Christmas 2011



I must remember to bring more wigs next year

My nephew Dhillon wearing the wig



My brother alias Starsky wearing the wig

December 3rd 2011

Ice-skating at Longleat on a Friday afternoon

21 November 2011

New Forest Walk 20 November 2011

I have been doing lots of walking and cycling, even though it has not made it onto my Blog very often.

New Forest ponies in the mist

This morning I set off in the mist on a 10 mile walk from Telegraph Hill.


Near Nomansland I saw free-range pigs eating apples and acorns manically. Their road sense was fairly non-existant!

There were also interesting signs that deer had been scraping their horns in the lichen on tree bark, but I would need a real expert to verify this.

The beech trees looked gorgeous in the mist. I didn't know which way to turn today and haven't seen so many rich red tones and hues since I was in Kenya. I needed a better camera to capture the beauty of it all really.

And I even managed to get a rather amateur photo of a cobweb as the sun finally burnt through at about 11.30 a.m. What a lovely day.

Cobweb with mist on and yellow gorse flowers in the background.

Salisbury Cathedral - 5 November 2011



A beautiful gargoyle on Salisbury Cathedral

Ancient Graffiti

The original mediaeval capstan - Still in perfect working order. Amazing.

The amazing view from the top



I just loved what his military comrades said about this man. I wish I had known him. It is currently my screensaver.

Medeiaval and Victorian Braces keeping Salisbury Cathedral tower from buckling inwards under the extra weight of the spire.

Lee on Solent 16 October 2011

What is going on!!!!Blackthorn flowering in mid-October??!


We also saw ripe sloes and red holly berries.Fantastic.


But what a fabulous day to go to the seaside. We treated ourselves to a lovely cooked breakfast at 'The Penguin' on Lee-on-Solent seafront, where the usual hardy types were drinking coffee and smoking outside, swaddled up against the cold. 

One of many groynes designed to prevent alongshore drift

After breakfast we went for a lovely walk along the promenade, shedding clothes as we went. Andrew is training for his walk from St Jean Piet-de-Port to (approx) Burgos in November, traversing the Pyrenees in the process. I am slightly alarmed about the possibilities of snow at that time of year, and rather wishing I hadn't been to see "The Way" recently at the Harbour Lights cinema in Southampton. (One of the 'peregrinos' dies of exposure in the mountains...)

Sailing boats viewed through beach houses at Hill Head

I am just trying to de-stress from work these days, with my husband's help.
Walking along the coast in the sunshine, looking at dogs, boats, people and pebbles, was just about perfect.

The sailing races started at about 1 p.m. when the wind finally came in

A row of birds - oystercatchers and a black-headed gull I think.

Monday 29th August

We went for a short stroll near Burley with the specific aim of finding mushrooms.

Rules about when to pick mushrooms

When we saw this sign I thought we might be out of luck, but in fact our timing was perfect (by sheer fluke) and we found loads of chanterelles under beech trees. We also found some false chanterelles to compare them with, which was both interesting and useful.

This sign told us that we couldn't collect mushrooms from that area between September 1st and March 31st. Whew!!

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Chanterelles



It took a long time with water and a brush to clean these mushrooms and get rid of the dirt from the folds, but it was worth it. Next time we will cook them in butter with garlic.










I was really pleased with the result of our labours. It was a beautiful day, and lovely to walk slowly (for a change!) amid some fabulous old trees. We drove back via Bolderwood Arboretum. It was exceptionally busy on the roads, due to being a Bank Holiday of course. I realised again how lucky I am to live in such a lovely part of the world.

Thursday 25th August

Well I will be back at school in a week. Bugger... But we had the good news that our school has received the best GCSE Results ever today - 75 % A*-C - so that is really great.
Not one to sit around, I went for an 11 mile walk from home, and apart from a rain-shower at the start, it was the most beautiful sunny, clear, epic day you could wish for. One of those days where the sky seems extra blue and the clouds really stunning. A day like being in heaven.

Ready to be harvested

There was lots of ripe corn, ready for harvesting, going brown in the sun and wind.

Corn and oak tree

This corn had been baled and stacked near East Grinstead. The sky was lovely.

Knapweed



Light through the trees near Pepperbox Hill

17 August 2011



There were several horned fallow deer

I went for a 16 mile walk today in the southern part of the New Forest. Mostly I circumnavigated Burley.

I borrowed Andrew's SATNAV for the trip, but the battery went flat after 6.81 miles, so I resorted to good old map and compass.

I saw these fallow deer just after I started walking at 08.30. They had some of the largest horns I have ever seen on deer, but unfortunately I scared them away before I could get close enough to get a good photo.



The usual trees and ponies



There was a beautiful path named "The Commoners' Passageway, which had clearly involved local time and effort. I really enjoyed walking along it as it took me through some beautiful open, empty countryside, containing fabulous old trees and undulating contours. There was a plaque to commemorate the reinstatement of the route.



An old milestone near Burley



Monday 15th August



A large red caterpillar

We went camping at Rockbourne Park this weekend. Andrew has the permanent use of a large bit of private woodland there, so we occasionally go there and whittle twigs next to large fires. Great fun!

Andrew and the camp-bed - it didn't fit in the tent!

We bought Andrew's Camp bed and a large inflatable mattress for me (must be getting old!) - not realising that both of them would individually take up the entire tent's floorspace. So I got to sleep in the tent, and Andrew set up his own sleeping area outside. Luckily it didn't rain...

A large green caterpillar - of the Prominent Moth family.

On Sunday morning I constructed a large woodpile and started making a spoon. Andrew saw a doormouse.
We had good food and listened to the radio.
It was very relaxing indeed - as soon as you get to remote places the lack of phone, T.V., internet has a really positive effect. I wish more people, especially children,  could be persuaded to spend time away from all mod cons. It would do them the world of good.

Me at the camp

As you can see, there were lots of caterpillars around.

I got bitten by a tic for the first time since doing the CWT. Andrew got bitten by mosquitoes.


Sitting by a roaring blaze drinking wine.



8th August 2011

I went for a 14 mile walk in the New Forest today.
It was very windy, but warm enough to wear shorts and a T-shirt very comfortably.
There were very few other people around and I walked at an average speedof 3.6 mph, which was pretty rapid!

Horses

Trees near Amberly Enclosure

Horse in the heather

Horses in motion

Road and moody sky

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.