It's been quite a while since we last had a decent walk in the New Forest. A month or so ago we picked a travel bug up from Swanage and it needed to be dropped off in a geocache fairly urgently so we chose a cache at a favourite spot near Brockenhurst. It was a lovely warm sunny start to the morning and from where we parked I could see a fantastic group of foxgloves that were just asking to be photographed.
Despite the lack of rain, this area was boggy and soft, perhaps that's the sort of conditions foxgloves like, they were certainly thriving.
Gorgeous.
We walked through Frame Heath Inclosure where some time ago lots of trees were felled, but now the Forestry Commission have planted masses of young trees,which are fenced off to keep the deer out and can just about be seen here planted in rows.
Creeping up the fence in places was honeysuckle.
In fact honeysuckle was all over the place.
We walked down to the main Southampton to Bournemouth line. Incidentally, today we found that deer don't flinch or look up when a train sounds it's horn for the pedestrian crossing and speeds by but they saw us 200 metres away and took flight - are we really that scary?
It was good to be back amongst so much greenery and trees.
At this spot we heard our first cuckoo of the year, very late I realise but we just haven't been out in the Forest to hear them this year. I assume the cuckoos will be off home to Africa again soon.
Another plantation of young trees being protected from deer!
Pens for rounding up ponies, at the railway bridge crossing over to Denny Lodge Inclosure, this unfortunately was the last we saw of the sun today.
We walked back alongside the railway line on the other side until we came to this lovely pond, where we had lunch and sat watching deer grazing in the distance.
I was hoping to see frogs, but there were none to be seen, however there were plenty of lilies and a few damsel flies.
Lilies, so perfect they almost look plastic!
Near here we found a geocache that is called trains and tadpoles, well, there were no tadpoles today but there were plenty of trains!
This tree alongside the railway line looked rather out of place, it was an old fir tree, quite an unusual one too.
The railway bridge crossing back into Frame Heath Inclosure is under repair, with some heavy equipment parked up waiting to be used (it was a nice bit of colour as the sun had gone in and it all looked a bit washed out).
An ant hill full of activity (not a good idea to stand still too long here!)
Then it was back to the car, having walked 3 miles and having found 2 geocaches.
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