A New Forest walk
The Leader
Trudy
Who Turned Up
Trudy B, Wendy, Trudy H, Beatrice and Tony H, David
The Walk
This week we had to make a valiant effort to do a proper walk. Last week the weather turned against us and the few stalwarts who turned up chose to walk the aisles of Ikea and M&S instead of Dorset heath and valley. This week the forecasters promised us a dry period until late afternoon. Under Trudy's leadership we drove to Burley. As well as New Forest ponies cluttering up the roads, we also noted a line of unescorted pigs apparently seeking out acorns. We drove out along station road (there is no longer any station thanks to Doctor Beeching) past Holman's Bottom and parked alongside the route of the old railway line about a mile beyond the village. We then set out across the heathland, following the railway trackbed until we turned off for a cross-country walk back towards Burley village. Along the way we paused to allow a few berries to drop unaided into waiting bags (we are not allowed to forcibly remove them from the trees but decided we could prevent them getting hurt when falling). We arrived at the pub around mid day.
After lunch we made our way through the village (browsing in the shop windows as we went) and then walked through the grounds of Burley Hill House until we came out onto Church Moor. The sky was steadily getting darker and by the time we got back to the cars we encountered the first drops of rain.
The Pub
The Queen's Head in Burley. There were six of us and the special offer was two main meals for £9.95. Perfect. The pie was chicken and mushroom. The service was prompt. The value for money was good.
Next Week
Meet at Haskins at 10am.
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