| Date: Location: Walk Leader: Participants: Distance: Parking: Lunch: | 5th October 2016 Studland, Godlingston Heath Peter Peter, Clive, Ray 6.7 miles National Trust Car Park Bankes Arms The Sandford Pub ☆☆☆☆☆ no points |
It was quite overcast and gloomy when we started but the forecast said that the high winds would soon clear the clouds away. The principle was right but the timing a bit astray.
We walked up past the church following the small paths that enabled us to keep off the road and head towards Godlingston Heath. You can see from the map that we hit a snag in the area of Knowl Hill. The bridleway so clear on the map is nowhere to be seen on the ground. It started off looking OK but gradually degenerated and became impassable. The "other road or track" marked to the south west of the bridleway was fine and we took that to Greenland. There are some good views from this path firstly back towards the Agglestone Rock and then over the harbour.
(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglestone_Rock)
The wind had built up and was really quite strong so we decided to wait until we were protected by the trees before stopping for our break today. We found a nice spot in the trees but were surprised to see a large plastic bucket nearby. It appeared to be full of some form of alien gunge but no aliens appeared when we poked it!
On the way to Kingswood Heath we met a team of three guys spraying rhododendrons to help regenerate the heath. Two of them were desperate for a cigarette but had no lighter. So desperate were they that they were trying to create fire by rubbing sticks together - sad?
The scenery changed quite dramatically again as we left the woods and went through the heath an up onto the golf course. We did not see a single player out on the course in spite of it being, by now, a beautiful sunny afternoon. The high winds must have put them off. It is a surprisingly long climb up onto the top of the heath but the views from the top are well worth the effort. It was then downhill all the way, apart from a small detour to avoid the road again, and we were back at the church. It was open when we got there and so we went inside. St Nicholas is a Norman church probably built before the end of the 11th Century. Unfortunately we missed the sexy bits. You can catch up by visiting:
http://greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/studland.html
We thought it would be good to visit The Sandford Pub for lunch. It changed hands in September 2014, has undergone a face lift and their web site says their ethos is to provide great food cooked to the highest standard. We were VERY disappointed. This is only the second time in 12 years of walking, and having a pub lunch, almost every Wednesday that I have gone to the trouble of emailing the owners to say just how bad I thought their food was. If I ever get a reply I will add it to this post.
We walked up past the church following the small paths that enabled us to keep off the road and head towards Godlingston Heath. You can see from the map that we hit a snag in the area of Knowl Hill. The bridleway so clear on the map is nowhere to be seen on the ground. It started off looking OK but gradually degenerated and became impassable. The "other road or track" marked to the south west of the bridleway was fine and we took that to Greenland. There are some good views from this path firstly back towards the Agglestone Rock and then over the harbour.
(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglestone_Rock)
The wind had built up and was really quite strong so we decided to wait until we were protected by the trees before stopping for our break today. We found a nice spot in the trees but were surprised to see a large plastic bucket nearby. It appeared to be full of some form of alien gunge but no aliens appeared when we poked it!
On the way to Kingswood Heath we met a team of three guys spraying rhododendrons to help regenerate the heath. Two of them were desperate for a cigarette but had no lighter. So desperate were they that they were trying to create fire by rubbing sticks together - sad?
The scenery changed quite dramatically again as we left the woods and went through the heath an up onto the golf course. We did not see a single player out on the course in spite of it being, by now, a beautiful sunny afternoon. The high winds must have put them off. It is a surprisingly long climb up onto the top of the heath but the views from the top are well worth the effort. It was then downhill all the way, apart from a small detour to avoid the road again, and we were back at the church. It was open when we got there and so we went inside. St Nicholas is a Norman church probably built before the end of the 11th Century. Unfortunately we missed the sexy bits. You can catch up by visiting:
http://greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/studland.html
We thought it would be good to visit The Sandford Pub for lunch. It changed hands in September 2014, has undergone a face lift and their web site says their ethos is to provide great food cooked to the highest standard. We were VERY disappointed. This is only the second time in 12 years of walking, and having a pub lunch, almost every Wednesday that I have gone to the trouble of emailing the owners to say just how bad I thought their food was. If I ever get a reply I will add it to this post.
 St Nicholas, Studland - Looking Austere Under a Menacing Sky |  Sundews in the Moss |  Dying for a Fag |
 It Turned Out Lovely |  Poole Harbour. Agglestone Rock on Left |
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