposite the church has become a proper enclosed area but was still ideal as a starting point for this walk with plenty of free space.
The steep climb to the top of Hambledon Hill did not seem as bad as all that and it wa a beautiful sunny day with excellent views across Iwerne Minster.

On reaching the top we turned south and joined the Stour Valley Way.  This meant that having climbed to 626 ft above sea level we promptly went down again to 118 ft above sea level.  For folk who don't like hills that's a bit sadistic!   This took us into Stourpaine where we found a very comfortable bench in the church grounds so we sat in the sun and had some refreshments. 

We parked in the large car park at the Bat and Ball which is very handy as it serves food all day and we knew we would be back in time for a late lunch.
Crossing the A338 we headed west and soon came to the cricket ground with its attractive thatched pavilion.  Continuing west we were soon getting into the woods where the bluebells were starting to become evident which was slightly surprising given how cold it has been.
At Brookheath we turned northwest and followed the path in Rockbourne.  St Andrews church dates back to the 12th Century and has a very welcoming porch where we sat and had a welcome cup of coffee, tea, bovril, soup or chocolate depending on whatever we had in our rucksacks.  There are some wonderful old buildings all around Rockbourne which is well worth a visit.  There seemed to be quite a bit of new development going on in the area of Nippards Farm from where we took the path up to St Leonard's church in Whitsbury.  There are some good views from here and a bench for another rest after a fairly steep climb.  There was a lovely carpet of cyclamen under the trees.
It was pretty much downhill from here all the way back to the pub where we enjoyed a good meal of liver and bacon and of course lots of tea!

​There was a dearth of places to sit until eventually we found a jump for the horses that was reasonable enough for a break that we were by now all looking forward to. 
Soon after our well earned rest we were back into some pleasant woodland although it was again rather muddy in places.  We were however able to find tracks through the tress above the muddy main paths.  Then it was back on the road around the Milton Abbey School (Boarding £10,960, Day £,550 per term), up the hill, under the bridge and back beside Steeptonbill Farm shop.  We could not resist stopping here for a few vegetables they looked so good and fresh.  It was then a short stroll back to the car.  A brief visit to the Royal Oak was more than a little disappointing - no pies - that was last week - we've run out of sausages - what!  So it was off to the Bakers Arms again.  The search is on for Pubs serving food all day!
​A good chicken and leek pie yet again but next time we must remember to ask them to heat the tea pots.

If you take notice of the "hot tip" and search for Rushmore you will find four previous walks at this location.  That's not such a bad thing when you see the number of paths that there are and the lovely trees in the woods and parkland.
This time we set off along a route we had not used before.  This took us close to the Sandroyd School and its very well kept grounds. They should be good as it is a co-educational Day and Boarding School for children from 3-13 with fees rising to just over £7,300 per term for boarders. 

Lunch was perhaps not quite as good as usual with the all day breakfast missing and the gammon not up to usual standards.
It was however a most pleasant day's walk.

There was only one other car in the car park when we arrived just before 10:30 but it was pretty full when we left after our late lunch.
We had all forgotten what a long walk it is from the pub down to the stream that runs into Sway Lakes and eventually feeds the Avon.  It was starting to feel quite warm out in the open.  When we arrived at the stream we were a bit surprised to find a lot of water.  So we wandered around trying to find a crossing.  Not the first time we have hit this problem but we found a route a bit more quickly this time.   Have a look at 14th January 2015 and you can see what I mean!

Once that was sorted it was a pleasant stroll back to the Rising Sun for lunch - and very good it was too.
Ray had decided to go vegetarian.  Rob and Peter chose the chicken and ham pie and - yes you guessed it - Ray had the same.  We also had a proper decent sized pot of tea with extra water supplied as standard.

For a closer look just click on the graph!
From the car we walked along Church Lane and down to the A357 before turning up Norton Lane and as you can see I do mean up.  There is a nice little car park at the top of Norton Lane but it's true it is not the most secure parking place around.
We followed the path through Norton Wood stopping now and again to pick a few of the abundant wild raspberries which were delicious.  Unfortunately this path came to an abrupt end and we had to backtrack  for a short distance.  Our new path then became blocked by a fallen tree but knowing how tough we all are our leader decided to push on regardless.  

Finally we were back on a wide path with more raspberries to help us build up our strength again.  This was vital for having made us climb 370 feet - looks almost vertical on the graph - we, against all instincts, dropped down 217 feet into Hillcombe Coppice.  We were then faced with a climb of 418 feet to the summit of this walk in Blandford Forest.  This heroic effort clearly called for a time out for drinks and other refreshments.
In the spirit of fair play I should add that in spite of the mountains the walk was very pleasant passing through some lovely woodland and alongside open fields some of which had their boundaries lined with  protected areas for wild life and full of wild flowers.

After our break it was downhill all the way.  The path along the edge of the wood and Shillingstone Hill was starting to get a bit overgrown but was not too difficult and soon we were crossing the A357 again to follow the old railway across the Stour and into Shillingstone.  We wondered why they knocked the original bridge down and then had to build a new one!  Before long we were back at the car feeling quite pleased to sit down.
We went back to what is becoming a favourite place for a late lunch, the Lambs Green Inn, where we had a good lunch and some more lively banter.

Why are raspberries good for you?   Click on the link to find out.

We parked in Hollands Meade Avenue, a nice quiet road with plenty of curb side parking, opposite St Michaels Church.  Owermoigne is renowned for its involvement with the local 18th-century smuggling trade. When barrels of brandy were brought ashore at Ringstead Bay, three miles south of the village, they were carried inland and stored in the tower of this church.  We then walked down Pollards Lane and up a couple of steps to join our track which can easily be missed.
It was a nice sunny day and the walk across the fields of maize and on to the woodland was very pleasant.  Warmwell's Holy Trinity  church is undergoing some restoration as the roof is in a very wonky state.  It was interesting to talk to the man in charge while we had a look at the large number of War Graves in the small cemetery.  There are 24 of them commemorating airmen from former RAF Warmwell who were killed during World War 2. 
From the map it would be reasonable to expect the track down to the watercress beds to be a nice grassy one but unfortunately it is more of a rough road - not the first time we have found this.  We carried on around the boundary of the Warmwell Quarry.  This was the first time we had been around its southern edge.  We spotted a rather overgrown lake, to the right of our path and a couple of large fish enjoying feeding close to, or even on,  the surface.  On the left side of the path there is a fishing lake which presumably provides some interest for the nearby Holiday Park occupants.  A little further on there is another of those "grassy tracks" that turns out to be road.  This time it was the stretch leading to the strangely named Misery Farm.  Here the footpath has bee re-routed to the west side of the lake rather than going through the property's garden.
Another good walk on a bright but not overly hot day.