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.