The Wednesdau Walk 29th June 2011

The Plan
A walk from Stoborough

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Sue, Beatrice, Diane, Tony R, Trudy B, Trudy H, David

The Walk
The sun was shining this morning, which was appropriate for our leader looking nicely sun-tanned after her Mediterranean cruise. Diane and Tony were not quite so tanned after returning from  the USA, but had many traveller's tales to tell us. We began the walk by parking along West Lane in Stoborough and made our way via Melancholy Lane (I never did discover how it got its name, how sad) onto Stoborough Heath nature reserve. We came off the heath at the main Corfe Castle road and crossed over to proceed along the Blue Pool Road. We turned off just before the railway bridge and took the woodland walk that brought us out beside the Half Way Inn.
Over lunch the clouds gathered and it felt cooler when we came out to tackle the afternoon leg. This time we saw a riot of Foxgloves that should, by now, have been dying off - but were obviously not. We also saw a variety of birds, including hawks, buzzards, stonechats etc. We walked back through the woodland to Furzebrook, taking a path that led us past the Ball Clay Works and on through Furzebrook village. With a bit off nifty map-reading we then found our way back to Stoborough without too much difficulty.
We finished off with tea, lemon cake (courtesy of Sue's famous baking skills) and  rich chocolate rolls. Thank you, Sue.

The Pub
The Halfway Inn. One walker noted a chicken and leek pie on the specials board immediately on entry (more than half way in!) Others had a variety of dishes from the main menu, and no one was disappointed.

Next Week
Meet at Sue's again for an Arne walk

The Wednesday Walk 22nd June 2011

The Plan
A walk to the Bournemouth shore

The Leader
None needed

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

The Walk
As we had our real summer back in April we couldn 't complain that the weather is now unseasonably damp. So a walk in the cover of trees fitted the bill nicely. However, for a variety of reasons we had a number of start points. David and Beatrice set out from the car park by the tennis courts in Leicester Road, heading down through the woodland walk. Along the way they met up with Trudy and Sue who started from Lakeside Road. When we got to the shore at Branksome Chine we walked along the promenade to Trisha's beach hut where she was waiting to serve us morning coffee. That was when Tony joined us after walking from where he left his car in Alum Chine. Nicely esconced in Trisha's hut, we enjoyed the coffee and engaged in a disucssion panel, roaming over a variety of subjects. Shortly before mid day, we set off to the Harvester pub, farther along the promenade.
After lunch we returned to the beach hut for afternoon tea and cakes. We took the Upper Cliff road as far as possible before descending down through the Alum Chine gardens. Thank you, Trisha, for the refreshments. We were pleased to see you out walking with us again. It was only as we were about to leave the hut that the sun came out and the sky turned blue. Oh well, you can't win them all.
The only wildlife seen today was a lone fox wandering around the car park, looking distinctly lost.

The Pub
The Harvester. We had the all-day early bird special and found it very good value for money. This week no one indulged in an unhealthy (but tasty) sweet.

Next Week
Meet at Sue's at 0945 for a Purbeck walk

The Wednesday Walk 15th June 2011

The Plan
We had no plan this week.

The Leader
We had no leader.

Who Turned Up
Sue, Beatrice, Tony H, Trudy H, David

The Walk
We had no walk this week. It was too wet and we were too few.

The Pub
Ah, this is where we get down to business. We met at the Horton Inn at 1245. The atmosphere was pleasant, the company was pleasant, the talk was convivial, and the food was very good value for money. We had the two-meals-for-eight-pounds special offer. At £4 a head this cannot be beaten or faulted. The pie eaters (yes, there were two of them this week) were well satisfied with the steak and kidney pie cooked in ale. Now we come to the honest admission section. Three people had a sweet. One was caught on camera.

Next Week
We will have a proper walk next week. Meet at 10am at the car park by the tennis courts off Leicester Road. Our walk will take us down to the shore.

The Wednesday Walk 8th June 2011

Today’s write-up is courtesy of Trudy H

The Plan

A walk from Cranborne

The Leader

Trudy B

Who Turned Up

Trudy B, Trudy H, Sue and Ros

The Walk

We started today’s walk at Cranborne.  Catching a glimpse of the poppy fields we decided to save them till last as we would come past them on the way back.  As we were walking towards Shack Hedge Corner, we admired the glorious fields of barley, moving gently in the wind.  Suddenly the heavens opened and by the time we put on our coats, we were thoroughly wet. It soon stopped raining and we were drying off in the sun again.  As we arrived at Waterlake Bottom, we were greeted by a vast amount of cows with their calves. As they were staring at us, we were quite relieved to see a fence separating us from them, only to discover that a little further on there was absolutely nothing stopping them entering our field.  We hurriedly negotiated our way around the numerous cow pats, when it started raining again.  Luckily we hadn’t put our coats away and this time managed to put them on before getting wet. We marched on determinately and soon the sun was smiling again. As we arrived at the village we had to run to the Sheaf of Arrows before the next downpour. There we enjoyed a well deserved lunch which was very tasty (except Trudy’s potatoes were cold).  Finally we started our last stage of the walk which led us to the poppy fields.  When we arrived we saw three hares running in all directions.  What a view though, a sea of red greeted us, it was magnificent.  After taking plenty of photographs, we carried on and eventually reached the car.  A long and tiring but very enjoyable walk.

The Wednesday Walk 1st June 2011

The Plan
The New Forest from Minstead

The Leader
Trudy

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Wendy, Ros, Trudy (1), Trudy (2), Diane and Tony R, David

The Walk
It was a good day for a forest walk, not too hot and not too cold. We parked as usual in Minstead village. We then took the beautiful olde worlde country paths and lanes to the north of the village before diving off into woodland. Here we saw two deer who were frightened into running away. We continued throught the woods until we came to the walkway beneath the A31 dual carriageway. On the other side of the road we paused to read the history of the Rufus Stone and then walked on to the Walter Tyrell pub. Up to this point the sky was blue with just a few fluffy clouds.
After lunch we found more cloud cover, but the air was still warm and most of the group had to divest themselves of outer clothing. We took a different underpass beneath the A31 on a route that by-passed Furzey Gardens. We stopped at Minstead village church to look at Thomas White's gravestone (the one who had his 'faithful' cut off) and the Lord of the Manor's pew (with its fireplace and back door). From there it was a short hop back to the cars.

The Pub
The Sir Walter Tyrell. Full marks to the staff for opening up an extra room when they found they didn't have a table for eight in the main dining room. Let it be known that the chicken, ham and leak pie was excellent and received a very good accolade from the pie eater. The only complaint conerned the coffee. One of our number inspected it and turned it down on behalf of the others.

Next Week
Numbers will be short as too many of us are on holiday or otherwise engaged. The remaining few are asked to please organise amongst yourselves.