Corfe Castle & Swanage

Monday 24th February 2014

The plan today was to do a bit of geocaching and get a quick walk in before visiting family in Swanage, but unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side so we had a change of plan.  We stopped off at a fantastic view point not far from Corfe Castle but the view was less than inspiring as we were high up in the cloud and mist.

Things rapidly deteriorated and the planned walk didn't happen.

In the bright bit in the distance is the sea with Portland Bill just about visible.  We'll have to return here in better weather - if we ever get any better weather that is!

As we drove downhill slightly we came out of the cloud and thing's were a lot clearer.  Here is Corfe Castle from a back lane.  I was pleased to see that there were lots of lovely Herdwick sheep on the steep slopes up to the castle today - they have the most fantastic little faces, all smiley and happy.

In the afternoon the rain stopped briefly so we went in to Swanage for a breath of fresh air.

Swanage pier.

We parked near the pier and walked out to Peveril Point and back then along to the beach for a quick look.  It was deserted in the town apart from a couple of school parties and a few locals, just how I like it.

Moody Swanage.

Near Swanage lifeboat station.

A welcome bit of colour (I thought there was a bumble bee on the flower  on the left but after zooming in it appears to be a moth.

A mosaic on the pavement outside a fish and chip shop.

Longdown Again - Caching!

Saturday 22nd February 2014

We managed to crack the answer to a puzzle cache today based on breeds of dogs, (I had absolutely no idea there were so many!) and the co-ordinates took us back to Longdown, somewhere we had been just over a week ago.  We didn't go out until late on in the afternoon, but luckily we found the cache easily and then had a quick walk.  

A sandy track with no mud!

More fallen trees with massive roots.

In one area, controlled burning was taking place.

Controlled burning and forest operations are taking place.

Not something you see everyday in the New Forest.

Just a little further on there were lots of young trees growing, which was good to see after the devastation earlier.

The sun started to go down and the air got cooler.

Shortly after this a large dog charged at us through a stream and disgusting green brown mud and it jumped up at me and made me very muddy, what did the owners in the distance do or say - NOTHING! How angry was I?  I have to say I left them in no doubt as to how angry I was.  I don't dislike dogs but why is it that dog owners don't get the fact that not everyone out walking wants to say hello or be bothered by their dogs.  Anyway, that's my rant over with, as the saying goes, I must let it go .................

PS  Driving home near Colbury, I'm fairly sure that I saw a muntjac deer on the far side of a field, munching happily.  Muntjac deer are the smallest of all UK deer - adults stand approximately 45cm at the shoulder - the muntjac deer of the New Forest are apparently very few in number and extremely hard to find, so I'm now not so sure if it was one.

Crocuses and a Monkey Puzzle Tree

Friday 21st February 2014

We had a quick two mile walk around Southampton Common this morning, probably not my best idea as it was half term and there were lots of people, children, dogs, cyclists, joggers and pushchairs about.  Near one of the exits we came across this swathe of crocuses.  I had to go across country to take this!

Close to the Common I saw this Monkey Puzzle Tree, I have never noticed it before, maybe because it's not the normal shape of one, it's lower branches have been lopped a bit!  It's a lot bigger and older than the one we saw at Nomansland a couple of weeks ago that's for sure.

A monkey puzzle tree.

Millyford Bridge

Thursday 20th February 2014

We went for a walk this afternoon at another favourite haunt, Millyford Bridge near Emery Down in the New Forest.  The river there, the Highland Water was as expected full to overflowing and at some stage recently had been a lot fuller looking at the debris left on the river banks.  

The Highland Water,

much fuller than usual.

Since my school days (a long time ago!) I have kept an eye on this ox bow lake.  Normally there is little if any water in it but today it was quite full - the photo doesn't do it justice as the far part of it can't be seen.

There are small streams flowing well everywhere.

Reflection.

Blue sky......

..... a nice bright day again.  No need for gloves by the end of the walk!

Water where it shouldn't be!

Driving back home along the M27, between junctions 2 & 3 eastbound, I tried to take a photo of the floods alongside the motorway on the Broadlands Estate.  The flood has gradually been getting bigger and deeper, in fact last weekend most of the fields were flooded with just the top of fence posts and trees and bushes outlining the field boundaries, an amazing amount of water. 

Janesmoor Pond & A Red Admiral

Saturday 15th February 2014

Following a very rough and stormy night we chose to go to an 'easy to get to' place in the New Forest, hoping that there would be no trouble with fallen trees.  Luckily apart from floods it was fine.  Last night at home the wind was very very strong and it was making an awful roaring noise - it sounded like we were at the beach on a rough day - and we don't live near a beach!  Still, we've been lucky compared to some places in the South of England, and it would have to be some flood to affect us as we live on a hill!  

We chose to park at Janesmoor Pond on Stoney Cross, where for once there were hardly any other people - maybe after last night they were loathe to venture out?  I was a bit concerned about the way the wind was whipping across through the trees, and I have never seen waves - tiny ones admittedly - on the pond before, not a good start.  

Janesmoor Pond - Stoney Cross - full of water funnily enough!

Tiny waves, but waves, I didn't manage to catch the moment they splashed up on the bank!

A red admiral butterfly.

In amongst the trees we spotted this lone red admiral butterfly, it seems a bit early for butterflies but looking back at my blog we saw one on the 19th February last year too.

We then walked back up through the Longbeech camp site on old service roads used in the war when there was an airfield on Stoney Cross.

Old service roads.

Back at the car park the sky looked a bit ominous and there were a few drops of rain but for once it came to nothing.   There aren't many photos today as all of the photos look the same, with mud, water and fallen trees in them - maybe it will dry up and the sun will come out soon!  I live in hope, I expect the animals do too as some of them looked quite wet and bedraggled today.

Longdown - A Squally Hail Shower & Fallen Trees

Thursday 13th February 2014

We had a walk today from Longdown, where we met an English Bull Terrier by the name of Pippa - the name didn't somehow match the look of the dog - think Bullseye in Oliver!  Pippa looked quite overweight but came wandering over to see us, she looked like the sort of dog you could have a chat with and I don't often think that.

We went to look for a geocache and found it with ease then suddenly a cold wind whipped up and we had a heavy shower of hail, let's say the fir trees did little to shelter us.  Talking of wind and trees, there were an alarming amount of fallen fir trees all over the enclosure, not just one here and there, but groups of trees, large ones, here are some ......

........such a shame.

Water everywhere.

Just as soon as the hail started it stopped, the wind calmed down and blue sky appeared.

This lovely pony stood in the sunshine drying off for ages, cars arriving and leaving had to squeeze round behind him/her, he/she wasn't moving for anyone - a hazard of the New Forest.

Nomansland

Monday 10th February 2014

It was forecast to be a dry day - we now know this was a lie!! - so we decided to go caching in Nomansland in the New Forest. About a mile from the car it started to rain and it rained quite hard so we took shelter under the trees for a while until the blue sky returned and the sun came back out. Having found the first cache and sheltered for a while we came across this monkey puzzle tree - not something we see very often.

A monkey puzzle tree. 

(The monkey puzzle tree, originally from South America, is so-called after the owner of a specimen in 19th century Britain suggested that it's unusual branches would puzzle even a monkey to climb).

The second geocache was a multi which means we had to find information at various points to find the eventual location of the cache.  One of the places we had to go to was the war memorial on the village green.

The Well of Sacrifice.

We had to get info from the roll of honour - for such a small village there were a lot of names.

Then in the forest we had to find a number on a bat box.

The so called footpaths at the moment are a bit of a challenge to say the least!

Wellies essential!

Someone's been busy.

The cache was located near this stream which has cut quite a deep ravine in the ground.

In this wooded part we saw and heard lots of birds, we saw, a lesser spotted woodpecker, a tiny little goldcrest, blue tits, great tits, starlings, a buzzard high up in the sky, robins, blackbirds, a nuthatch creeping up a tree and either a marsh tit or a willow tit (apparently the main difference is in their call .........well, no chance!!!!!).  Back at the village green we saw a few song thrushes and a pair of redwings.

A redwing and ........

a song thrush.

Two caches found, three miles walked, lots of birds seen and we survived an unexpected heavy shower of rain!

Winchester & Floods

Sunday 9th February 2014

We had a shopping trip to Winchester this morning and on the way we saw plenty of evidence of flooding over the last few days. There were quite a few houses in Hursley having water pumped out of basements and some of the lanes still had large puddles across them.  In Winchester itself  the River Itchen has burst it's banks and the park alongside it has been closed.  I've never seen it like this before and plenty of other people were stopping off at the bridge overlooking the park to take photos.

A bad photo of The River Itchen in Winchester - taken into the sun - with the floods to the right of the fencing.

On the opposite side of the road Winchester City Mill is flooded and closed until further notice - there was plenty of water there too!

Winchester City Mill

Even the dark door on the left of the photo had water flowing out from under it.

It made a change to have a dry day and to see blue sky.

Another view from further on in the park.

It would have been rude not to include a photo of King Alfred's Statue!