| Date: Location: Walk Leader: Participants: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 15th July 2015 Durweston Rob Rob, Clive, Peter, Ray Somewhere between 6.8 and 8.1 miles Haycombe Lambs Green Inn ★★ |
| Just have a look at the profile for this walk. Is this any way to treat a group of Septuagenarian friends? Is the leader a sadist? Or, since he joined in, is he a masochist? Votes on a postcard please. |  |
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.
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.
Three toughies fight their way through while the photographer continues to snap away undaunted.
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.
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.
Barley field surrounded by wild flowers. Inset from left to right: Musk Mallow Wild Carrot Field Scabious
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.
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.
 Wild Raspberries |  A good handful |
Why are raspberries good for you? Click on the link to find out.
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