The Plan
A new
Forest walk
Who Turned Up
Wendy,
Trisha, Sue, Trudy B, Trudy H, Jackie, Diane and Tony R, Beatrice and Tony H,
David
The Walk
We
parked the cars at the Burbush car park on Slap Bottom, a couple of miles
beyond Burley village. The weather looked overcast but we crossed our fingers
and hoped for the best. In the event, the morning stayed dry for out walk over
Turf Hill and back down into Burley village. A pleasant walk.
Burley
has a long association with witches, which is why you will see witchcraft shops
in the village. In the nineteen fifties, a self-styled white witch called Sybil
Leek could be seen walking round the village with her jackdaw on her shoulder.
She later moved to America, hopefully not to Salem. Burley was also once a
favourite haunt of smugglers. During renovation work, a secret cellar was
discovered in the Queen’s Head pub. It contained pistols, coins and other
unusual items. Another interesting story about Burley concerns a dragon’s lair
beacon just outside the village. The dragon – it is said – flew from here to
Bisterne where it was supplied with milk. One man lay in wait at Bisterne,
determined to kill the dragon. His dogs attacked the creature and put an end to
it. The dragon-slayer protected himself by covering his shield with glass – so it
is said. There now, doesn’t all that put a new light on the village of Burley.
After
lunch, we took a slightly longer route back past Burley Hill House and across
Church Moor. We felt a few spots of rain as we crossed Bisterne Common and the
last ten minutes of the walk saw some heavier rain. Never mind, we’re a hardy
bunch of walkers.
Our thanks to Trudy B for the walk and to Trudy H for the photos.
Our thanks to Trudy B for the walk and to Trudy H for the photos.
The Pub
The
Burley Inn. The beer: expensive (£4.10 for a pint of bitter shandy). The
service: a bit dozy to start with but it got better. The food: very tasty,
especially the chicken and leek pie.
The Aftermath
Many
thanks, guys, for your kindness in a Wednesday Walker celebration of my upcoming
70th birthday. It was much appreciated.
Next Week
Meet
at Wendy’s at 10am for a walk in the Dorchester area.
