The Wednesday Walk 24th June 2009

The Plan
Meet at Ros's for a Swanage walk

The Leaders
Ros and Tricia

Who Turned Up
Ros, Tricia, Pam (and friend) Tony R and David.

The Walk
What a glorious day. The sky was cloudless, the temperature got up to 27 degrees and the walk allowed us some superb views along the Dorset coast. Okay, so we had a couple of minor mishaps. Trisha had a tumble on loose ground at the start of the walk and Pete took a fall on a stile at the end. But these were only minor hiccups. No one was seriously injured.
We drove to Ullwell and then walked up onto Ballard Down. At the top we turned right and headed out to Old Harry, glowing white in the bright sunshine. I must mention the flowers here or I will be getting letters of complaint from our loyal readers. Okay folks: we saw poppies. Red ones. More importantly, as we came down off Ballard Down, we saw a large deep up close. It didn't seemed at all afraid of us (or Archie) and continued its meal while we watched.
We ate at the Bankes Arms and then walked on over the heathland where we had some wonderful views back over the Aggle Stone and Poole Harbour. Just imagine it: a clear sky, lovely warm weather, open countryside and the harbour spread out across the scene. What more can you ask?
The walk finished with tea and cakes at Ros's house.

The Pub
We had an odd situation here. David (wearing an "I Love Pies" tee shirt) had a chicken supreme which was expensive but an excellent meal. Tony (properly dressed by comparison) had sausage and mash which looked unappetising and tasted no better. "The worst Wednesday walk meal I've had," he said. The rest of the group were generally satisfied with the food but also thought it expensive. So it looks like you have to choose the right dish if you go to the Bankes Arms. Some of us were lucky and Tony chose the bad one.

The Wednesday Walk 17th June 2009

The Plan
To meet at Trudy’s for a walk in the New Forest

The Leader
Trudy

Who turned up
Trudy, Pam, Archie, Beatrice, Tony, Diane, Trisha, Sue and Ros

The Walk
We parked the cars at the Long Cross Car Park in the Forest. We headed off in the direction of Nomansland through shady trees and easy terrain. The main theme of the walk seemed to be the animals we came across. We saw a lovely cockerel in a pen with some hens, a deer in the distance, lots of ponies and four pigs. The pigs were all quite dark in colour varying from reddish brown to black. The last pig coming along the road looked just like a calf in the distance as it had such long legs (see photo)! A super walk expertly led by Trudy as the paths all look the same and the options are numerous! Just as we arrived back at the car we had a few spots of rain, very well timed.
A welcoming cup of tea and cake at Trudy’s finished off a lovely day.

The Pub
The Lamb Inn at Nomansland. A good choice of filled baguettes and jacket potatoes seemed to be the favourite choices, all reasonable priced. David would have been fine as pies were on the menu!

Many thanks to Ros for writing up this week's walk and to Trudy for the pictures.

The Wednesday Walk 10th June 2009

The Plan
Meet at Wendy's for a new walk

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up

Wendy, Sue, Diane and Tony, Beatrice, Trudy, Trisha, Pam, Ros and David.

The Walk

Once again, we had a good ten-strong turnout. It was a pleasant walk, but what a difference between the morning and afternoon. We arrived at Fiddleford Manor in warm sunshine and had every expectation of a sunny summer walk. It didn't last. We set off towards Okeford Fitzpaine (a new walk which Wendy had researched) and it started to rain. Someone suggested sheltering for a few minutes. Fortunately, we carried on because the rain never let up until we reached the pub. Yes, it was persistently wet, but still a nice walk despite that. And, despite the rain dribbling down her umbrella, Wendy had her eyes on the hedgerows and was able to point out dog roses, campion and elderflower.

After lunch, we set off in somewhat drier spirits, but we soon met an obstacle: mud. Deep squelchy mud that came up over our boots. We waded through it and, undaunted, we carried on along the old S&D railway line. This route passed in sight of Hambledon Hill, a view once enjoyed by passengers travelling the old S&D line as it meandered towards Sturminster Newton. This afternoon we saw not only flowers but also an array of different butterflies. We finished off with tea and delicious cake at Wendy's.

The Pub

The Royal Oak at Okeford Fitzpaine. We had to phone in our orders before leaving Wendy's but the arrangement worked well. We arrived at the pub on time and the food was served as soon as we took our seats. It was hot, tasty and reasonably priced.

The Wednesday Walk 3rd June 2009

The Plan

Meet at David's for one of Brian's walks

The Leader

Brian

Who Turned Up

Brian, Wendy, Ros, Trisha, Pam (and Archie), Diane and Tony, Beatrice, Trudy and David.

The Walk

Foxgloves. Before I begin, I am under sentence of severe retribution unless I mention that we saw numerous foxgloves in glorious bloom along the route, before and after lunch. Good, my neck is safe. The walk began at Wood Green and took us through some shady parts of the forest, which was fortuitous as it was a warm, sunny day. A circuitous route brought us back to Wood Green for lunch. A horse and trap made a beautiful picture in the middle of the green, but the occupiers did not want to be photographed. Too late. They already had been. In the afternoon we did the same route in reverse. Once again, the forest shade was welcome as the predicted cooling in the weather had yet to reach us. We finished off with tea and biscuits and David's.

The Pub

The Horse and Groom, Wood Green. They did a very palatable pensioner's special. Two courses for £7. David had the steak and ale pie he sorely missed last week. Several people opted for fish and chips. And the cherry pie met with approval from all who had it. We all had custard with it although Pam would have preferred cream on hers.