The Wednesday Walk 19th August 2009

The Plan
Meet at Jackie’s for a walk at Ringstead Bay

Who Turned Up
Jackie, Diane, Tony, Beatrice, Tony, Trudy and Trisha.

The Leader
Trudy and Trisha

The Walk
(Thanks to Diane for writing up this week's account)
We set off from the car park at the top of Ringstead and walked to the first coffee stop at the hut. It was a beautiful warm day with wall to wall sunshine. Fortunately it was not as hot as anticipated as there was a pleasant breeze. We wandered along the coast to our lunch stop at The Smugglers. The route back took us through woods and streams and of course an ice-cream stop at the hut. This gave us the fortitude to clamber slowly up the hill to the chapel with the wonderful views and sit awhile before the final ascent back to the cars.

The Pub
Everyone enjoyed their lunch which was good value and promptly served. Jacket potatoes for those weight watching, pate for Diane and chilli for Tony. We sat outside enjoying the lovely weather for a change.

The Wednesday Walk 12th August 2009

The plan
With so many people away on holiday, Wendy is anxious to find someone to walk with her this week. If you are free, please call Wendy and arrange a meeting place.

The Leader
A joint effort

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Wendy, and...

The Walk
(Courtesy ofTrudy)
It was rather a lazy day, starting off at the tennis courts at Branksome. We didn't see many flowers along the way. We did however see a perfectly good bike in the stream (I think that's a meant to be a bike and not a pike - blogmaster) At Branksome Chine, Wendy spotted two wardens and told them about the bike and they said they would send a van to sort it. (Must be a bike unless they wanted a fish supper - blogmaster)
After a very good, though expensive coffee - you pay forthe view here - on the terrace, we made our way along the beach to Canford Cliffs. We had an excellent lunch in the New Beehive. The ambience was good and the staff very friendly and attentive.
Afterwards, we walked to Flaghead Chine, back along the beach and a different way up Branksome Chine. At the top we went to see if the bike had been removed. It had been taken from the stream but we discovered it on the other side leaning against some bushes. We wondered why we bopthered. Wendy suggested we send Lew to rescue it.
The pictures show us hugging a fossilised tree. Wendy reckoned it is 1.5 million years old, or 15 million. Anyway, it is very old. (Note - we now understand it to be 140 million years old, so it should have a bus pass!)

The Pub
The New Beehive, Canford Cliffs.

The Wednesday Walk 5th August 2009

The Plan
Meet at Wendy's for a walk to Okeford Fitzpaine.

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Jackie, Ros, Tony and Diane R, David.

But lets not forget two people who would have been there but for some medical problems.

Sue has now left hospital after having a new mid-leg hinge inserted. Get some WD40 on it, Sue, and hurry back to the Wednesday walks. We look forward to seeing you back with us. And, anyway, we've all got the old-type hinges in our legs and some of them squeak, so you'll be able to put the rest of us to shame when you've run-in your new equipment.

Brian is awaiting an operation in Bournemouth hospital. We all wish you well, Brian, and hope to see you back on your feet in the months ahead. These days we miss the Brian-type funny stories that used to punctuate our walks.

And we haven't forgotten you, Marian. We know you are looking in on the blog and keeping track of what we have been up to.

The Walk
We had planned on walking to Okeford Fitzpaine but the weather was wet and we figured the ground would be muddy, so we elected, instead, to walk from Potterne Way, between Three-Legged Cross and Verwood. For those of you who don't remember it, the car park is at the rear end of the Moors Valley Country Park. I won't dwell on the fact that it had been raining earlier in the morning and the ground was muddy underfoot on this walk as well, but no one drowned.

We started out walking through Potterne Woods, a new route for us and one that, at times, defied our combined navigational efforts. Shortly after we came out of the woods, Wendy was the first to spot a late-blooming foxglove. The route took us on across some open country and then past a motor sports ground.

After lunch, we took another new route through woodlands and countryside back to the start point. By then the weather was improving rapidly and we felt the effects of the warm temperature and high humidity.

Tea and chocolate cake was enjoyed at Wendy's house. Thanks, Wendy, for an interesting new walk and your usual hospitality.

The Pub

The Old Barn. Some of the group had eaten here before. For others it was a new experience. The service was excellent, even allowing for the fact that we started out as the only people in the building. Everyone was happy with the standard of the meals...even the inveterate pie eater!