The Wednesday Walk 27th October 2010

The Plan
To see the autumn colours at Stourhead

The Leader
Trisha

Who Turned Up
Trisha, Trudy, Sue, Wendy, Ris, Tony H and David (with Brian, Pam and Beatrice joining us for lunch)

The Walk
It's that time of the year again, when the leaves turn to autumn shades of gold and red, and the gardens at Stourhead become a feast of colour. We piled into two cars and drove to Alfred's Tower, a couple of miles beyond the gardens. From there we walked through the woodland paths, surrounded by autumn colours. They were worth seeing but nothing compared to the scenery we later met within the gardens.
It was a pleasure to see Brian out again. He, Pat and Beatrice were waiting for us in the N T cafe within Stourhead.
After lunch, all ten of us walked through the gardens to enjoy the scenery. It was quite busy as this is also the school half term holiday and the weather was beautiful (see Trudy's pictures). Then the seven heardy walkers said good bye to our three lunch companions and went on up to the obelisk. From there we walked back to the car park at Alfred's Tower.

Lunch
No pub this week. We ate in the N T cafe.

The Wednesday Walk 20th October 2010

The Plan
A walk from Winterborne Clenston

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Ros, Trudy, David

The Walk
Blue skies, sunshine and air that was... well, let's call it bracing. David turned up dressed for the Arctic and Trudy was dressed more for the Mediterranean. The ideal balance lay somewhere between. We drove to the pretty little hamlet of Winterborne Clenston and parked on the grass beside the village church. The old building was bathed in sunshine and merited a picture or two. We walked along the village street for half a mile and then turned up a gently sloping hill with glorious views across the rolling farmland. It was spoiled temporarily when we came across an area of muck-spreading, but that didn't deter us too long. Our route took us through Whatcombe Wood where the chilliness of the air became more apparent. Then we strolled down into Milton Abbas and had our lunch in the village pub. Milton Abbas is, of course, that famous village moved lock, stock and barrel to avoid spoiling the Squire's view.
After lunch we took the same route back. There was some debate about a longer route but the afternoons are now drawing in so we took the shorter option. Tea and cakes to round off a pleasant day were courtesy of Wendy.

The Pub
The Hambro Arms in Milton Abbas. We chose to use the bar instead of the restaurant and enjoyed a very pleasant meal. They even had a pie of excellent quality!

Next Week
Meet early - 0930 - at Beatrice and Tony's for a drive to Stourhead. Don't be late, it's a long drive.

The Wednesday Walk 13th October 2010

The Plan
To walk Studland Beach

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Trisha, Ros, Tony H, David

The Walk
The weather was dry but cold so we all came with warm clothes on what was to be a walk across a naturist beach. We met at The Sandbanks Ferry and went across as foot passengers. At the Studland side, we walked to Gravel Point and then took a short detour around Bramble Bush Bay before crossing over the main road to the Studland Heath side. We took the well-worn path through the heath to the naturist beach (none in sight, which was just as well in view of the cold air). The walk across the beach gave us some glorious views out to sea as far as the isle of Wight. The sun also lit up Old Harry Rocks to good effect. At Knoll Beach we stopped for tea and coffee before continuing to the end of the sand, now covered with seaweed. Then we returned to the cafe for lunch.
After lunch we took the Heather trail across the heath and then the main path back to the road. Once again, we crossed over and came back around Bramble Bush Bay. A short ferry crossing took is back to our cars. Trisha kindly finsihed off the day with tea at her house.

The Lunch
We ate at the National Trust cafe at Knoll Beach. It was cheap and cheerful and no one had a pie.

Next Week
Meet at Wendy's for a Winterborne walk

The Wednesday Walk 6th October 2010

The Plan
Durleston Head and Swanage

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Trisha, Trudy, Sue, Diane and Tony R, David

The Walk
The rain cleared away overnight and we saw a blue sky and sunshine as we gathered at Sue's house for this week's walk. The main road to Wareham was under repair so we decided to take the Sandbanks Ferry route to Swanage. The buses are infrequent at his time of the year, so we transferred to two cars for the crossing. As we came into Swanage we detoured up to the Pines Hotel to find out whether it would be suitable for lunch. The bar lunches we have enjoyed here in the past have now given way to a rather posh restaurant. Despite some reservations that we might be a bit too casual, we went ahead and booked ourselves in for lunch.
We drove on and left the cars near Durleston Head. Then we took a pleasant walk around the head. The paths were rather muddy after the overnight rain and the castle was in a state of rebuild, but the distant views were excellent. The Isle of Wight stood out very clearly. We walked down the steep grassy hill to Swanage and along the seafront with the intent of climbing the cliff steps up to the hotel's rear entrance. Unfortunatley no one had warned us that the steps had crumbled away at some time in the past, so we had to take another route to the hotel's front door.
After lunch we walked back along the sea front (ice creams for some along the way) and around Peveril Point. After a long climb back up the hill most of us needed a rest on cold, stone seats.
The day finished off with tea and Victoria Sponge (didn't her brother, Private Sponge, appear in Dad's Army?) courtesy of Sue. Many thanks for your cooking expertise, Sue.

The Pub
Not a pub, but the Pines Hotel. Despite our usual casual attire, we were allowed into the posh restaurant and we duly behaved ourselves. David was even allowed to tackle Wendy's crossword puzzle. The food was up to the Pines' usual standard - including a steak and kidney pie!