The Wednesday Walk 24th June 2009

The Plan
Meet at Ros's for a Swanage walk

The Leaders
Ros and Tricia

Who Turned Up
Ros, Tricia, Pam (and friend) Tony R and David.

The Walk
What a glorious day. The sky was cloudless, the temperature got up to 27 degrees and the walk allowed us some superb views along the Dorset coast. Okay, so we had a couple of minor mishaps. Trisha had a tumble on loose ground at the start of the walk and Pete took a fall on a stile at the end. But these were only minor hiccups. No one was seriously injured.
We drove to Ullwell and then walked up onto Ballard Down. At the top we turned right and headed out to Old Harry, glowing white in the bright sunshine. I must mention the flowers here or I will be getting letters of complaint from our loyal readers. Okay folks: we saw poppies. Red ones. More importantly, as we came down off Ballard Down, we saw a large deep up close. It didn't seemed at all afraid of us (or Archie) and continued its meal while we watched.
We ate at the Bankes Arms and then walked on over the heathland where we had some wonderful views back over the Aggle Stone and Poole Harbour. Just imagine it: a clear sky, lovely warm weather, open countryside and the harbour spread out across the scene. What more can you ask?
The walk finished with tea and cakes at Ros's house.

The Pub
We had an odd situation here. David (wearing an "I Love Pies" tee shirt) had a chicken supreme which was expensive but an excellent meal. Tony (properly dressed by comparison) had sausage and mash which looked unappetising and tasted no better. "The worst Wednesday walk meal I've had," he said. The rest of the group were generally satisfied with the food but also thought it expensive. So it looks like you have to choose the right dish if you go to the Bankes Arms. Some of us were lucky and Tony chose the bad one.

The Wednesday Walk 17th June 2009

The Plan
To meet at Trudy’s for a walk in the New Forest

The Leader
Trudy

Who turned up
Trudy, Pam, Archie, Beatrice, Tony, Diane, Trisha, Sue and Ros

The Walk
We parked the cars at the Long Cross Car Park in the Forest. We headed off in the direction of Nomansland through shady trees and easy terrain. The main theme of the walk seemed to be the animals we came across. We saw a lovely cockerel in a pen with some hens, a deer in the distance, lots of ponies and four pigs. The pigs were all quite dark in colour varying from reddish brown to black. The last pig coming along the road looked just like a calf in the distance as it had such long legs (see photo)! A super walk expertly led by Trudy as the paths all look the same and the options are numerous! Just as we arrived back at the car we had a few spots of rain, very well timed.
A welcoming cup of tea and cake at Trudy’s finished off a lovely day.

The Pub
The Lamb Inn at Nomansland. A good choice of filled baguettes and jacket potatoes seemed to be the favourite choices, all reasonable priced. David would have been fine as pies were on the menu!

Many thanks to Ros for writing up this week's walk and to Trudy for the pictures.

The Wednesday Walk 10th June 2009

The Plan
Meet at Wendy's for a new walk

The Leader
Wendy

Who Turned Up

Wendy, Sue, Diane and Tony, Beatrice, Trudy, Trisha, Pam, Ros and David.

The Walk

Once again, we had a good ten-strong turnout. It was a pleasant walk, but what a difference between the morning and afternoon. We arrived at Fiddleford Manor in warm sunshine and had every expectation of a sunny summer walk. It didn't last. We set off towards Okeford Fitzpaine (a new walk which Wendy had researched) and it started to rain. Someone suggested sheltering for a few minutes. Fortunately, we carried on because the rain never let up until we reached the pub. Yes, it was persistently wet, but still a nice walk despite that. And, despite the rain dribbling down her umbrella, Wendy had her eyes on the hedgerows and was able to point out dog roses, campion and elderflower.

After lunch, we set off in somewhat drier spirits, but we soon met an obstacle: mud. Deep squelchy mud that came up over our boots. We waded through it and, undaunted, we carried on along the old S&D railway line. This route passed in sight of Hambledon Hill, a view once enjoyed by passengers travelling the old S&D line as it meandered towards Sturminster Newton. This afternoon we saw not only flowers but also an array of different butterflies. We finished off with tea and delicious cake at Wendy's.

The Pub

The Royal Oak at Okeford Fitzpaine. We had to phone in our orders before leaving Wendy's but the arrangement worked well. We arrived at the pub on time and the food was served as soon as we took our seats. It was hot, tasty and reasonably priced.

The Wednesday Walk 3rd June 2009

The Plan

Meet at David's for one of Brian's walks

The Leader

Brian

Who Turned Up

Brian, Wendy, Ros, Trisha, Pam (and Archie), Diane and Tony, Beatrice, Trudy and David.

The Walk

Foxgloves. Before I begin, I am under sentence of severe retribution unless I mention that we saw numerous foxgloves in glorious bloom along the route, before and after lunch. Good, my neck is safe. The walk began at Wood Green and took us through some shady parts of the forest, which was fortuitous as it was a warm, sunny day. A circuitous route brought us back to Wood Green for lunch. A horse and trap made a beautiful picture in the middle of the green, but the occupiers did not want to be photographed. Too late. They already had been. In the afternoon we did the same route in reverse. Once again, the forest shade was welcome as the predicted cooling in the weather had yet to reach us. We finished off with tea and biscuits and David's.

The Pub

The Horse and Groom, Wood Green. They did a very palatable pensioner's special. Two courses for £7. David had the steak and ale pie he sorely missed last week. Several people opted for fish and chips. And the cherry pie met with approval from all who had it. We all had custard with it although Pam would have preferred cream on hers.

The Wednesday Walk 27th May 2009

The Plan
Meet at David's for one of Trudy's New Forest walks
CANCELLED because of bad weather

The Leader
Trudy

Who Turned Up

The Walk

The Pub

The Wednesday Walk 20th May 2009

The Plan
Meet at Diane's for a Magical Mystery Tour

The Leader
Diane

Who Turned Up

Diane and Tony R, Trudy, Ros, Beatrice, Sue and David

The Walk
It was a nice day for a walk, not too warm and yet not cold. We drove the cars to Child Okeford, parked in a layby at the far end of the village and then walked over Hambledon Hill. Some of us recalled a similar walk led by Michael when we had to drag ourselves up a steep hillside. This walk was a little more gentle, with a slow crawl up a relatively easy track. From the top of the hill the views were magnificent. We walked around the hill fort on the summit and then went on down to the pub in Shroton village, otherwise known as Iwerne Courtney.

After lunch, we followed a level track around the base of Hambledon Hill back to Child Okeford. By now the weather was becoming warmer but still on the right side of cool.
The day ended with tea and cream doughnuts, courtesy of Diane.

The Pub

The Cricketer's, Shroton. The atmosphere here was very pleasant. The main menu was expensive, but we all opted for a Credit Crunch special with a main course at £5. Some had fish and chips, some had ham and eggs and Tony opted for pan fried liver and bacon. No one was disappointed. Diane even gave the coffee her seal of approval.

The Wednesday Walk 13th May 2009

The Plan
Meet at Sue's for a walk to Corfe Castle.

The Leader
Trudy

Who Turned Up
Trudy, Sue, Diane and Tony, Beatrice and Tony, Pam and Archie, David

The Walk
Trudy's guide said it was a 6.5 mile walk. Well, it was a good walk, an enjoyable walk, a very pleasant walk despite the cool weather, but 6.5 miles...? More than one walker was tiring by the end and we were late getting back to Sue's house for very welcome tea and cake. At the start, we parked at the Harman's Cross station on the Swanage steam railway. We then crossed the railway bridge and headed up a narrow lane past a camping site. Our route then seemed to take us in a wide circle that eventually brought us back towards Corfe Castle village. Along the way, we caught sight of a number of steam railway trains puffing along between Corfe and Swanage. The locomotives included a smart-looking GWR 0-6-2 tank engine in Brunswick green livery, and Manston, a Bulleid Battle of Britain class engine in BR livery. This loco (as we all know) is more appropriate to the line than the GWR engine. At this point I ought to mention that the ladies commented on the variety of colourful flowers in the various fields we passed through. After lunch we continued our circular tour and were amazed to see a herd of alpacas. Actually, there was some discussion about whether they were alpacas or llamas. We came across more stiles on this part of the walk, including one that was broken.The day finished with tea and cake at Sue's, which was very much appreciated.

The Pub
The Bankes Arms Hotel in Corfe Castle village. We had very enjoyable pensioner's special lunches at £6.95. The only let-down was the coffee which was sent back and the money was returned.