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The Plan
A
breakfast walk
Who Turned Up
Wendy,
Trudy B, Trudy H, Sue, Tony and Beatrice H, David
The Walk
With
another warm, sunny day forecast, we were well placed for an early walk taking
in breakfast instead of lunch. We met at Pamphill School at 0845 (one or two
only just made it because of a serious accident at Canford Bottom roundabout)
and set off towards the River Stour. We paused at Eye Bridge to watch the river
and then continued on through the allotments into Wimborne.
After breakfast
we walked up St Margaret’s Hill and cut across to QE School. From there it was
a brambly walk through the greenery back to Pamphill. A very pleasant walk to start the day.
Breakfast
We ate at
the Man In The Wall in Wimborne. The large breakfast was £4.60 but well worth
the price. Beer at £1.99 was also good value. Beer for breakfast? Well, it was
a warm day with the risk of losing bodily fluids.
Next Week
Meet at 0945
at the car park in Leicester Road (near the tennis courts) for a walk along the
shore.
The Plan
Bovington
to Moreton
Who Turned Up
Wendy,
Trudy B, Trisha, Jackie, Tony H, Tony R, David
The Walk
We
parked, as usual, at the viewing area close to Bovington camp, not far from
Cloud’s Hill. The army were playing games with their tanks, seemingly testing
the vehicles rather than the drivers. We walked past the stone marking the
place where Lawrence died and then our walk took us through Moreton Plantation.
We continued on to the Jubilee Trail where we crossed the river into Moreton
Village.
After
lunch we took the shorter route across Bovington Heath back to the car park.
Hilly but not so long.
It was a
pleasant warm day with an overcast sky in the morning and sunshine in the
afternoon. We finished up at Wendy’s house with an unexpected cream tea.
Scones, jam and cream served the Cornish or Devon way. And strawberries, and a
sponge cake. Very many thanks to Wendy.
Lunch
We ate at
the Moreton Tea Rooms. We were told the food would take 45 minutes (shades of
last week’s long wait) but it actually came much quicker than that. However, it
was expensive, especially the beer at £4.25.
Next Week
Meet at
Pamphill at 0845 for a breakfast walk.
The Plan
A Chettle
walk
The Leaders
Jackie
and Sue
Who Turned Up
Jackie,
Sue, Trisha, Trudy B, Wendy, Diane and Tony R, Beatrice and Tony H, David
The Walk
Credit
where it’s due, the Kirkwood woman got it right this time. I was unsure about
her forecast when I switched on the television and saw her map showing cloud
over our region. Outside the lounge window I saw only clear blue skies. But,
later on in the morning, some high cloud did appear, just as she predicted. It
was nothing to bother us, in fact it did stop us getting too sunburned.
We parked
the cars in Chettle village and walked up a lane that took us through Little
Wood and past a caravan park. It was a straightforward route… all right, all
right, we did take on wrong turning but everyone is allowed one mistake. A lady
out walking with a couple of dogs put us back on the right path. It was
approaching one o’clock when we reached Home Farm café at Tarrant Gunville.
It was a
quarter past two when we left the café and set off on another route that took
us past Eastbury House. Jackie told us the history of the house and promised to
test out knowledge later. As in the morning, it was a very pleasant walk back
to the cars, taking us through green, open countryside. Along the way we saw a
couple of buzzards and Tony spotted a small deer.
The Café
There was
no pub so we used a small café at Home Farm, Tarrant Gunville. The food was
good and the service was very friendly. Unfortunately, they were short of staff and we had a long wait for the food.
Next Week
Meet at
Wendy’s at 0945 for a Morton walk.
The Plan
Delph
Woods to Lamb’s Green
The Leader
Trudy B
Who Turned Up
Sue,
Trudy B, Trisha, Diane, David
The Walk
It was
all the fault of that Kirkwood woman on the BBC weather forecast. She has a dreadful
way of playing down our English weather. Today she promised us heavy rain and
thundery downpours. She even mentioned that the worst of it would be in Dorset.
How dare you, woman! In fact we started with a light drizzle and by lunchtime
we had blue skies and sunshine.
Because
of Ms Kirkwood and her skewed ideas about Dorset weather, we left one car at
the pub in case heavy rain precluded us from an afternoon walk. We then began
at the car park in Delph Woods. We started out in our wet weather clothes but
soon had to discard the outer layers as we warmed up. The morning remained dry
until we reached the Lamb’s Green Inn.
The sun
was shining as we left the pub and we enjoyed a very pleasant stroll back to
Delph Woods. We did meet the occasional muddy bit of footpath, but nothing to
deter a Wednesday Walker.
We finished
up with tea and lemon drizzle cake at Sue’s. Thank you, Sue, for your
double-yoked egg cake.
The Pub
Wednesday
is Vintage Pie Day at the Lamb’s Green Inn. The chicken and ham pie was superb
with very tasty filling and a super-light flaky pastry top. Unfortunately, only
one walker decided to try it. Never mind. Maybe next time…
Next Week
Meet at
Diane’s at 10am.
The Plan
An Arne
walk
Who Turned Up
Jackie,
Sue, Wendy, Ros, Diane and Tony R, David
The Walk
Arne was,
in fact, plan B, but turned out to be an ideal walk for the weather: sunshine
and seventeen degrees. Not too hot and not too cold. We parked as usual at the
RSPB car park and set off towards the lookout point and then down to the shore.
After lunch we took a walk in the opposite direction. It was a very pleasant
day and a nice leisurely stroll through the nature reserve.
Thank
you, Jackie, for the tea and cake to round off the day at your house.
The Pub
The King’s
Arms at Stoborough. The food was very good, if a little pricey. There was a pie
on the menu but it was not sampled. The home-made faggots were excellent.
The Plan
Turnerspuddle
to Bere Regis
Who Turned Up
Jackie,
Sue, Trudy H, Tricia, Wendy, Beatrice and Tony H, Diane and Tony R, David
The Walk
My
apologies for the absence of a write-up over the past few weeks. Normal service
will now, hopefully, be resumed.
We parked
at the usual spot by Turnerspuddle Farm. The grounds of the church close to the
parking spot looked very overgrown and we discovered only later that the church
is now the property of the farm. The day was cool but dry as we set out on a
pleasantly quiet path towards Bere Regis. We passed through the quaint little village
of Shitterton (which newcomers now insist on calling Sitterton) and along the
river bank into Bere Regis.
After
lunch we took the alternate route past the fields which Brian May has bought to
prevent any development. These fields are now planted with hundreds of small
trees with the aim of returning the area to woodland. Our path became a little
sticky at times but we made good progress to Michael’s memorial before
returning to Turnerspuddle.
Thanks to Jackie and Sue for tea and cakes at the end of the walk.
The Pub
The Drax
Arms, Bere Regis. They had a table for ten waiting for us and the service was
delivered with a smile. The food was good but a little pricey. They had no
pies.
The Plan
A
heathland walk
Who Turned Up
Jackie,
Sue, Beatrice, Diane and Tony R, Trudy B, David
The Walk
We left
the cars at Jackie’s house and walked across the A35 onto Upton Heath. The sun
was shining in a clear sky and we all had to discard outer clothes as the day
warmed up. Most of us managed to get to the top of Beacon Hill where we found a
splendid view partially marred by trees. We came down off the heath almost
opposite the pub.
After
lunch we walked up Beacon Hill Lane, taking a slightly shorter route across the
heath and back to Upton. Cloud had now rolled over the sky and it was not so
warm as the morning.
Many
thanks to Jackie for providing tea and biscuits to round off the walk.
The Pub
The Holme
Bush. The last time we came here they hadn’t a chef and the landlady had gone
for a walk. Things were a bit better this time. They had a chef and some food.
The advertised pie was missing. The advertised ham and eggs were missing. But the
rest of the menu was available, including a “two meals for £10” deal.
Unfortunately, we did have to wait patiently for it to be cooked. In the end it
was worth it. The food was good. Two walkers ordered apple pie desert and, once
again, we had to wait. We think they must have been picking the apples. But the
food was, again, good. So, the message is: not everything on the menu is on the
menu, and you will need to be patient, but the food is good.
Next Week
Meet at
Delph Woods at 1030am for a walk to Lambs Green.
