The Wednesday Walk 26th April 2017

The Plan

The Bluebells of Dorset

Who Turned Up

Tony, Sue, Trisha, Wendy, David

The Walk

It was one of those days that spanned the weather conditions. It started chilly, turned sunny and ended with a few drops of rain. We parked the cars at Athelhampton House and crossed the main road beside the village church. Our path took us up through Cowpound Wood where we saw a brilliant array of bluebells. The ground seemed to be lost beneath the carpet of blue. We continued through the fields and turned down past Southover Farm into Tolpuddle.

After lunch we returned along the shorter route, paralleling the river.

I’ve probably told you about the Tolpuddle martyrs in a previous blog post, but it bears repeating. In 1833, a group of farm labourers decided to form a society of agricultural labourers. They were led by George Loveless, a Methodist lay preacher. Trade unions were lawful in those days, but this group made the mistake of swearing an oath of secrecy. That got up the nose of the local magistrate. Alarmed by their actions, he obtained approval from the Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne, to have the men arrested. Because trade unions were not illegal, they were charged under a little known law originally enacted for use against mutiny in the Royal Navy. The seven men were found guilty and sentenced to transportation to Australia.
It was a very pleasant bluebell walk and we offer our thanks to Sue for the photographs.

The Pub

The Martyr’s Inn Tolpuddle. The food was good, especially the chicken pie which would have ranked as outstanding if only it came with a jug of gravy. Unfortunately, there was only one lady behind the bar. She was friendly and did as good a job as she was able, but we found ourselves stuck behind  long queue of cyclists. And the food took a while to reach our tables.

Next Week
Meet at either Tony's or Jackie's at 10am.

The Wednesday Walk 19th April 2017

The Plan

A High Hall walk

Who Turned Up

Beatrice and Tony H, Diane and Tony R, Jackie, Trudy H, Wendy, David

The Walk

We’ve walked past High Hall several times, but today’s walk was different. Led by Tony, we started off along Greenhill Lane, past Dumpton School and Dogdean and on to Grange. Our morning walk ended at the Stocks Inn. Along the way we negotiated a few stiles, but more of that later.

After lunch we headed up towards High Hall. From there, we took the cross-country route back across the fields towards Wimborne. This time we encountered yet more stiles. Diane reckoned we climbed over fifteen in all and she photographed most of them. We ended up with tea and cakes courtesy of Beatrice and Tony.

Thanks go to Beatrice and Tony for the refreshments, and to Trudy (see above) and Diane for the pictures. 

The Pub

The Stocks Inn at Furzehill. The prices are high but the food here is good.

Next Week

Meet at Jackies at 10 am for a Tolpuddle walk.

The Wednesday Walk 12th April 2017

The Plan

A Sturminster Newton walk

Who Turned Up

Jackie, Ros, Trisha, Sue, Trudy H, Wendy, Tony H, Diane and Tony R, David

The Walk

The day started overcast but turned warm and sunny in the afternoon. We parked, as usual, in the Fiddleford Manor car park. We then walked back to Fiddleford Inn, crossed the main road and continued up to Piddles Wood. A strange name for a wood, you may think. It was first documented way back in the thirteenth century as Pukketwurth or Puttelswurth. Puttel was an old English surname so the land may have belonged to a member of the Puttel family. A wurth was an enclosure. The area may also be a “hanging ground” a hill where hangings took place. Here we saw carpets of bluebells and a few patches of snowdrops. From the top of the hill, a small detachment made its way on a shorter line towards the town. A larger group took the longer route past the mill. After lunch the ladies browsed the shops for a while before we set off along the line of the old railway towards Fiddleford. By now the day had brightened considerably. We finished up with tea and cakes in Wimborne, our thanks going to Beatrice. Thanks also to Trudy for her photographs.
For a link to Diane's pictures, go to: 

https://goo.gl/photos/UZ1pY9GvnkXTd9rh8

The Pub

The Swan Inn, Sturminster Newton. We’ve eaten here before. It’s nothing outstanding but we had satisfactory meals all round.

Next Week

Meet in Wimborne at 1030 for a High Hall walk.

The Wednesday Walk 5th April 2017

The Plan

St Catherine’s Hill

Who Turned Up

A bumper crop of walkers included: Sue, Tricia, Jackie, Trudy B, Trudy H, Diane and Tony R, Beatrice and Tony H, David

The Walk

We met at the usual parking spot just off the Fairmile Road. Our outbound walk took us over the hill, with views down onto the Avon Valley. After lunch we headed back along the line of the old railway track. This is where we look a lengthy detour. By now we were getting quite warm and coats were quickly discarded. Did you know that the hill is believed by some to be named after a chapel that once stood here, although there seems to be no definite information about where exactly it stood. The chapel was named after a fourth century Christian martyr. It seems that St Catherine was imprisoned, tortured and condemned to death because of her beliefs. At one time the hill was called Kattens and there is a body of thought that thinks it was named after a pagan god. Personally, I think Kattens sound more like a brand name for cat food, but there you go. Back in 1332, a document recorded St Catherine’s chapel as being on the hill of Rishton, so you can take your choice of what you believe to be the definitive origins of the hill.

Our thanks to Trudy H for the photographs

The Pub

The Avon Causeway. The sign on the station platform outside the building now clearly says HURN. Quite right too. This building was once Hurn railway station, part of the London and South Western Railway. That railway was taken into the Southern Railway at the Big Four grouping in 1923. It closed on 30^th September 1935, long before Dr Beeching could get his hands on it. We all enjoyed a good meal here, including the speciality cheese dish.

Next Week

Sturminster Newton. Meet in Wimborne for a 10am departure.