St David’s Day and Birthday Celebrations
A happy band of 12 mileaters set off from Hardy’s Monument on a miraculously partly sunny, partly cloudy, some hail but dry day! To meet four more members at the designated coffee break where Mimosas, Sausages, Chocolate Brownies were served to celebrate St David’s Day and my birthday. Thankfully enjoyed by all except the disciplined carrot muncher! Who has triumphantly lost a stone, no mean feat in this age of gluttony!
On we went along the Ridgeway with stunning views, threatening clouds and strong winds, down to West Bexington. There were patches of mud, hardly surprising after the wettest February on record. The alternative would be to walk around Poundbury, not so scenic but mud free for the mud phobic.
After a bracing six miles for the stalwarts who did the whole route and four miles for the four with sick notes, we all had an excellent lunch at The Manor House Hotel in their warm, sunny conservatory with picturesque sea views. An ideal spot, great company and more birthday cake!
Thank you to Sheree Fitgerald, Lesley Pemberton and Colin Tracy our professional photographers. And to our drivers, Tom Webb, Richard Benson, Stuart Nuttall, Chris Evans and of course Riou Baxter who led the walk and the car logistics.
Laura Baxter
Wet Wet Wet – Love is All Around – you don’t have to look far!
Seven brave hearts set off around Wareham Forest on Lilly’s and Chris’s walk. The original list was 18 but for various reasons including the incessant rain the party shrank! Fortunately, we had four map readers on the case because our exit from the car park on the planned route was flooded and whilst on the summit hill heard tanks roaring in the distance. We did not want to tangle with them!
Despite the rain it was not cold, we enjoyed the usual friendly chat at a reasonable pace. Happily, the nearly six miles walking for two hours 15 minutes was mainly flat and on gravel paths. Therefore, miraculously no mud to negotiate! The coffee break was brief and everyone except Tom headed off for an excellent convivial lunch at The Royal Oak, Bere Regis.
We all thought the food good, service excellent and despite all the last-minute cancellations the staff were charming and made us most welcome. Importantly the WC’s provided enough space to change into dry clothes, for those who had brought them, and the pub was warm!
Over and above all other considerations we are delighted that Chris and Lilly Evans have become proud grandparents to their first grandchild, Rowan, a beautiful baby boy. Play and enjoy the song!
Photographs thanks to Sheree Fitzgerald and Lesley Pemberton.
Laura & Riou Baxter
Mileaters - Melbury Park walk …revisited!
NOW!
THEN!
On a fairly dull morning, 14 Mileaters set off on a short walk around Melbury Park near Evershot. Thankfully the rain held off for us. This was a walk that the group had previously done in 2015 and a number of members repeated the walk this time.
We undertook a pleasant circular walk of 4 miles, that included country paths and woodland (with some very muddy bits) and concluded with a walk through the lovely deer park. We did see a herd of deer grazing peacefully which was a nice bonus. This time we did not have any dogs with us so did not have to worry about them chasing after the deer.
We met for lunch at the lovely Fox and Hounds Pub in Cattistock, where we were very well looked after by a busy bar manager who was on her own, with us to cope with as well as her normal bar customers.
Another excellent Mileaters walk which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Mike Beesley
Mileaters on a high:
Barely a week after our previous walk, 17 hardy Mileaters and 5 assorted canine companions (or was it the other way round ?), set off from "The Spyway Inn" near Askerswell to visit an old friend in the form of mighty Eggardon Hill, this time via a different approach route, new to many of us.
Heading east from Askerswell village we kept company with the infant River Asker passing medieval strip lynchets on the hillside above us, to reach Nallers Farm, hidden deep in the Asker valley, and then onwards to Stancombe Farm. But where was "Poppy" ? - off on a route of her own, having espied a distant group of deer; leaping fences and wading across streams she eventually returned, but with nothing for the freezer!
Now for the main ascent of the day, a steady climb up Haydon Down, and a much appreciated coffee stop at the breezy summit, where a misty outlook diminished the wonderful views south to the coast. 15 minutes later and we had reached Eggardon Hill, one of Dorset's best Iron Age hillforts, and all the hard graft was now behind us.
A muddy descent to North Eggardon Farm, and a marshy section soon after, found us at South Eggardon Farm and its 2000 year-old yew tree. A rewarding drink and satisfying lunch now awaited us at the nearby "Spyway Inn", which had opened specially for us.
A grand circuit of 51/2 miles, but requiring not a little effort to achieve the 800 feet of ascent.
Well done all!
Nick Priddle.
Mud, Stones and Beers
The first Mileaters walk of the year, and after some gloriously sunny days earlier in the week, Friday 12 January was grey and cold. But at least it wasn’t raining and the previous dry days had given the mud time to thicken a bit. Some 17 walkers, plus dogs of course, set out on a circuit of just under 5 miles, starting from the car park near Hardy Monument, and taking us down the Valley of Stones, up Crow Hill and back along the South Dorset Ridgeway.
It was a walk through the pre-history of the area. Last year a very rare Neolithic polishing stone or polissoir had been discovered in situ in the Valley of Stones and it had been featured a couple of days previously on the BBC series Digging for Britain. Just an ordinary looking boulder until you see the smoothly polished concavity, and fascinating to think of our early ancestors gathering there to gossip while polishing their stone axes and knives over 5,000 years ago.
After avoiding a rather disinterested and elderly looking bull, we made our way up the hill and along a track to the Abbotsbury road and a welcome coffee break. Then back to our cars along the Ridgeway, passing the Bronze Age Hampton Stone Circle and the Hell Stone, a reconstructed Bronze Age burial chamber. There was a final climb back up through Hardy Coppice to the car park and our walk was done.
And there was mud, plenty of it, along the Ridgeway. The dogs loved it, some of the walkers less so. We celebrated the walk with lunch in our local pub, the Brewers Arms, open that day for the first time since the New Year. Ben and his team made us most welcome as always.
Linda Scotts