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Bog standard

4/22/2013

1 Comment

 
Lots of the standard text books on the New Forest have dire warnings about the danger of getting stuck in one of the numerous bogs, mires and marshes.  Until today, I hadn't really paid them much attention. All that has changed, as I suddenly found myself up to my thighs in mud this morning. 

One problem of finding suitable walks is to try and create a simple circular walk which is not just a procession on forestry gravel tracks, but is also easily walkable.  Another problem is keeping the timing right.  One of my favourite walks does a complete circuit of Ridley Wood, a small but beautiful patch of ancient woodland in the middle of wide open heathland near Burley.  However, it is a bit on the long side for the usual two hour Walking Picnic, so that is why, this morning, I took off over the heather in search of a short cut.  The route is marked as a path on my latest edition of the OS map, and, encouragingly, shows a footbridge to cross the stream at the foot of the valley.  I was closing in on the footbridge, working my way down a slope full of marshy patches, and keeping, more or less, to the main track, when it happened.  I planted my right foot confidently on a smooth layer of light grey sand, and suddenly I was up to the trouser pockets in a bog.  What looked exactly like a washed out sandy stream bed turned out to be a thin crust, under which was a pool of thick oozing mud.  Having dragged myself out, I squelched slowly onto the footbridge, and wondered how that had happened. 

I turned round, walked very carefully back up the slope, and completed the walk, and was nearly dry (but very crusty) an hour later when I got back to the car.  And the lesson is ... short cuts very rarely work out.
1 Comment
Dominatrix in Inglewood link
5/14/2025 10:19:52 pm

I've learned that it’s best to stick to established paths.

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    All blog entries written by Nigel Owen, the walking half of Walking Picnics

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