The Wednesday Walk 28th April 2010

The Plan
Tolpuddle to Milborne St Andrew

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Sue, Trudy, Trisha, Tony and Beatrice H, David

The Walk
The weather was perfect for walking, not too hot but pleasantly warm. We drove to Tolpuddle where Wendy made the executive decision to by-pass the initial steep hill climb. Instead, we drove up White Hill and found a parking spot just before the footbridge over the by-pass. On foot, we crossed the bridge and continued straight ahead towards our destination. The going was good, with solid dry ground and green fields. We took a small detour alongside a stream, coming out close to the village church.
After lunch, we detoured through two fields of cows and stopped for a breather beneath Weatherby Castle - an iron age hill fort.
At this point I want you to play a little game.

1. Take each of the following words: prim, ladies, cow...
Now add to each of those words, one of the following: slip, smock, rose. The result should tell you about the flora we saw as we walked.

2. Now answer the following question.

The white flowers in the picture above are:

a) Wiesenschaumkraut

b) Wienerschnitzel

Answers should be written on a five pound cheque and sent to the blogmaster.
After a brief rest, we walked through the woods to the centre of the hill fort and stopped to examine the obelisque. Then we dropped down a steep hill to the narrow tarmac road. We had to walk cautiously along the road for half a mile until we came to Ashley Barn Farm, where we were able to set off again cross country on the last leg of the walk.
It was a pleasant day out and finished up with home-made lemon cake and tea at Sue's.

The Pub
The village pub Milborne St Andrew. Wendy had phoned to book a table the previous evening but the pub had no record of her call. Fortunately, they had plenty of room for us, along with books of jokes that caused great hilarity. Some were quite unrepeatable and had to be read in silence. The food was reasonable, no one went hungry and no one payed through the nose.

Next Week
Meet at Beatrice and Tony's for a walk from Fontmell Magna.

The Wednesday Walk 21st April 2010

The Plan
A walk around Arne.

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Sue, Trisha, Beatrice, Tony R and David

The Walk
Once again we had a glorious day for walking. We parked in the RSPB car park at Arne and took a short walk down to the church for a prowl around, searching for curiosities. We then set off across the heath which, at times, looked a bit bare as the summer greenery has not get reached its peak. Nevertheless, we saw some glorious spreads of primroses amongst the patches of grass around the church.
We returned to the car park and drove to the King's Arms at Stoborough, where Jackie met us for lunch. The turkey in the photo was in the pub garden, presumably anxiously awaiting next Christmas. We assume they do Christmas lunches at the King's Arms!
After lunch we returned to the same car park and this time we walked down to the shore at Shipstall. The scene here was calm and peaceful as usual. However, one of the photographs indicates which member of the team found the going a bit hard! We were lucky to see a lot more deer in the afternoon, along with a wide variety of birdlife.
The day ended with tea and cakes at Wendy's.

The Pub
The King's Arms at Stoborough. The meals were good if a bit pricey, and the helpings very generous. Nice to see you with us again, Jackie, even thought it meant giving up your school lunch break.

Next Week

Meet at Sue's for a walk to Milborne St Andrew

The Wednesday Walk 14th April 2010

The Plan

A walk from Alderholt to Damerham

The Leader

Wendy

Who Turned Up

Wendy, Sue, Trisha, Jackie, Beatrice and Tony, Diane and Tony, David

The Walk

We parked at the usual spot beside the church on the Cranborne Road. The weather had, unfortunaterly, turned chilly so we were all wrapped up warm. However, it was dry and we were promise a spot of sunshine by the met men. We set off across country towards Damerham and found the going quite easy as the winter mud had dried up leaving the pathways hard. The outbound route brought us into Damerham a little early, so we took a short detour, arriving at the pub around mid-day.

After lunch we took a new route back which took us past the picturesque meandering rivers, the Damerham trout lakes and on out to the Alderholt Mill. We then turned back inland past High Wood eventually coming out onto the Crandborne Road again a little short of the church.

Along the way, we saw yellow primroses in Damerham churchyard and along the river banks, yellow kingcups also along river banks, pink and white snakeshead fritilleries along the roadside verge. Yellow daffodills were seen everywhere, along with purple and white violets, and some lovely magnolias and camelias in people's gardens. The met men's promise of sunshine was technically correct albeit the best only came out after our walk was ended.

Despite the initial cold, it turned out to be a very pleasant walk. We finished up with tea and homemade coconut cake at Beatrice and Tony's.

The Pub

We ate at the Compass in Damerham. The ambience of the place has much improved since we last ate here. Some people found the food good, others were a trifle disappointed. The ham was too tough for some.

Next Week

Meet at Wendy's for an Arne walk.

The Wednesday Walk 7th April 2010

The Plan

Diane and Tony's celebration walk

The Leader

Wendy

Who Turned Up

Wendy, Diane and Tony R, Beatrice and Tony H, Ros, Trisha, Jackie (nice to see you out with us again) Sue and David

The Walk

We started at Haskins Garden Centre restaurant with a leisurely cup of coffee. This was to be a fiftieth anniversary celebration walk so we were not going to put any haste into it. When we did venture forth, we headed off along the new pathways through Holmwood, taking the odd guess for a path that would lead us out onto the Christchurch road at Dudsbury. There, we crossed the road and headed through the trees towards the River Stour. The river was in full flood, rushing fast over the wiers. It was here we stopped to watch egrets, a heron and a jay. There was mention of plants in bloom but all I can recall about them is that they were yellow. The path beside the river led us on to the Bridge House Hotel at Longham where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch, we walked to the new fishing lakes by the Longham water works and followed the path round until we came out on the main footpath to Hampreston. From Hampreston village, we crossed over Ham Lane and took the quieter route through fields back to the garden centre.

The Pub

We all had the five pound carvery at the Bridge House Hotel at Longham. It was agreed that it was excellent value for money and the atmosphere was pleasant.

The Cream Tea

This being Diane and Tony's special day, they laid on a cream tea for us when we got back to the garden centre. Not just food - scones, jam and cream - but entertainment was also provided. Diane's version of University Challenge tested our memories to the limit. Trish's team scored a brilliant victory.

Next Week

Meet at Beatrice and Tony's for a Damerham walk.

The Wednesday Walk 31st March 2010

The Plan

A walk to Damerham

The Leader

Wendy

Who Turned Up

Diane, Wendy, Sue, Trisha, Ros, Beatrice and Tony R (the only man!!)

The Walk (Write-up from Diane)

The weather was not at all promising, in fact it looked like a damp squib all round, so we cancelled the walk to Damerham and set off for Stewarts Garden Centre where we enjoyed a morning coffee. We then decided on an alternative walk from Uddens to West Moors and back by the trailway. Before lunch the weather remained largely dry but very cold. On the return walk we encountered a short, sharp shower. Despite the weather, it was a pleasant walk and we saw some pretty violets on the way.

The Pub
We all ate a very good meal for £5 each and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. There was even a pie available for a certain gentleman who didn't turn up!

Next Week
Meet at Haskin's at 1030 for coffee, followed by Diane and Tony's celebration tea walk.