Well, weren’t we lucky with the weather last Friday? It was a really lovely sunny morning when 13 of us met at Hatchet Pond. We started by walking north of the Pond across grassland and along Furzey Lodge for about 1/4 mile before swinging to follow the cycle path through the wooded area. Then a sharp turn left onto grassy but slight muddy path which took us on a slow, steady, but easy climb following the edge of the wood bounding over a small stream and stopping for the obligatory photo on the way and spotting mushrooms and other fungi. Plenty of time for chatting and catching up with the news of friends along the way - oh, and putting the world to rights. After about 20 minutes it was time to make our way back towards the parking area via crossing the road and more heath and eventually following the northern edge of the Pond: several of us were shedding coats as it was so warm.
At the end of about an hour and a half we reached the cars just as a few ominous clouds showed themselves. As promised, the ice cream van was there but whether anyone availed themselves of his wares before leaving I don’t know. We all seem to have agreed it was a most pleasant morning and it is hoped that there will be as good a turnout next time on November 6th. Let’s have some new faces too.
Ken
