Saturday 7 January’23. DH, RW, TO, BFS, PC, AC, DL Sully & Scrumpy
The first weeks walk of 2023 took us to Gillingham for a 3 mile loop by the banks of two fast flowing rivers to the south of the ever expanding Dorset town. The two cars parked up simultaneously beside the Stour alongside where it flows through town and around the Waitrose shopping area, and no sooner were the car doors open, but before we could even get in the ‘New Years greetings’, the banter started. Anyone passing must have thought we were being made to walk together instead of a group that voluntarily meet each week to spend time with each other.
Once we were all booted up and coats on, (someone had a nice new waterproof one from Santa) and following a bit of advice about keeping certain hats firmly attached in strong winds, we headed off through the library car park and under the road by the edge of the river coming out on an area of flood plain not yet built upon.
Sully was very tempted to get in the water but quickly realised it was flowing a bit fast for him so had to settle with running around splashing in the many puddles and boggy areas of the field, with Scrumpy following along but avoiding the deeper areas for her short legs. At the bottom corner the path went under the brick arch of the railway, the ground underneath plastered in mud which drew comparisons to similar archways in London, under which dodgy MOT garages and storage facilities are more commonly found. Passing by the end of Tincknells fuel supply yard the path crossed a small bridge with a further pathway heading into Withywood. Trevor immediately had a flashback to his time in the area of the same name in South Bristol, although close similarities were hard to find. After a short loop by the river, the penny finally dropped that we were on the wrong side and should have been in the same area as the 3 Dalmatian’s we could see on the far bank. So a quick retrace of our steps brought us back to the bridge which we crossed to continue our riverside passage. As we entered the very large field Sully must have sensed something and took off at great speed and was soon 100 meters in front of us. Despite the slippery conditions under foot we were soon up with him and were non the wiser as to what he’d been after. Whatever it was he was obviously pleased with his achievement and subsequently entered into his normal Saturday morning ritual of rolling around on the ground. Unfortunately today the spot he chose was not the driest or cleanest and the once clean pale retriever very quickly changed into a grubby darker shade of beige.
The pathway continued around the edge of the field and past the confluence of the Stour which had worked its way down from Stourhead (doh) and the Lodden which has its source across the border in Wiltshire in the the hills around East Knoyle. We followed the Lodden upstream for a short distance before a bridge crossed the strangely named Irish Ford. A bit of research discovered that an Irish Crossing is an Australian term for any construction where a river is crossed by a low road or path which only becomes impassable during a flood or in the wet season. This one however appeared to allow the river in full flow/flood to pass straight across the raised area under the footbridge to avoid a couple of tight bends in the normal course. How an Australian term has made it to deepest Dorset I don’t quite know - maybe someone could enlighten me at another time? Our route ahead then took us down a very narrow path just squeezing its way between two large garden plots and some substantial properties before we emerged onto the road in the small village or hamlet alongside the original Madjeston farmhouse. This rather impressive building is early C19 with a symmetrical 3 storey front cascade above a porch on Roman Doric columns.
It was just a short stretch along the busy road from East Stour, ducking into gateways to avoid oncoming cars, before we turned onto the minor road, which is probably a local rat run across to the B3081 to Shaftesbury. Having stopped for this weeks lollipop issue, we approached the next farm and were tempted by an inviting sign offering the chance of an eco coffee at the Madjeston Dairy, one of the first road side farm shops and fresh milk outlets in the area. If we head back this way again in better weather it will certainly be an opportunity to pick up one of their real dairy ice creams or milkshakes to nourish us on our way. A few hundred metres further along the road and passing Cole Street Farmhouse, we saw our footpath sign on the left, at what was also the entrance to the Threshold Centre Cohousing Community. Having crossed the small footbridge into the field, a stop to regroup gave the opportunity for some discussion about what cohousing is and why it would be here, although I’m not sure if Trevor’s views on same sex living is anywhere near the mark. I have hyperlinked the name above for those who might want to know more! The stop also provided us an opportunity for todays group selfie.
As we set off again our route ahead was certainly going to be a challenge as a large run of Harris fencing stretched almost as far as the eye could see across a great swath of green field. As we got closer the path was diverted through a gap in the fence where it then crossed a new stretch of pristine black top tarmac. This road to nowhere, already with freshly painted white markings, is obviously the first stage of a new housing development that looks like it will easily accommodate over 2,000 properties and who knows how many families on this southern edge of Gillingham.
Approaching the current outskirts of the town and primary school that will no doubt need to expand for the new generation, we veered slightly left and dropped down to a gated bridge and our last crossing of the river Lodden for today. On the far side of the bridge more Harris fencing surrounded an area of ongoing housing construction, and although I wouldn’t have put this down as a likely area for vandalism or unintended access, behind the fence stood a series of bizarre looking robot security systems. Unafraid of alerting the entire Dorset security forces we continued along the fence line with the certainty that our presence had activated some systems and with radio antennas on each box knew we were being watched live and no doubt recorded for future as we passed each robot in turn. Whilst smiling for the cameras we noticed they were labelled as Armadillo systems, so for the curious there is more information about the systems here .
Passing the fencing we then saw in the distance what looked like a taped off Police investigation area, but on getting closer it turned out to be a concentration of fluro green outdoor gym equipment, grouped together for community use. It was too good an opportunity to pass it by without a photograph of our health and fitness aware group trying out the kit. Thankfully no one broke out into a sweat or suffered any injury, but who knows who has already broken one of their New Year's Resolutions.
It was then only a short walk through a housing estate before we came to the road by the Riverside flats and opposite the Brickfields trading estate, home to Gillinghams major employer Dextra lighting. Turning into the estate and passed a few yards full of rusty old forgotten cars and lorries we were soon skirting the edge of Tincknells, passing back over the bridge and through the meadow and back to the cars. A walk of around 3 miles completed in 100 minutes, and thankfully having avoided most of the rain, we were pretty dry with just muddy boots and trousers to show for it all.
It was then off to Thorngrove Garden Centre cafe for some well earned breakfast. Sully was wrapped up in his ‘rough & tumble’ blanket as we took our place around the table on fur covered chairs coverings. As we waited for our food Trevor started his educational lesson on the perils of leaky guts and …… he lost me at that point. Anyway I agree with Richard, tomatoes are good for you which is just as well as the ones on todays plates all seemed to have been consumed without question. Shame about the lack of Orange Juice these days, but still a good warm indoor breakfast location, all the more so when the downpour we missed whilst walking can be heard bouncing off of the plastic roofing.
So in the count for 2003, that’s the first one down and if my statistics are correct, this also concludes my century of blogs about the trials and tribulations of the Saturday morning walks of this fine body of men - aka ‘The Walking Dead’. In cricket parlance - 100 Not Out! Here’s to the next 100! Thanks to all those who have joined me on this journey so far.
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