Still there are now 183 existing walks to choose from although some may be repeats!
Perhaps the ground will have dried out by then.
School holidays, Easter holidays and visitors from the other side of the world mean that there will not be any new posts until around the middle of April. Unless of course we get cabin fever.
Still there are now 183 existing walks to choose from although some may be repeats! Perhaps the ground will have dried out by then.
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Health Warning: You could end up in a similar place if you tackle this walk after bad weather!!
It was only a short distance along the road before we came to the long footbridge over the River Frome. We were a bit concerned about the track before Moreton Plantation that appears, on the map, to run across the middle of a couple of fields. We were pleasantly surprised to find that this was a well maintained grass track between two wire fences. However a nasty surprise was just waiting.
Through the kissing gate (no we didn’t) and we were onto a better more solid path. Entering the wood we were faced with a small lake where there should have been a path. We struggled to find a way round this, through some quite thick rhododendrons, but finally made the other side where the path improved again. Unfortunately this sequence of events continued to repeat itself. We climbed across tree trunks, stepped gingerly along branches lying on paths covered in running water and even walked the plank at one point.
It may look as if we were to the side of the main Jubilee Trail but it has obviously been re-routed since this map was drawn as we came out at a point where there was a marker showing the path where we had come from. We could rename this stretch the Jubilee Trial. It had taken some time to get through this section so we decided not to go past Cul-peppers Dish but to cut across to the west using the path running almost parallel to the Hardy Way. We found an excellent spot to sit, have a drink and relive our recent adventures. Although this looks like a minor path it is in fact well made up and reasonable dry. The positions and existence of some of the adjoining paths are however not accurate. The path continued to be good after crossing the Waddock Drove Road. We remembered from previous times in this area that some care is needed where the path crosses under the pylon lines. The main path seems to swing round to the right but the one to take is the minor one down the slope. It passes, through a gate and into a field. The exit from the field is through another gate in the top right hand corner and comes out on a road beside a very small group of properties. Everything was then easy going until we reached the track from the road and on past Waddock Dairy. This was full of large puddles and pretty muddy too. It was however possible to avoid the worst bits by carefully selecting a very zig zag route. We then enjoyed a short stretch of grassy bliss before rejoining the path we started out along. We stopped for lunch at The Bakers Arms in Lytchett Minster where we had the excellent chicken and ham pie. The food here is now consistently so much better than it was a few years ago.
With a lot of water still around we opted for another of the areas where we know we can find some good dry paths.
Wareham Forest has a good mix of made up cycle tracks and sandy tracks with good drainage. The kind folk at the Silent Woman were happy for us to park there while we went on our walk and the Brunch that we had on our return was excellent. The track into the forest starts a few yards up the road from the pub and is guarded by a couple of enormous stones preventing vehicle access. We weren’t too sure how good the path around the edge of the Bog area would be but thought it worth a try. It turned out to be a bit wet in a few places but we never had any real problems. It was interesting to see how the scenery changed from the dead straight path through the conifers that took us down to the Poole Harbour Trail to the wide open boggy ground of the bog. A few trees have tried to find a place to survive in the bog but they find it a tough existence. We started to look for a comfortable stopping place as we passed the Lookout Tower by Decoy Heath but ended up carrying on as far as Decoy House before we found a good spot. We had a brief look at the area by the beehives but the bees were quite active and we gave that a miss. It looked as if there was an unmarked path leading to the west where we had taken the sharp east turn toward the second Lookout Tower. After our break we went a short distance down the Hardy Way but could not see any sign of this path joining up with the Hardy Way. There are lots of options at the top of the path where you can see a long way over Morden Heath. We decided to carry on along the ridge for a little while to enjoy a bit more of this view before turning south on the way back. We arrived back at The Silent Woman at about ten past one a mere three and a quarter hours after setting off. We enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, the service, a nice big pot of tea and a brace of brunches. It was a very pleasant bright and breezy day and our only disappointment was the lack of wildlife. Perhaps everything was still recovering from the snow.
It was a bright but chilly morning when we parked by the memorial at Windy Corner, quite a popular spot and we chatted with bird watchers and dog walkers.
We walked east along the road to join the track leading in to Sheep Park Coppice. Here we met a very nice and chatty lady walking her dog. She told us that most of the paths we planned to walk on were really bad with mud and water everywhere. Looking back over previous walks I found it interesting to see that when we did this walk in September 2013 we noted that it would be a good walk for wet weather! Well we pushed on anyway and found most of the paths perfectly fine with some lovely displays of snowdrops in the woods besides Bratch Lane. On a couple of occasions, between Six Cross Ways and Queen’s Coppice where the path had been “muddied up” by horses, we walked in the edge of the woods. There had been a considerable amount of tree felling around Queen’s Coppice and this provided a good opportunity for a short break. After Strawberry Coppice the scenery became a little more open to the east as the walk is along the edges of the woods rather than through the middle, a nice bit of variety. The woods and field boundaries were full of catkins bursting with pollen so it's easy to see why hay fever is common in February. This is a very pleasant, fairly flat and easy walk. In a couple of months it will look very different when the bluebells are in bloom.
Walks have been notable by their absence and brevity so far this year. On 5 February we had a short, 4 mile, walk around Arne. This is a lovely area run by RSPB so there is a car park charge of £5 for the day unless you have a member with you and they have their membership card to display on the car. There is also a cafe with reasonably priced food and drink. We had a good walk on a beautiful day and the paths are easy to follow as well as being good underfoot. There have been many wet days recently so for today’s walk we opted for the cycle tracks in the New Forest yet again. This time we planned to start at Janesmoor Pond but actually parked in a car park just off the road as the Janesmoor CP had some pretty deep potholes on the approach. Another lovely day which was amazing given how absolutely dreary yesterday had been. We enjoyed the variety of woodland in this area much of it being made up of Beech and Oak as well as areas of the ever present pines. We had seen a lot of large expanses of water besides the roads as we drove to Janesmoor so were not surprised to find that most of the “off piste” tracks were waterlogged. We stuck religiously to the cycle tracks! A little later as we strolled towards the northern end of the Coppice of Linwood we found the Forest’s answer to the Grand Canyon. Not quite on the same scale but the water has cut a quite unusual channel through the forest and we spent a little time admiring natures handiwork. This is obviously not a long walk but is very worthwhile and could easily be extended.
We thought we would go to The Sir Walter Tyrell for lunch but a long wait without even being asked what we would like to drink and the wailing of a young child changed our thinking. We stopped at the Green Dragon at Brook. Here we had a very different welcome, excellent service from very pleasant staff and a really good steak and ale pie. The pie a proper pie full to the brim with really tender meat. The only drawback was the somewhat higher price. Nevertheless it was a good end to a great day. It is possible to turn left off the A31 at Stoney Cross to reach Janesmoor Pond but there is no right turn.
This is a very straightforward walk through an area of the forest that has recently seen a lot of forestry work being carried out. We were extremely lucky with the weather. It was rather dull when we set off from home but was brightening up by the time we arrived at the car park opposite the Balmerlawn Hotel. It continued to remain mostly bright with a few specials of overcast but no rain throughout the walk. Just where you see the "e" of Parkhill Inclosure there is a board telling you about the Frowhawk Ride. See Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_Frohawk There is also a little more information about Frowhawk on the Clayhill Walk on 30 December 2015.
We then drove to the Cat and Fiddle. We had already been phoned, following our earlier complaint, that they now had an urn so they could produce really hot tea. This proved, much to our approval, to be true. The Early Bird special, as much salad as you like and endless refills of pots of tea - a walkers delight.
Our first walk of 2018 and starting our new regime of Thursday walks instead of Wednesday walks. The small car park by St Mary’s Church was packed and Ray had to reverse all the way back to the road as there was nowhere to turn round. Luckily we found a good spot in Northfield which suited us very well. Turning left out of the cul-de-sac it was only a few yards to the turn for the Jubilee Trail leading to Chettle Long Barrow. The last time we were in this area, in May 2014, we walked many of the same paths and I was surprised at how much further we had walked but Ray reminded me that when we were half way to the Long Barrow I discovered I had left my GPS on the top of the car and had to go back and fetch it. It was a very dull and misty morning when we set out but patches of blue sky appeared at regular intervals. We even enjoyed some decent spells of sunshine. It was a very changeable day.
The sheep seemed to be enjoying the winter feed that was provided in the field around Zareba Clump. An interesting name, as is Solomons Quarter but I have not been able to find the origins of either.
We were quite a way round the walk before we stopped for mince pies and satsumas, kindly supplied by Ray, and drinks sitting on a stump that must have been specially designed for walkers. The view over Eastbury House and Park was great. The Historic England web site provides some further information on the history of the house and park. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000549 In May 2014 the fields were full of blooming rape flowers. They looked very different today with bare trees and the new grass just coming through. St Mary's Church at Tarrant Hinton, not to be confused with one of the same name at Chettle, has a pair of interesting windows designed by Tom Denny and commissioned by the villagers to celebrate the Millennium. There is a notice explaining how their design is based on Joel Ch 2 v 21-27. On the left look for a flinty path through the cornfields and on the right some trees and beasts of the field. Clicking on the thumb nail provides a larger that normal image to help your search! This was a fairly easy route to follow and is well signed in most places. There were no styles which suited us very well! We had a very pleasant lunch at the Lambs Green Inn which, by using our 33% off voucher, was very good value for money. We had the steak and mushroom pie, a steal at £7.70. Thanks to those who have posted comments.
I hope that everyone who follows any of the walks on the blog gets as much pleasure from them as we do. Happy walking in 2018.
We shelved our idea of “doing the Hintons” in the last few weeks of 2017 as we thought there had been too much rain recently. Most of the paths on this walk from Milton Abbas are dry and well made up and it is a really nice area. We also wanted to see if we could buy some Romanesco at Steeptonbill farm shop. We couldn’t but we did get some multi coloured chantenay carrots to brighten our Christmas lunches. The Google map seems to show this in the wrong place so I have marked it on the walk map. We had an interesting chat with a local as we started out from our parking place on the road close to the church. The village has a fascinating history and a brief summary can be found at http://www.miltonabbas.org.uk/History/villagehistory.htm. When we arrived we noticed how chilly it seemed in the village which sits in a valley and gets very little sun at this time of year. It was a gloriously bright sunny day once we had climbed out of the valley but when we returned later in the day the whole village was still in shadow. In a similar vein to last week we decided to deviate from the main hard surfaced track into Charity Wood. We intended to then go towards Our Farm but an urgent phone call distracted the leader who missed the turn and failed to realise until half way down Whatcombe Wood. Well it was a lovely path and the beech woods were looking most attractive! So we adjusted the walk to suit. As we rounded the corner by Cliff Wood walking towards Higher Whatcombe Farm we could hear a woodpecker. We managed to glimpse him at the top of one of the pair of trees, that I rather fancifully thought were about to dance. Can you see him? He is one of the spotted varieties. It was still bright and sunny as we crossed the road and walked past East Luccombe Farm with its holiday cottages and artisanal workshops. We then turned north on the Juilee Trail for a short while before turning onto the smaller path that took us back into Milton Abbas beside the church and only a few yards from the car.
We stopped at the Worlds End in Almer for lunch and enjoyed their steak and Tanglefooot Pie even if it did cost £13.25. We counted it as a Christmas treat. The tea was a nice surprise. It was loose leaf tea, served in an infuser, in a good size pot with really hot water.
When we arrived at the car park ours was the only vehicle there. It was a decidedly dull day and there had been lots of rain but “there’s no such thing as bad weather……”. However we decided to base our walk on the eighth one down on the "Wet Wether Walks" page which follows the cycle tracks. This can become a bit tedious so we branched off onto other tracks in two or three places for a bit of variety. We certainly achieved that but it made progress quite a lot slower and more tiring as we had to watch where we treading fairly carefully to avoid wet feet. It was difficult to find a suitable place to sit and as it was rather drizzly we wanted at least a little shelter. We ended up, at the most southerly part of the walk, on a log under a holly tree where we sat and considered whether anyone spotting us there would think we were totally bonkers! On the other hand they would have no idea how much fun we were having. We were warmed by two small glasses of anisette licor in addition to the normal soup, coffee, chocolate etc. Our excursion off the cycle track just beefier North Oakley Inclosure convinced us to make that the last before approaching the car park. It was a short but very soggy diversion.
We stopped at the Cat and Fiddle for lunch where we had to ask for there “Early Bird” menu which had been displaced by the Christmas Specials. The tea is still served at a dismal temperature but the lunch was otherwise very good value. |
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