The Wednesday Walk 23rd February 2011

The Plan
A walk around Wimborne St Giles

The Leader
Trudy

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Wendy, Trisha, Sue, Jackie, Tony H, David (and Beatrice over lunch)

The Walk
Once again the weather was against us. The day started out wet and the rain continued throughout the worning. Undaunted, we put a brave face on things and spent the morning drinking Beatrice's tea and Sue's delicious Dorset apple cake. (Thank you Beatrice and Sue). It was still raining when we drove to the Horton Inn for lunch and we were mentally juggling with the options we faced after lunch.
Magically, the rain stopped when we had finished eating. Suitably heartened, we then drove on, past Knowlton Church and parked near Brockington Farm. The ground looked muddy but we were all geared up with heavy boots and gaiters. We headed along the Drive Plantation and then took a short cut that would lead us back towards Wimborne St Giles. We came across many snowdrops as we approached the village. The day grew warmer as we walked and the afternoon turned out better than might have been. Nevertheless, we will still need to recce the full walk.

The Pub
The Horton Inn. They do a very good value "two meals for eight pounds". As there were eight of us we were all able to take advantage of it. No complaints at all.

Next Week
Meet at Beatrice and Tony's again for another attempt at the Wimborne St Giles full walk. Meet at 10am.

The Wednesday Walk 16th February 2011

The Plan
Badbury Rings and Kingston Lacy

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Ros, Trudy, Trisha, Sue, Beatrice, David (Tony joined us at lunchtime)

The Walk
It's snowdrop time again! The day was a little bit chilly but dry and sunny. Perfect for a walk around the rings (an ancient hill fort outside Wimborne) and the Kingston Lacy gardens. We parked our cars at the Badbury Rings car park and walked on past the rings towards The Oaks Woods. We then turned right onto King Down Drove. After a short while, another right turn took us back to the main road at Lodge Farm. We walked alongside the road until we came to the path that leads up to High Wood. From here we were able to cut onto the Rings themselves. It was an exhilerating walk that gave us all a good appetite. We drove on to Tarrant Keyneston and ate at the True Lovers Knot.
After lunch we drove to Kingston Lacy and walked round the gardens to see the snowdrops in bloom. We also found our way into the kitchen garden which is across the Abbot Street road from the main site. Here we saw some odd looking pigs that are - so we believe - due to be sent away as sex tourists in order to produce their litters.
We finished off with tea and birthday cake at Beatrice and Tony's. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE!!!

The Pub
The True Lovers Knot at Tarrant Keyneston. The food was good. Some walkers chose the al la carte menu and others went for the 'two courses for ten pounds' option. Even the coffee was judged to be very good, which makes a pleasant change. Unfortunately the prices were rather high. The pie (there had to be a pie!) ran to £9.50 and the coffee was £2.20 a cup. On the plus side, the service was good.

Next Week
Meet at Beatrcie and Tony's again for a recce walk at Wimborne St Giles. Note the meeting time: 10am.

The Wednesday Walk 9th February 2011

The Plan
A walk from Woodlands to Horton

The Leader
Wendy

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

The Walk
A report from Wendy will appear here soon

The Pub
Drusilla's Inn at Horton. The pub was surprisingly full for a weekday, possibly a comment on the good food and ale. Sadly, they had no pies, but three walkers chose the £10 three-course special while others opted for a single-course choice. No one was disappointed.

Next Week
Meet at Beatrice and Tony's for a walk that includes Badbury Rings and Kingston Lacy

The Wednesday Walk 2nd February 2011

This week's write-up and photos are all courtesy of Wendy

The Plan
A walk from Cranborne

The Leader
Wendy

The Walk
Owing to depleted numbers (1 person indisposed, 1 late riser, 2 not meeting us until lunch time) we rescheduled the meeting time to go straight for lunch. It was a chilly, grey, damp day, we met at the Sheath of Arrows in Cranborne for lunch. Lunch took a long time to arrive but was very good. It started to rain, it was a fine drizzle so we decided to walk along the River Crane, this is a winterborne chalk stream which was in full flow. The last time we walked this way the stream had dried up. On reaching the road we watched a tractor ploughing up the field which had the footpath crossing it. We turned back and walked along the side of the playing field. We crossed the road and did a detour around the back of the village and visited the Church, Snowdrops were out near the church. Inside the church we discovered that John Tregonwell and his family were commemorated there, John Tregonwell has been credited as the founder of Bournemouth. We then went back to Tony and Beatrice's and had Luscious Lemon cake and tea.

The Pub
The Sheaf of Arrows, this is very much an old style pub, mostly men of the village partaking of pints of ale and having a good old gossip and a game of pool. The food was good (a Seniors Menu - 1course £4.95, 2 courses £6.95) but I think each meal was created individually as Sue had finished her lunch bfore some of us had been served.

Next Week
Meet at Tony and Beatrice's for a walk from Woodlands to Drusillas.