| Date: Location: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 13 December 2018 Cranborne 6.5 miles Outside Sheaf of Arrows Sheaf of Arrows |
We managed to find a convenient spot to park right outside the Sheaf of Arrows and were pleased to find that they serve lunches until 14:30 and offer a 25% discount for the “not so young” during the week - an incentive to walk quickly.
Cranborne Manor was looking a bit bleak as we set out but. Having been originally built as a hunting lodge for King John in the early 1200s it will have certainly seen days a lot worse than this one.
Although it looks like a pleasant track it is worth remembering that from Manor Farm to Cranborne Farm it is more like walking on a road. We had forgotten!
We followed the signed path around the farm though it would have been easy enough to just walk through the rather deserted farm yard.
There is no sign but the footpath turns right through a gate into the field and then up towards the road. There is no need to walk along the edge of the road as there is a nice wide path just inside the edge of the field. There are several places, just inside the small copse, where there is no wire preventing walkers crossing the road onto Monkton Drive. We then had the pleasure of a stroll down a grassy track with hedges on both sides protecting us from the increasingly chilly wind.
Turning right on the road, for a short way, we joined the Jubilee Trail which soon turns across the fields and then through a little gate onto the edge of quite a steep embankment.
The wind was now becoming really chilly so we looked for some shelter where we could enjoy our drinks without freezing.
Cranborne Manor was looking a bit bleak as we set out but. Having been originally built as a hunting lodge for King John in the early 1200s it will have certainly seen days a lot worse than this one.
Although it looks like a pleasant track it is worth remembering that from Manor Farm to Cranborne Farm it is more like walking on a road. We had forgotten!
We followed the signed path around the farm though it would have been easy enough to just walk through the rather deserted farm yard.
There is no sign but the footpath turns right through a gate into the field and then up towards the road. There is no need to walk along the edge of the road as there is a nice wide path just inside the edge of the field. There are several places, just inside the small copse, where there is no wire preventing walkers crossing the road onto Monkton Drive. We then had the pleasure of a stroll down a grassy track with hedges on both sides protecting us from the increasingly chilly wind.
Turning right on the road, for a short way, we joined the Jubilee Trail which soon turns across the fields and then through a little gate onto the edge of quite a steep embankment.
The wind was now becoming really chilly so we looked for some shelter where we could enjoy our drinks without freezing.
 Cranborne Manor - Looks Comfortable |  Our Manor - A Little Less Attractive |  Out Of The Wind |
Feeling revitalised we continued along the Jubilee Trail all the way back to Cranborne. It isn’t all that clear but the footpath runs inside the fence line along Parsonage Lane and there is an exit point just by Creech Hill House. There is however no option but than to walk along the road from here to the corner where it crosses the fields again.
We were back in good time for lunch at the Sheaf of Arrows and were happy to purchase the last two steak and kidney puddings. The couple who followed us in were not so lucky!
We were back in good time for lunch at the Sheaf of Arrows and were happy to purchase the last two steak and kidney puddings. The couple who followed us in were not so lucky!
Bright But Breezy
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