Hengistbury Head

Friday 13th June 2014

We had a lovely, if rather hot and muggy 4 mile walk around Hengistbury Head today.  We were surprised by how busy it was, with plenty of people about and several large groups of students on field trips.  

Looking towards Bournemouth,

and looking on the other side of the Head, Christchurch Harbour with Christchurch Priory on the left in the distance.

The trig point with Old Harry Rocks and Swanage in the distance.

A nice spot for a bit of lunch and a paddle.

The Isle of Wight and the Needles on the right - that sea is going downhill again!

Beach huts at the end of Hengistbury Head - and very nice they are too, but very expensive!

The interesting cliffs that the students have come to see.

There were a few of these cute little fishes, shame they were dead! (Toes are in the photo as a size gauge!)

A large blue jellyfish, unfortunately dead!

This raven, one of a pair on the beach, had found a bag of sandwiches, and at one point was carrying the bag about, being bombed by gulls who wanted a piece of the action.

The Itchen Navigation from Shawford to Hockley

Thursday 12th June 2014

Today we had a sunny warm morning for a walk along the Itchen Navigation from Shawford to Hockley, slightly under a 3 mile round trip.  We didn't see a great deal of wildlife but there was plenty of birdsong, particularly from a very tuneful thrush.  We saw fish of all sizes from tiny specks to those about a foot long,  fish identification is not really my thing so I have no idea what they were but as the water was so clear they were easy to pick out.  We saw a couple of fishermen in the river fly fishing but they didn't appear to be having a great deal of success, they should have been further up the river!

The Itchen Navigation with beautifully clear water.

An old lock, Compton Lock, there were people swimming here when we came back,

it looked quite inviting,

especially when your feet are hot in walking socks and boots!

A calm and relaxing place.

We walked as far as Hockley where there is a bridge under the M3 where swallows nest, there were plenty about but were too tricky to photograph as it was quite dark under the bridge. I was glad we saw them however as they are quite special.

The traffic thundering by above on the M3 obviously doesn't worry them.

Another quick walk done and dusted, just in time for lunch.

Lower Test Nature Reserve

Wednesday 11th June 2014

Today we returned to a place we visited  on November 5th last year when the whole area was badly affected by flooding, today it was very different, dry, green and lush.  

The plants were encroaching quite badly over the footpath to begin with, then we crossed the River Test and walked across the boardwalk towards Totton, with views of the docks and Redbridge Towers in the distance.

Today.

The same view on November 5th last year.

Looking across the reed beds towards Southampton docks and Redbridge Towers.

The River Test.

And from the other direction.

Six young cygnets on the river.

This was a very pleasant spot, with about 20 odd large fish close to the edge of the river that we stood watching for a while.  The River Test is tidal at this point and the tide was out; leaving a bank in the middle that the cygnets made the most of and had a little sleep on.  This area is close to houses, but is a great place, we'll definitely be back.

As we walked back along the same route we heard a cuckoo on and off for quite a while, I tried to record it but failed miserably, all that could be heard was a chiffchaff!

Grange Arch on the Purbeck Hills and Durlston Country Park

Tuesday 10th June 2014

After a pretty sedentary week it was time to get moving today  We had a trip to Swanage planned and on the way we stopped off in the Purbeck Hills for a walk to find a geocache near Grange Arch a fantastic folly.  The folly was built in 1746 by Denis Bond, the owner of Creech Grange, to give the impression of the ruin of an ancient castle when viewed from the house below. The arch was given to the National Trust by the Bond family in 1942.    

Grange Arch.

Looking down towards Creech Grange

.

It's funny the things you find in the middle of nowhere, but I'm glad we did.

We found the cache easily, admired the view and watched farmers in tractors far below who were hay making before returning for lunch.

In the evening we had a  walk at Durlston Country Park as it was too nice to drive straight home. We heard and saw many different birds, the highlights being, Kestrels, fulmars, black backed gulls, cormorants, a peregrine falcon  and guillemots (lots and lots of).  The guillemots nest on the cliffs below the country park and there were many of them flying around, sitting on a large ledge and floating around on the sea - brilliant.

The lighthouse at Anvil Point.

The Tilly Whim Caves.

Guillemots on a ledge.

and on the sea.

Evening light along the coast.

The Great Globe in the Country Park is one of the largest stone spheres in the world, it is constructed of Portland Stone, weighs about 40 tonnes and is 3 metres in diameter.

The Globe was constucted in 15 segments in 1887 in Greenwich and brought to Durlston by sea.

Looking towards Peveril Point and Old Harry Rocks.

On the way home, a field of cereal at Kingston in one direction and in the other....

an eerie looking Corfe Castle.

Busketts Lawn Near Ashurst

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

We had a couple of spare hours this afternoon so decided to stay fairly local and do a bit of geocaching in the woods near Ashurst.  This area is very popular with dog walkers and we saw quite a few today but still managed to get off the beaten track looking for caches.  The first one took us into the woods where we found funny clay faces on a tree, not something you see everyday.

Different.

A bridge over the Bartley Water.

The Bartley Water again, close to a geocache.

There were lots of butterflies flying around this afternoon in the sunshine, all too quick to photograph, however this cool little insect, a black-headed cardinal beetle was going nowhere! 

Foxgloves.

We successfully found the six or seven caches that we went looking for and had a nice afternoon out in the sun, so all is good.

Michelmersh near Romsey

Monday 2nd June 2014

We tried to find a couple of geocaches near Michelmersh church a couple of months ago but for one reason or another we couldn't find either, today we decided after a trip to the local tip to have another go.  One was out of the question, unfortunately, as there were men working on the fence right where we wanted to search, the other we found fairly quickly with the help of a new hint on the cache details. We then had a short walk along part of the Monarch's Way for a bit of fresh air (fresher in some places than others!) 

A tiny kissing gate at St Mary's Church, Michelmersh.

This field was being ploughed and from the healthy aroma I can only assume they had been muck flinging at some stage - it was enough to make your hair curl!!!

A clematis hanging over the footpath which was closing in quite badly.....

Everything is certainly growing well - most of it across the footpath!

Enclosed in green.

Beautiful, delicate, lilac poppies by the church door.

It was good to see lots of swallow/house martin/swifts swooping around near the farm and across the fields, there were certainly plenty of flies around to keep them and their babies well fed.  It looks like we'll be back again some time to have a search for the first cache once the fence men have done their thing, but I'm not complaining, it's a lovely peaceful place.

Bramshaw Wood

Sunday 1st June 2014

It was a very warm and sunny day today so we made the most of it by walking at Bramshaw Wood, close to where we walked from yesterday evening.  This was somewhere we haven't walked before and it was a nice place but to be honest I'm not sure if we'll be back in a hurry as it was so very very muddy, and it was extremely difficult to get round some areas at all.  

As we left the car we heard a cuckoo, loud and clear.

The holly trees have been having a bit of a trim!

Getting to the bridge in the distance was a bit of a challenge.

We came across an old yew tree, it always seems odd to see one in the middle of a wood, to me they should be in a church yard.

That's it for today, not many photos to show for a 3 mile walk, we were too busy trying to stay upright and trying to avoid sinking and getting stuck in the mud.