1st August 2011

The Vale of Pewsey and the White Horse in chalk

Andrew and I were inspired by Julia Bradbury's "Canal Walks" to walk along part of the Kennet and Avon Canal this weekend. We were very lucky with the weather which was perfect - about 20 deg. C and dry.
On Friday we drove to Pewsey, then took the train from Pewsey to Bath and stayed the night at the Travelodge in Bath. It was very hot and rather cramped in Bath, but we compensated by having a lovely spanish meal in a tapas bar (well more of a tapas restaurant really) in Bath.

On Saturday we walked 24 (!!!) miles from Bath to Devizes. It was a long tramp, but there were so many plants and boats to see that the journey flew.

Lovely plants along the canal

The path along the canal was flat and it was almost impossible to get lost (just keep the canal on your right/left!) so the only obstacle to keeping a good pace were cyclists and occasional fishermen.

Caen Hill Flight of lochs

BOTO-X loch !!

I was very relieved to get to the Caen Hill flight of lochs in Devizes, which meant we were nearly there. Hurrah!!

It was downhill from there to the Travelodge and we managed to struggle into town later for a delightful supper involving chips. There was no need to count calories that night!!!



The next day we walked a humble 12 miles from Devizes to Pewsey. The weather was warmer than on Saturday and the canal was quieter. It was very peaceful and therapeutic.

Swans near Horton

The Vale of Pewsey was gorgeous and Andrew and I both agreed that we should do this kind of walk (i.e. flat and local) again. We are going to investigate Britain's Canal network. When we got to Pewsey we had a lovely lunch in a pub next to the Canal, and then drove home to Alderbury. It was 28 miles from Pewsey to our house and took less than an hour. But the whole experience felt like going to a foreign country, and was more restful. I arrived home feeling about 10 years younger than when we left.

When the weather is good in England this country is unbeatable.

Monday 25th July

Another lovely day in Wiltshire. Certainly better than yesterday turned out to be!


Looking north towards Pepperbox hill from Whaddon

Is this corn???

I couldn't stay indoors on such a gorgeous morning and decided to cycle along the local fields - golden with corn - to Downton. I took Andrew's GPS with me, intending to measure the altitude I climb doing this route, as it feels like constant ascents and descents.





My favourite part of the journey, once I have climbed Pepperbox Hill, is the gentle descent towards Downton through shady old 'hollow roads', lined with trees.

A great place to see squirrels bickering/mating

From Downton I followed my regular route via the Great Yews, and then along dusty bridleways to Odstock. I saw two leverets (young hares) along this way, both very large. One of them came straight towards me as I cycled slowly towards it; clearly it had self-confidence and believed it had right of way!

My return journey took me via Salisbury District Hospital and Britford.
About a mile from Britford I came across a memorial (looking rather like a gravestone!) bearing this interesting sign:

The plaque celebrates the fact that the Salisbury bypass did NOT go through this valley, and a Black Poplar tree was planted at this site by Salisbury Transport Action Committee in 1979 to celebrate their successful defeat of a campaign which would evidently have destroyed the area (this may be open to debate...).

The Black Poplar is still there, but is being crowded out by Field Maples and other hedgerow trees.

I must share a recent discovery. Last year I bought a pair of sunglasses in Lidls which come with three different lenses. I have just started wearing the 'yellow' lenses and am convinced they are more mood-enhancing than every drink I have tried (and that is saying something!) and possibly more of an 'upper' (not that i know anything about such things)than psyotropic drugs. You need to try them. The really good news is that Lidls are selling them again this year.

Lidls sunglasses

As well as lifting the spirits these sunglasses also significantly improve depth-perception, and come with an excellent container which has 6 individual compartments to protect the different lenses from being scratched. The glasses even come in a choice of 3 stylish frames; blue, black and silver. Perfect.
So if you suffer from SAD or depression, or just want to imagine you are cycling in a warm and sunny place (when it is raining), buy some. They cost £3.99 from Lidls. You just can't go wrong.
When I was on Ben More Assynt in Scotland at Easter, I changed to the clear lenses to protect my eyes from the horizontal wind. The next day I was wearing the dark lenses as it was bright and sunny. Such versatility is priceless.
Anyway, enough about the glasses.

According to Andrew's GPS I cycled 19.7 miles and the total ascent was either 1,356 or 1,035 feet. Somewhere I goofed up with the GPS. Maybe I will get round to working it out by hand using the OS map.

24th July 2011

Well, The forecast was good today (erroneously as it turned out!) so we set off early for the New Forest.
A breakfast of porridge was a good start to the day and we took a fruit 'smoothie' with us (made of 1 banana, 1 peach, 35 g raisins and 200 ml of skimmed milk). We shared it when the energy levels got low and it was a real life-saver.

The horses were enjoying the dry weather and looking cute. This one was particularly unafraid.

We noticed a real shortage of water, with most of the streams reduced to a trickle or completely dry. Many ponies were gathering by the pond near the WW2 mock German U-boat shelter.. On the OS maps this lamdark is marked as 'Tumulus' between Pitts Wood Enclsure and Amberwood Enclosure.

We messed around with our cameras at the trig point at Whitefield Plantation (on Ibsley Common), and took some silly photos like this one of me on the right...






We also saw a very large, old oak near Moyles Court School, and couldn't resist a photo to show how huge it is.



We walked a total of 14.5 miles in 6 hours today, with no major arguments (over navigation or anything else!!).  A few minutes after we got back to the car at Ashley Walk car park (on Godshill Ridge) it began to rain. Bonus!

15 July 2011

So one of my jobs as the 'Progress Leader' of Year 8 (at the Stonehenge School) is to lead the year group (approximately 130 students) on their '10' mile walk from Amesbury to Amesbury (via Stonehenge and Wishford-cum-Lake). The sun shone and most people had a fabulous adventure. There were, unfortunately, some fights and injuries, but most people completed the walk without getting more than a blister and (occasionally) lost.

On Saturday the weather was very wet - wonderful for the garden - but not so good for lovers of the outdoors. I spent an hour on the exercise bike, did lots of work, and had supper at the local pub with my husband.



Poppies and the pylon on a local walk

Life is good.