Awoke to bright sunshine and no wind.    Ideal for our walk through the Tall Trees this morning. 

Making our way to the meeting point at Brock Hill we admired many reds and golds in the trees and hedgerows as we drove toward the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive.  9 of us having arrived by 10am we struck off by crossing the road to take the path of the circular walk in a clockwise direction.  The trees are quite a height and dense so not a lot of sunshine filtered through but it was still generally warm as we strode along passing an old bomb crater and reading some information boards and generally chatting and laughing along our way.    Oh, and greeting other walkers as we approached them.  Because the majority of the trees are deciduous  there was not much autumnal colours in them but the low lying bushes and particularly the ferns were sporting a yellowish hue.  All too soon we had reached the furthest point of our walk at the lower car park with some of us making use of the comfort facilities there.    (You really wanted to know that, didn’t you?)

There was now time to extend the walk into the nearby arboretum which was a little more open to sunlight and had specimen trees - with names - to admire and also several interesting large wooden sculptures of acorns and fir cones. 

Back on the track we wended our way towards the car park but not without stopping to admire the tallest trees in the forest: Canadian redwoods planted in the 1800s and currently weighing an estimated 105+ tonnes each.    The mind boggles. 

We reached our car park about 11.15am so cheery “goodbyes” and “see you soons” we made our way homeward ready and refreshed to enjoy the weekend. 

There’s sure to be another walk in November, venue and date yet to be decided, so do join us then for another pleasant outing.   

Ken and Charmian.   

 Surprisingly, despite a light drizzle in the air, 8 eager walkers arrived at Deerleap this morning (27th) in defiance of the weather.

Setting off at a goodly pace we had hardly covered the first 2/300 yds before the rain in the air ceased.    We seemed to be a set of active walkers as we kept up this easy-going stroll throughout but still able to catch up with each other’s news - chattering and laughing whilst avoiding a myriad of water-filled potholes in the mostly gravelled paths along the way.   

45 minutes from the start found us back in the car park, all of us having enjoyed our exercise and taking the fresh air.  

We’ll be walking again next month, and details will probably appear in the next newsletter.  Whatever happens , we’ll keep you up to date.   It will be another short one of about an hour.    Why not come along too?.

Ken & Charmian

 What a change in the weather today after yesterday’s rain.    We met at 10am in the car park in Blackhill road, near Wellow, which we now know is named Half Moon Common.    I was expecting the ground to be a lot more soft and claggy after last night’s downpour but it was surprisingly solid underfoot for the majority of the walk.  It was mainly a meander covering a large oval shape of the common itself over grass, a couple of small bridges and some woodland.    It appeared to be a popular place for walking so we met a few dogs plus cattle and ponies. 

There seemed to be 7 fairly fit walkers today and the circuit was 9/10ths completed in just under 45 minutes, but we knew there was a coffee stop scheduled into the morning and so we stopped at a Farm Shop for the welcome drink and a good natter around a table outside which passed an amiable half hour before walking the last 500 yards or so to our parked vehicles.    Last minute chats and farewells before making our homeward journeys.      It was sunshine all the way but slightly blustery on the outward leg but the breeze was in out favour on the return.    A most pleasant and relaxing morning.   

I’m sure we’ll sort out another short walk somewhere for September so if it isn’t decided by the time of publication of the Newsletter keep an eye on your emails for information.

Ken

8 members made their way to the Beaulieu Motor Museum car park this morning all geared up for a walk to Bucklers Hard.    Heading out to the road and skirting the mill pond we made our way into and through the village and then took a path to the left of the Montague Arms hotel which led us to a gate giving access to the gravelled track leading towards our destination. 

It was an extremely hot day but luckily the route was about 50/50 sun and shade and included two short diversions (named North Loop and South Loop) which led us nearer the river by way of board walks and through the cooling shade of woodland.

After about an hour’s trek we reached the Hard with its famous single street of two rows of facing dwellings.    It was straight into Henry’s pub for some necessary liquid refreshment which we carried into the garden for a bit of a sit down. 

Twenty minutes later it was time to face the hike back which none of us looked forward to but, surprisingly, once we’d got our legs and knees into gear it didn’t seem so far as the outward journey nor take as long.

However, we were all glad to reach the car park where we all collapsed into our vehicles, hot, sweaty but happy that we’d done it.    An estimated 6.25 miles.    Then it was cheery  goodbyes and thank yous to our leaders before heading back home to flake out on the sofa.

There’s a less strenuous get together next Wednesday with a coffee morning arranged at the Broadlands Lakes cafe from about 10.30am.    If the sun stays shining it should be really pleasant sitting on the outside decking there.    To find the cafe proceed to the Calmore roundabout and then continue past the football ground.    Take the first road on the right (Hill Street) and follow it about half a mile and the entrance is on your right, immediately BEFORE the road crosses the motorway.      Weather permitting or not, a good time with friends is assured.  Enjoy. 

Ken

 A blustery morning for us as we stepped out for our walk which had been postponed for a fortnight due to bad weather.  It wasn’t too long before the sun shone on us which made it a lot more pleasant.    Chatting between ourselves, and with cheery greetings to oncoming fellow walkers and dogs, we made our way around the enclosure on gravel paths with fewer muddy patches than we expected.    That being so, we found ourselves back closer to the car park earlier than anticipated so branched off to a path that led down to a river which was quite fast-flowing due to the massive amounts of rain we’ve experienced in the last few weeks.    Retracing our steps and then  moving onto a grass track, we made our way back to our cars about 75 minutes from when we started, having put the world to rights in our conversations throughout the walk.   

With lungs full of fresh air we were all ready to face the rest of the day and enjoy the weekend ahead.    Come and join us next time, date and place not yet decided, for a morning of conviviality- guaranteed!

Charmian and Ken

 A bright, sunny but blustery morning saw 9 members meeting near Brockenhurst on Friday last for the first main walk of 2024.

Striking off from the Beachern car park area across the grass and a road, avoiding some rather large puddles, we made our way down a gravel road by some imposing houses with gardens sporting many daffodils and other spring flowers.    Skipping away from an approaching dust cart we continued to the end of the lane which brought us to Burley road and close to St Saviours church.    Continuing past the Brockenhurst ford we made our way to Meerut road and across Butts Lawn and Black Knowl by way of a long straight footpath of several hundred yards to  Bolderford Bridge and time to play Pooh sticks in the fast flowing river.  One or two of us were lucky to catch sight of a kingfisher darting along the water.    Going back slightly we struck right to Ober Corner where we picked up the road which led us back to the car park.  There were quite a few muddy patches to negotiate but puddles gave good opportunities to wash it off our wellies.

Two hours of steady walking and a lot of happy conversation provided an enjoyable morning spent with friends.    Thanks to Ingrid and Brian for organising it for us.

Driving back towards Brock it was sad to see that The Cloud Hotel (where we had enjoyed some U3A Christmas dinners) was now being converted into housing.    Life goes on.

Expect a short walk towards the end of March.  Details to follow.        Ken.

 A lovely crisp morning with a brisk walk promised ahead of us - it certainly sounded good. Well nine of us (plus a dog) certainly thought so as we met near The Happy Cheese in Ashurst.    Allowing a couple of minutes for latecomers we trooped off along some familiar paths into the Forest.    Once amongst the trees it was noticeably peaceful and quiet and quite warm with just the sound of happy chatter between ourselves as we caught up with each other’s news.    Some of the trees looked stunning displaying their golden leaves and one of us was successful in catching a leaf or two as they swirled around us.  There were quite a few birds flitting around but too quick for us to determine which.  Oh how we miss Stuart who seemed to know them all - even by their sound when they were invisible. 

We plodded on with a friendly nod or a good morning to other passing walkers including the Lyndhurst Healthy Walkers group who tell us that they have a walk together each Friday morning.    After an hour we could tell we were almost back to our destination by the sounds of the trains travelling up and down.    It still took us another 20 minutes or so to reach the car park, via the Ashurst camp site, as a small diversion was necessary to avoid a rather wet and muddy area blocking our path.   

Another successful hour of exercise and conviviality enjoyed by us all ( and the dog seemed pleased too) so thanks to Brian and Ingrid once again.    We’ll arrange another for Jan/Feb next year.

See you soon.  Ken. 

Will it, won’t it?  The forecast was good for today but there were a few threatening dark clouds above (where else would they be?) as 10 of us congregated at Matley car park this morning.  We were pleased to have 2 new companions- one who’s only been on one previous walk and a brand new guy contemplating joining our U3A - so I hope we’ve made a favourable impression. 

10am, almost on the dot, we started off into a woodland area chatting, catching up with individual’s news and getting to know the newbies.    Easy walking ground though there were one or two fallen tree trunks across our way which were easily negotiated

Within 15 minutes we emerged on to open heathland making for distant trees and, just before them, took a sharp left along another track where we admired the heather which was at the point of bursting into blossom.

Then a few spots of rain was felt which developed into a light drizzle but, unperturbed, we continued back to the shelter of Matley Wood.    We didn’t re-enter at the point I had planned and so went slightly adrift but with the aid of a GPS signal and instinct we walked through the camp-site and soon reached our starting point and back into the sunshine. 

Nonetheless, we enjoyed our hour or so of exercise of both legs and jaws, and look forward to the next occasion. 

I hope to see many of you at the lunch on Tuesday and at the next general meeting on the 13th August.    Ken. 

 

Walk From Millyford Bridge – 16/6/23

 

Seven of us met on a hot sunny morning at Millyford Bridge car park at the start of our walk.  As we sorted out rucksacks with water, sun hats etc; a mare & foal wandered by.

We started out along a long gravel track & into the inclosure where we followed tree shaded tracks into woodland going uphill.  There was plenty of conversation & a fair bit of exclaiming over the heat, but we made the most of the shade where we could, even disturbing a few deer who ran past us.  We made our way to Acres Down Tea Rooms – a usual port of call for this walk – but unfortunately it was closed due to the owner’s health issues – the picture below shows disappointed walkers, we could only look over the gate & drink our water while imagining the lovely cake we usually indulge in.

Veering back away from Annie’s Tea Room we cut across open heathland & edged round along the tree border.  One member spotted a buzzard as it launched from a tree nearby & we stopped (in the shade) to watch as it gained height eventually disappearing from sight.

We eventually returned to the starting point after a couple of hours & agreed that it had been a very enjoyable, if rather hot, get together.  Our thanks to Brian & Ingrid for their guidance around the area.

 

 

 A wonderful 10 members came together this morning to enjoy a walk around the Shatterford area of The Forest: more than double my expectation.    Great!

Carefully crossing the railway bridge by the Drift Inn we were soon striding out over the heathland in bright sunshine, chatting and laughing along the way.    A skylark was soon spotted above us trilling away, probably a warning if we were too close to its nest.    Then over a wooden bridge which had a pool of water to one side big enough to contain water lilies.    There were also one or two dragonflies flying lazily backwards and forwards over it. Some of us heard a strange low sound in the area but, despite some hard looking, we couldn’t discover its origin.

We plodded on along footpaths and grass tracks, through woodland and over more bridges also some dried out (thank goodness) boggy areas before we circled back to reach the car park about an hour and a half from our set-off time.

Thanks to all of you who came along and made it a most enjoyable morning.  I understand that Ingrid is proposing a longer walk on the 16th June incorporating a stop at Annie’s tea rooms near Minstead (Mmmmmm.  Yum yum).    Let’s hope that that thought is an incentive for even greater numbers to join in. 

Ken.