The Plan
An Upton
Heath walk
Who Turned Up
Tony, Wendy,
Trudy B, Jackie (morning only), Sue (lunch only) and David
The Walk
The
original plan called for a Pamphill walk, but circumstances quickly kicked that
idea into touch. Instead we drove on to Upton Country Park and left our cars in
the car park at the entrance. Then we walked up through the heath.
Upton
Heath is one of the largest remaining areas of heathland that once spread
across Southern England. What’s left covers 205 acres, lies to the west of Poole
and is largely protected. To be honest, the main reason it has never been
developed is because it is wet, wild and quite unsuitable for building.
However, abandoned sand pits and clay pits are the remains of the area’s one
time industrial use in pottery and brick-making. In 2011 about a third of the
heath was devastated by fire which spread over a kilometre and took the efforts
of 200 firemen to bring under control. Dorset Wildlife Trust said that the fire
occurred at the peak of the bird and reptile breeding season and it put back
wildlife development by twenty five years.
Today, we
enjoyed the area to the full with dry, if somewhat chilly weather and only
scattered clouds. Our thanks go to Trudy for her excellent photographs which capture the charm of the heathland.
The Pub
Our
intention was to eat at the Holmbush, but they didn’t have any food. Well, the
sign outside said they had food, but the lady behind the bar said they didn’t.
We were fortunate in having Sue meet us for lunch as she was able to ferry the
group up to The Dorset Soldier in Corfe Mullen. Posh, the food here ain’t, but
value for money it certainly is. Three courses plus coffee for £8 beats the
socks off some more expensive pubs. Long may they continue.
Next Week
Meet at
Wendy’s at 10am for an Arne walk
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