Food in the Wood, 28th October, 2017
A Day Walk as part of the New Forest Walking Festival
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On Saturday, 28th October, we arranged a Walking Picnic special event, called "Food in the Wood" as part of the New Forest Walking Festival, 2017. It is the third year we have been part of the New Forest Walking Festival, and this year we were more ambitious than ever, offering a ten mile walk, with a picnic lunch included.
We started by meeting up at Bolderwood, with hot drinks and Christine's homemade Portuguese custard tarts to give us plenty of energy for the walk. Nigel set off with five intrepid walkers, and headed first into the woods of Highland Water Inclosure, and up as far as the delightful ancient stand of oaks and beeches of Puckpits. Then we headed through Holmhill and Wooson's Hill, towards Knightwood Oak Inclosure, and a visit to Nigel's favourite tree, the Eagle Oak. From there it was a short walk to the lunch stop, in the picnic area at Anderwood. Christine had prepared hot soup, jacket potatoes with coleslaw and sausage rolls, followed by apple crumble and cream.
The afternoon walk took us briefly into Mark Ash wood, where the spectacular beech trees were just showing vivid Autumn colours, and then down through North Oakley to Blackensford, where we headed out onto the open heath of Sandy Ridge, before rounding Bratley Wood, and picking our way through the muddy valley and back to Bolderwood. Again, Christine was waiting with an apricot, yoghurt and pistachio cake and hot drinks.
Nigel's route took people well off the popular tourist tracks, and we were rewarded with a couple of lovely sightings of roe deer. The recent rains had made the going soft and muddy in places, and it took us a good five hours walking to complete the ten miles, but everyone seemed to enjoy a very special day out.
We started by meeting up at Bolderwood, with hot drinks and Christine's homemade Portuguese custard tarts to give us plenty of energy for the walk. Nigel set off with five intrepid walkers, and headed first into the woods of Highland Water Inclosure, and up as far as the delightful ancient stand of oaks and beeches of Puckpits. Then we headed through Holmhill and Wooson's Hill, towards Knightwood Oak Inclosure, and a visit to Nigel's favourite tree, the Eagle Oak. From there it was a short walk to the lunch stop, in the picnic area at Anderwood. Christine had prepared hot soup, jacket potatoes with coleslaw and sausage rolls, followed by apple crumble and cream.
The afternoon walk took us briefly into Mark Ash wood, where the spectacular beech trees were just showing vivid Autumn colours, and then down through North Oakley to Blackensford, where we headed out onto the open heath of Sandy Ridge, before rounding Bratley Wood, and picking our way through the muddy valley and back to Bolderwood. Again, Christine was waiting with an apricot, yoghurt and pistachio cake and hot drinks.
Nigel's route took people well off the popular tourist tracks, and we were rewarded with a couple of lovely sightings of roe deer. The recent rains had made the going soft and muddy in places, and it took us a good five hours walking to complete the ten miles, but everyone seemed to enjoy a very special day out.
