The Wednesday Walk 23rd September 2009

The Plan
Meet at Wendy's for a walk at Studland

The Leader
Trisha and Wendy

Who Turned Up
Trisha, Wendy, Ros, Beatrice and Tony H, David

The Walk
We drove to the Knoll Beach car park at Studland and immediately went to the National Trust cafe for our morning infusion of coffee. We had our priorities right! Suitably refreshed, we then had a short walk on Studland Heath, stopping at the bird hide overlooking Little Sea. That's a lake in the middle of the heath. Wendy spotted some small blue flowers but - surprisingly for Wendy - she couldn't identify them. She later asked the NT guy in the cafe but he didn't know either. She has promised to find out from her stock of flower books before next week! From a high point overlooking the beach (not the nudist section, I hasten to add) we looked out towards Old Harry Rocks and saw a Royal Marine landing craft making its way into Studland Bay. We also saw the Condor SeaCat heading down towards the Channel islands and the Waverly paddle steamer heading back towards Bournemouth.
We arrived back at the NT cafe for lunch. Afterwards, we headed off to the west of Knoll Beach towards Fort Henry. This is the blockhouse where Churchill watched Operation Smash - a live ammunition attack on Studland Bay in preparation for the D Day landings. We then walked up to Studland village and crossed the main road to make our way onto the other heathland. We didn't get as far as the Agglestone rock but it was a warm and pleasant walk for all that.
On the drive back to Wendy's house, Trisha, Tony and David stopped at Lytchett Minster to gather conkers, something to take us nicely back to our school days! Tea and cakes were served at Wendy's to round off a very enjoyable day.

The Pub
Not a pub, but a National Trust cafe at Knoll Beach. The eating area seemed smaller than we recalled from a previous visit, but the food was very palatable. Sadly, they had no pies but one Cornish walker was able to enjoy a pastie. There was a mix-up over a bottle of beer mistakenly thought to be cider. When the error was pointed out, the staff were very quick to shoulder the blame and supply other drinks.

The Wednesday Walk 16th September 2009

The Plan
Meet at David's for a walk in the forest.

The Leader
Trudy

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Wendy, Beatrice, Diane, Tony R, Trisha and David

The Walk
For once the met forecasters got it right. They said it would be a nice day and it was. We parked at the Verely car park in the New Forest and set off towards Burley. For our overseas readers I should explain that the New Forest is not new and much of it isn't forested. Which is why the start of the walk was over open heathland with views right down to the coast at Bournemouth. There was a spot of wind when we were at the highest point of the walk, but otherwise it was a very pleasant jaunt into Burley village. This is a classic New Forest spot with ponies roving wild through the streets. We had planned on eating at the Queen's Head but our walk brought us into the village alongside the Burley Inn. We had not eaten here before so decided to give it a try.
After lunch we set off on another route that took us through an area of impressive country houses, including one place which we decided would look ideal in an Agatha Christie murder mystery. We could just picture the maid screaming from a window, "The butler's killed 'is lordship!"
Unfortunately, a little farther on, the route Trudy planned was closed by logging operations so we had to make an unexpected detour and - let's be honest about it - were a little unsure of our position at times. But we were never lost. We always knew where we had come from and where we were going to. In the event Trudy decided that the detour was probably less arduous than the route she planned. We think we walked between 6.5 and 7 miles.

The Pub
The Burley Inn. This was somewhere new for us and a place to keep in mind for future walks. We sat in a dark part of the pub interior and next time we would choose the lighter annex. Those who had the cous cous were not impressed but the other meals were fine. David's pie was much appreciated. The disappointment came from not finishing Trisha's three crossword puzzles.

The Wednesday Walk 9th September 2009

The Plan

To meet at Beatrice and Tony's for a walk to Tarrant Monkton.

The Leader

Trudy

Who Turned Up

Trudy, Beatrice, Tony H, Diane, Tony R, Trisha, David.

The Walk

Today we witnessed the Met Office Custard Pie of the Year award for accurate forecasting. We left home expecting bright blue skies and were greeted initially with rain. Fortunately it didn't last, but we never did see the sunshine until the walk was completed.

We drove in two cars to Manswood. For those who don't know it, this is a tiny country village with just a few thatched cottages. Despite that we were unable to redezvous the two cars! Worse still, our mobile phones were beyond signal coverage so we could not even call one another. So the two cars drove around country lanes, the occupants scanning the horizon for any signs of the other vehicle. The Carry On film makers would have had a field day!!

Once we had made contact, we set off from a lay-by at the end of the village in the direction of Tarrant Monkton. Highlights of todays walk included smelly pigs (Diane tried talking to them but they didn't seem bothered by their smell) dung beetles and a butterfly that looked dead until Tony threw it into the air.

There were no stiles on today's walk, no muddy fields or paths and no steep hills. All-in-all it was a jolly good walk.

Thanks to Beatrice and Tony for tea and cakes to nicely round of the day.

The Pub

The Langton Arms at Tarrant Monkton. The food here was excellent, including a very nice pie! It was, however, a little pricey. The coffee was very good (also pricey) and the chocolates that went with it were delicious. We asked at the reception desk where we could buy some and were told we couldn't. The owners made them by hand.

The Wednesday Walk 2nd September 2009

The Plan

To meet at Beatrice and Tony’s for walk to Sturminster Newton

The Leader

Wendy

Who Turned Up

Trudy, Beatrice, Tony, Diane, Tony, Wendy, Ros

The Walk

(Write-up by Ros)

As we set off for Fiddleford Manor car park, the clouds were very threatening so we were armed with plenty of wet weather gear! We walked through the Piddle woods to Dirty gate. As we approached Broad Oak the heavens opened and we took shelter in a community orchard small hut which explained the types of apples. There were several types of different apples and we were invited to help ourselves! They were at the peak of ripeness and very tasty. We continued on the road to the Bull at Sturminster Newton.
After lunch the rain settled in for the afternoon. We walked up through the town checking out the Railway Gardens for a possible future picnic spot. We continued along the old railway line back to Fiddleford Manor. It was quite sheltered and we didn’t get too wet.
A welcoming cup of tea and very little cake at Beatrice and Tony’s finished off a lovely but damp day.

The Pub

The Bull, Sturminster Newton. As we were all counting the calories (well most of us) the menu was varied and even Tony H opted for chicken rather than the usual faggots! The food was excellent and no pies were consumed.

The Wednesday Walk 19th August 2009

The Plan
Meet at Jackie’s for a walk at Ringstead Bay

Who Turned Up
Jackie, Diane, Tony, Beatrice, Tony, Trudy and Trisha.

The Leader
Trudy and Trisha

The Walk
(Thanks to Diane for writing up this week's account)
We set off from the car park at the top of Ringstead and walked to the first coffee stop at the hut. It was a beautiful warm day with wall to wall sunshine. Fortunately it was not as hot as anticipated as there was a pleasant breeze. We wandered along the coast to our lunch stop at The Smugglers. The route back took us through woods and streams and of course an ice-cream stop at the hut. This gave us the fortitude to clamber slowly up the hill to the chapel with the wonderful views and sit awhile before the final ascent back to the cars.

The Pub
Everyone enjoyed their lunch which was good value and promptly served. Jacket potatoes for those weight watching, pate for Diane and chilli for Tony. We sat outside enjoying the lovely weather for a change.

The Wednesday Walk 12th August 2009

The plan
With so many people away on holiday, Wendy is anxious to find someone to walk with her this week. If you are free, please call Wendy and arrange a meeting place.

The Leader
A joint effort

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Wendy, and...

The Walk
(Courtesy ofTrudy)
It was rather a lazy day, starting off at the tennis courts at Branksome. We didn't see many flowers along the way. We did however see a perfectly good bike in the stream (I think that's a meant to be a bike and not a pike - blogmaster) At Branksome Chine, Wendy spotted two wardens and told them about the bike and they said they would send a van to sort it. (Must be a bike unless they wanted a fish supper - blogmaster)
After a very good, though expensive coffee - you pay forthe view here - on the terrace, we made our way along the beach to Canford Cliffs. We had an excellent lunch in the New Beehive. The ambience was good and the staff very friendly and attentive.
Afterwards, we walked to Flaghead Chine, back along the beach and a different way up Branksome Chine. At the top we went to see if the bike had been removed. It had been taken from the stream but we discovered it on the other side leaning against some bushes. We wondered why we bopthered. Wendy suggested we send Lew to rescue it.
The pictures show us hugging a fossilised tree. Wendy reckoned it is 1.5 million years old, or 15 million. Anyway, it is very old. (Note - we now understand it to be 140 million years old, so it should have a bus pass!)

The Pub
The New Beehive, Canford Cliffs.

The Wednesday Walk 5th August 2009

The Plan
Meet at Wendy's for a walk to Okeford Fitzpaine.

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up
Wendy, Jackie, Ros, Tony and Diane R, David.

But lets not forget two people who would have been there but for some medical problems.

Sue has now left hospital after having a new mid-leg hinge inserted. Get some WD40 on it, Sue, and hurry back to the Wednesday walks. We look forward to seeing you back with us. And, anyway, we've all got the old-type hinges in our legs and some of them squeak, so you'll be able to put the rest of us to shame when you've run-in your new equipment.

Brian is awaiting an operation in Bournemouth hospital. We all wish you well, Brian, and hope to see you back on your feet in the months ahead. These days we miss the Brian-type funny stories that used to punctuate our walks.

And we haven't forgotten you, Marian. We know you are looking in on the blog and keeping track of what we have been up to.

The Walk
We had planned on walking to Okeford Fitzpaine but the weather was wet and we figured the ground would be muddy, so we elected, instead, to walk from Potterne Way, between Three-Legged Cross and Verwood. For those of you who don't remember it, the car park is at the rear end of the Moors Valley Country Park. I won't dwell on the fact that it had been raining earlier in the morning and the ground was muddy underfoot on this walk as well, but no one drowned.

We started out walking through Potterne Woods, a new route for us and one that, at times, defied our combined navigational efforts. Shortly after we came out of the woods, Wendy was the first to spot a late-blooming foxglove. The route took us on across some open country and then past a motor sports ground.

After lunch, we took another new route through woodlands and countryside back to the start point. By then the weather was improving rapidly and we felt the effects of the warm temperature and high humidity.

Tea and chocolate cake was enjoyed at Wendy's house. Thanks, Wendy, for an interesting new walk and your usual hospitality.

The Pub

The Old Barn. Some of the group had eaten here before. For others it was a new experience. The service was excellent, even allowing for the fact that we started out as the only people in the building. Everyone was happy with the standard of the meals...even the inveterate pie eater!