Saturday 27th May ‘23. DH, RW, TO, BFS, DL, JB, CH, Tilly, Amy, Sully, Scrumpy
Despite it being the start of another half term holiday and the last bank holiday weekend of May numbers were good for todays walk, bolstered by the addition of our two young guests Tilly & Amy. It was also a chance for Chris to meet more of the ‘Walking Dead’, a phrase he is not over familiar with. With a good loop around the woods planned, it was an earlier than normal RV at the Hunters Lodge car park at 0830 so that we stood a good chance of getting back in time for the buffet breakfast which is known to be less frequently replenished the closer to 1100 you get there. A cheeky second reason today was so I could get back home in time to sneak on the end of my wife’s hair appointment for my own trim, and it also worked out well for Chris who had double booked the morning but was able to get back home in time for his guest, but without breakfast unfortunately.
The car park was busy as I introduced Tilly & Amy to those they had not met yet, and John with his ‘old’ teachers head on quickly called out Tilly’s name so he could see who reacted, and once Tilly had turned her head to answer & to keep things fair, he then did the same for Amy. I think the girls were somewhat surprised when I later told them that not only was he a teacher when their mum was at school, but he also taught their Nanny back in the ‘70‘s (sorry for reminding you John). With the Catley pop up market in the corner and almost blocking the gate, we made our way out onto the start of Tally’s Lane leading into the Stavordale Estate area of the ancient Selwood Forest. Usually and surprisingly considering the heavy rains of only a couple of weeks ago, the track was very dry and the usual muddy areas were only noticeable by the man footprints left in the hardened mud. Sully & Scrumpy took off in their usual style and with Brian leading the way we made very good time up the first mile or so. We last walked this way almost exactly a year ago and so I decided we would do the top loop through the outskirts of Pen Selwood in an anti-clockwise direction this time. Upon reaching the point where our track turned right and after only 30 minutes of walking, I happened to mention that we could extend the walk a bit by heading for the small nature reserve known at Moldram’s Ground, although I wasn’t sure of the exact route to it at this point, but knew the path to it would take us up through an open field. Brian at this point volunteered his services to lead and guide the group to Moldram’s and so we continued along the main track confidently in his wake. As we headed deeper into the woods and further away from the Hunters, we descended and then climbed up the other side of a very steep valley, and whilst those in front strode up confidently there were muttering in the rear ranks as we slowly made it to the top, along the lines of “where is he taking us now.”
We passed by the large lake on our right side and close to the Cockroad Wood Motte and Bailey site which we first walked around back in August 2020, in the days soon after the first Covid lockdown as this group started to expand in numbers and locations of walks. Looping around the lake we climbed again and paused for a short while at one of the very helpful tourist maps of these woods. Whilst there are many public rights of way through the woods, we are extremely fortunate in that almost every other hardened track has been designated as a permissive footpath. A page of the Essex Ramblers website here explains quite clearly what the designation actually means for walkers. I had been discussing the use of on line maps or apps with Chris and he was keen to show that his OS app was showing him to be in about the right place. He confirmed it by telling everyone there should be a lake to his left and was embarrassingly corrected by others having just passed the large lake to our right. First lesson in map reading, either old school or new style - always ensure the map is the right way up! Perhaps we will have to all keep track of where we are are going if Chris takes the lead anytime soon.
As we progressed along the path we passed an entrance to a property who like those we saw previously at Chideock have managed to turn an old post box into one for private use. A small sign indicated that it might be wise to post letters in a proper box, although why anyone would be in the woods carrying a letter to be posted is a bit baffling. Further along we came across a gateway and the entrance to Moldram’s Ground, a 4 acre bog and undisturbed grass site which was previously managed by SSDC, only time will tell if the new county administration take over the running of it and no doubt other similar sites around the area. John was very keen to tell us all about his hedge laying skills from a few years ago, and Tilly & Amy certainly paid close attention to the end of his waving stick.
Once out onto the main Pen Selwood road, it was only a short stretch, mostly downhill until we turned right and only a public right of way which would lead us back into the woods again. The views to our West opened up in front of us as we paused for our weekly confectionery offerings from Dereyk and to take this weeks selfie with such a wonderful backdrop. With Adrian being conspicuous by his absence recently and not sharing the load on the lollies, Dereyk‘s bag was starting to get pretty empty now, but I have no doubt will be suitably replenished in time for the next walk. There was clear evidence, much to Sully’s and Scrumpy taste, of recent cattle being in the field and on looking down the slope we could see a large gathering of young cattle waiting for us and blocking our progress through the next gate. Thankfully farmer Brian strode to the front and took hold of the gate to let us all through with some gentle whispering to the youngsters to leave us alone. Any was certainly not too happy to be in the middle of them as they stayed close to us all, but as we dropped down over the remains of Balland Castle, a motte and bailey castle, probably built after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The castle sits close to the contemporary Norman castles of Cockroad Wood and Castle Orchard, and may have been built as part of a system of fortifications to control the surrounding area. The motte of the castle is now around 5 m high, and up to 9 m wide. The bailey lies to the south, and both the motte and the bailey are surrounded by ditches. The castle site is a scheduled monument.
Thankfully the young cattle were all too happy for us to continue of our way and gathered on one of the embankments as we crossed into the next field.
Sully might be getting on a bit and have developed selected deafness but he can certainly remember old routes and is instantly attracted by the sight, smell or sound of water, so as the smaller of todays lakes appeared he had only one thing on his mind. It was nice to see a small wild orchid poking through the grass, which with the help of the Candide app (The Newt) identified it as a spotted or Marsh orchid, one of a group of 115 hardy tuberous plants (Dactylorhiza spp). Hopefully it will get chance with the good sunny days ahead to grow to its average height of some 70-90cm.
A short climb up from the lakeside and we were at the 3 mile point and having completed the loop were on the track heading back towards the Hunters, ready for that spot of breakfast. The pace increased as we dropped back downhill, and apart from a brief stop on the bridge over the small stream the only other stop was to chat with a young lad holding a large raptor on his gloved hand. I’m not sure what had happened moments before we arrived on the scene but there was some commotion from a scared and possibly injured rook in the hedgerow nearby. The lad was quite chatty and explained it was actually a male Steppe Eagle, originating from the mountains of coldest Russia and Mongolia. Currently in recovery it was not yet well enough to be flown but I’m sure would be a magnificent sight in the skies. With the unexpected addition of the loop to Moldram’s Ground we completed todays 3.8miles in a fraction over 1hr 45mins.
We soon found a suitable table in the cool shade on the decked area and headed into the pub to chose our drinks and eats from the buffet. It was quite awkward trying to sort out toast and drinks, and there was slight delay in bringing out fresh fried eggs, but with plates, cutlery, drinks and more precariously balanced (have they not heard of trays for outdoors use?) we all made our way back outside with a good spread. Unfortunately being outside it soon got cold but generally it was pretty ok and certainly good to be back “al fresco”.
There then followed an emergency rescue down to Snag Lane for Brian and myself after Brian’s wife had phoned saying she was with an elderly gentleman who couldn’t get back over a stile. He was soon located and with a bit of a struggle assisted over the stile and bridge and then taken home by car. It’s a good job Kath came across him in the field or he could have had a long wait until the next person headed that way. All’s well that ends well thankfully.
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