The Wednesday Walk 12th November 2008

The Plan
Meet at Branksome Woods in the car park near the tennis courts at 10am. We will walk to the Nightjar for lunch. Pat and Beatrice (along with anyone else presently limited in walking) will be welcome to join us for lunch.

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Sue, Ros, Trudy and David (Trisha, Beatrice and Tony joined us for lunch)

The Walk
The forecasters promised us a nice gin-clear day and they were right. Blue skies and sunshine stayed with us all day. We met at the car park and walked down through Branksome Woods amidst some glorious sun-lit autumn colours (see photo). We stopped at Branksome Chine for tea and coffee on the restaurant balcony overlooking the beach (see photo). One walker indulged in a large cake but we have all promised to say nothing about it. It was a pity that Sue's tea was spoiled by a ripped tea bag as it was otherwise a pleasant break. From there it was another pleasant walk along the seafront and then up through the woods to the pub. Trisha, Beatrice and Tony joined us for lunch, and we actually mananged to complete two whole cryptic crosswords. After lunch we took the same route back to the cars, but without the tea/coffee break. Trisha very kindly invited the group to her house for tea.

The Pub

The Nightjar, Canford Village. We have eaten here before and been pleased with the quality of service and food. This time we were disappointed. The bar was understaffed but we could have overlooked that. Beatrice's food was fried to a frazzle and that was not acceptable. David's flakey-pastry steak pie had the look and texture of a suet pudding, with the base burned black beyond recognition. Our complaints met with the response, "Sorry, but other people have also complained." The standards will have to improve if we are ever to be tempted back there again. It was a pity because the walk was otherwise very pleasant.