The Wednesday Walk 22nd June 2016

The Plan

A Salisbury walk

Who Turned Up

Beatrice and Tony H, Diane and Tony R, Sue, Wendy, Trudy B, Trudy H, David

The Walk

The original plan went out of the window when we all arrived at Beatrice and Tony’s house in rain. After some discussion, we elected to do the St Catherine’s Hill walk instead. We decamped in two cars to the parking area at the end of Marsh Lane. By now the rain had eased off and we set off across the hill. The going was easy until we got to a small stream near the track of the old railway line. That bit was wet under foot. From there it was a straight walk up to the pub. This pub was once Hurn railway station and it has a locomotive and carriage parked outside. Neither is appropriate to that particular station, but there you go. The station opened on 13^th November 1862, part of the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway. It later became part of the London and South Western Railway and, in 1923, was drawn into the Southern Railway Company. It closed on 30^th September 1935, but closure had been considered as far back as 1920 due to low passenger numbers. At that time it averaged just 22 tickets a day. By the end of the twenties, that number had dropped to just seven tickets per day. Hardly a practical proposition even in those pre-war days.

After lunch we took a more direct route back to the cars, making more use of the track along the old railway line. By now, the day had become warm and humid.

We finished up with tea and cakes at Beatrice and Tony’s house, our thanks to you both. Thanks also to Diane and Trudy B and Trudy H for the photographs.

The Pub

The Avon Causeway. Although the pub was far from busy, we had a lengthy wait for our food. Hunger was beginning to bite. When it arrived, most of the food was all right, but the pies scored only six out of ten. The pastry was too tough to merit a higher mark.

Next Week

Meet at the end of Knyveton Road (near the gardens) at 1030

The Wednesday Walk 8th June 2016

The Plan

Ringstead Bay

Who Turned Up

Diane and Tony R, Trudy H, Trisha, David

The Walk

It’s so nice to have friends who think about you, even if you do give them nightmares! I’ll explain that comment shortly.

We knew that summer was fully with us because of the warm humid air that sat over the region. We looked forward to a cool breeze coming off the sea when we got to the viewpoint overlooking Ringstead Bay. Sadly, one car – carrying Trisha, Trudy and David – was held up in a long queue by road resurfacing work and was in danger of arriving very late at the hilltop viewpoint. We telephoned Tony and Diane – they’d taken a different route and had already arrived – and told them we would meet them at the café at the base of the hill. They duly set off walking down the hill. This is where I should explain the earlier comment. Trudy B telephoned Trudy H before we left and told her, “I had a terrible dream last night. Don’t let David climb that steep hill. I saw him collapse on the hill!” Clearly something tragic happened in Trudy B’s dream. She followed up with a text as we drove to Ringstead, “Don’t let David climb the hill!”

We duly parked in the car park beside the beach café (at the bottom of the steep hill) and Diane and Tony arrived there only five minutes later. We then set off along the very pleasant coastal walk towards Osmington Mills. Did you know that the area around here was painted by John Constable in the early nineteenth century? He spent his honeymoon here in 1816. You can understand why when you gaze out over the glorious coastal scenery. Unfortunately, today a sea mist obscured the Isle of Portland. Although other parts of the UK had torrential rain and lightning in the past couple of days, Dorset has been dry and the stream bed leading into Osmington village - past the beautiful country cottages - was completely dry.

Over lunch, Trudy H phoned Trudy B. Part of their conversation went as follows:

Trudy H – “David is flattered that you have been dreaming about him.”

Trudy B – “It wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare! It woke me up!”

Trudy B was reassured that David would not tackle the hill.

After lunch, we all walked back to the beach café. Again, a glorious coastal walk with very few other ramblers in sight. Diane and Trudy H then set off up the hill. David, Tony and Trisha had an ice cream and drove up the hill. See? Trudy’s dire warning was heeded.

We finished up with tea and home-made cheesecake at Diane and Tony’s. Thank you ladies, Diane for the tea and hospitality and Trudy for the cheesecake.
And thanks go to Diane and Trudy for the photographs.

The Pub

The Smugglers Inn at Osmington Mills. On a warm day like today, it was a real pleasure to sit outside the pub, relax and enjoy a decent meal. The beef and ale pie was excellent.

Next week.

To be notified.

The Wednesday Walk 1st June 2016

The Plan

Fiddleford Manor to Sturminster Newton

Who Turned Up

Tony H, Diane and Tony R, Trisha, Trudy H, David walked all day. Beatrice and Sue did the afternoon walk.

The Walk

The day started overcast but it stayed dry and that was a blessing. We parked at Fiddleford Manor. It’s a medieval manor thought to have been built around 1370 for William Latimer, the Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset. It’s now owned by English Heritage.

From the manor we crossed the main road and made our way up into Piddles Wood Nature Reserve. We’ve walked here several times before, but always with a confident leader. Today we were on our own and our navigation proved to be a little bit out of kilter. On previous occasions we had been able to walk through the fenced off enclosure, but today we found the gates removed and only a high fence in front of us. While attempting to make our way around the enclosure we got… well, a little bit unsure of our location. Okay, let’s be honest. We didn’t really know where we were going and we ended up walking round in a circle. We eventually hacked our way into a field and from there we reached the main road not far from the Bull Inn. After that, there was no problem getting into Sturminster.

After lunch we took the old railway trail from Sturminster back to Fiddleford. That was a straightforward and pleasant walk which we accomplished with consummate ease. On the way we passed the Fiddleford hydro electricity generator. We were happy bunnies by the time we got back to the cars.

Tea was provided at Beatrice and Tony’s house with delicious scones, jam and cream courtesy of Trisha. Thank you, all three of you.

Our thanks go to Diane and Trudy for the photos.

The Pub

The White Hart in Sturminster. A pleasant environment and well-cooked food, but no beef and ale pies. Oh well, we can’t have everything.

Next Week

A walk at Ringstead Bay. Details to be confirmed

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