Cranborne

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2 March 2017
Cranborne
Ray
Ray, Peter
8.6 miles
In the street by Cranborne Store
​Sheaf of Arrows

Another very pleasant day.  It's odd but Thursdays seem to have better weather than Wednesdays at the moment.
We were delighted to see a sign outside the Sheaf of Arrows saying they serve lunch up until 3pm.  We knew we would be back before then!
​We took the small path from the high street that leads on to the Jubilee Trail and then followed this alongside the River Crane as far as Cranbourne Farm.  We enjoyed the open country view from here across Blackish Down.

It's Rural Around Here

At the farm we left the Jubilee Trail and headed along the footpath that runs past the barns that were full of young calves all mooing loudly.  The path loops around and down to a ford that was quite deep but has a bridge to the side.  After a few yards we went through a gate and onto the track that leads to Squirrels Corner.
The B3081 can be surprisingly busy and difficult to walk beside safely.  We did however find a nice wide grassy track just inside the field to the right of the road.  Almost opposite Monkton Drove Track we found a convenient spot where there was no fencing and we were able to cross the road without a problem. ​​

Red Kite

​We were delighted for a second time walking along Monkton Drove when we saw a Red Kite just overhead.  It was a little further away by the time I had my camera out and ready bit it was still readily identifiable.

At Monkton Up Wimborne we walked along the road to see the source of the River Allen, hence the little spur on the map here.  Unfortunately there was nowhere to sit so we continued up the hill but soon found a magnificent old yew tree with a large chunk that had fallen off providing a good spot to stop for refuelling.

Source of the River Allen

Wimborne St Giles

​We then followed Coach Road joining the tarmac to walk into Wimborne St Giles.  The Bull was closed and has apparently been for some while.  In the village we met two other ramblers one of whom kindly took our picture. 
We took the road out of Wimborne St Giles past the Manor House and back onto the Jubilee Trail. 

We stayed on the Jubilee Trail all the way back to Cranborne arriving there at about 14:20.
We were a bit surprised when the Landlady told us that they had already stopped serving lunch.  However after a short discussion regarding the signs outside and the fact that it was now March she happily agreed to have a word with the chef.  We enjoyed two very large plates of fish and chips and two pots of tea each with two tea bags each.  Good value for £10.25 each and a friendly landlady.
We agreed that this was a good walk that would be worth repeating at another time of year.