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London Walk 2nd August 2017

 Marian's London Walk looked probably wet after lunch and for once the forecast was correct. We had a good walk in the morning past the Gothic village of Holly, built for estate workers in 1865 and then past Highgate cemetery, home to Karl Marx and many more before reaching Waterlow Park. In the park was Lauderdale House, where the ever generous Nell Gwynn raised 2 of Charles II's children and where we stopped for coffee. Then on to one of London's more expensive villages, Highgate, where many notables have lived in the past. A more recent resident was singer George Michael whose fans are still decorating the nearby park 7 months after his death. Next was Hampstead Heath with distant views of the City of London and eventually to Kenwood House for lunch. The rain had just started and we were lucky to find The Kitchen. This has much original equipment dating back to 1845, with a fan in the chimney powering a variety of mechanisms for spit roasting on a massive scale - there is a very similar mechanism in Petworth House. The photo below shows the spit engine and another rare sight - one of our senior walkers actually using her mobile phone!

 After lunch we had intended to have a quick free look at the remarkable colllection of Old Masters. The most notable was a large Rembrandt self portrait, a very late one and said to be probably his best. Also on show were paintings by Turner, Landseer, Gainsborough, Reynolds and many others, altogether an incredibly valuable collection in an interesting house with clocks, furniture and decoration to match. It was just as well, as the rain continued in a persistent manner. We eventually left taking a bus to Golders Green and the tube back to Waterloo in time to catch the train back just before 6pm. Altogether an interesting and enjoyable day in London Town. Thanks to Isabel and Marian for additional photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Petersfield Morning Walk 26th July 2017

Den's walk was forecast wet and it certainly was, but with no heavy rain at all. Setting out from Penns Place we headed up towards Durleighmarsh and inspected some delicious looking fish on sale. Miraculously resisting the opportunity to pop into the Tea Barn we carried on to find a field of asparagus to use as our tea room. The promised Harting Down was just visible between rolling cloud banks. We carried on up the Sussex Border Path and the weather was definitely improving with a much better view of the Downs. We then turned east towards Sheet and passed through an area said to be a WW2 camp area called Four Marks  - more information please from those with long memories!  Finally along Pulens Lane to Penns Place. Lunch was a very satisfactory meal in the Great Oak. Walk was 5.5 miles with 305 ft height gain.

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Clanfield Day Walk 19th July 2017

Mary's walk should have been partly sunny at midday, However no-one told the sun. We started from Clanfield car park with some dampness which stayed with us all day, in varying amounts. However it was very enjoyable, even though a little damp. Coffee at the Sustainability Centre on the old site of HMS Mercury, where over half a million Navy personnel trained between 1941 and 1993. The cakes were excellent and may have even slowed us down a little.  The route down to The Bat and Ball was through a few fields of oil seed rape and linseed and also past a large cage of young pheasants. The mist was much larger at this point and we were glad to reach the pub. Excellent lunch and staff very helpful. As the weather had not improved we took a slightly shorter route back to Clanfield village. About 7 miles

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Isle of Wight 12th July 2017

Mary and Barbara, with the help of South West Trains and the ferry, took us to the Isle of Wight for stroll along the front. Coffee stop in the Castle Inn with lunch later in the Boat House after a walk through Puckpool Park. The mysterious tree we saw in the Park has now been identified by Denis (helped by the Head Gardener at Hinton Ampner) as a Foxglove Tree - fast growing and can be invasive. After lunch we travelled further along to visit the Hersey Nature reserve. We saw plenty of the smaller insect life but the birds were not in evidence apart from a Lesser Egret and a few gulls. Our return took us past the Castle Inn again but the cakes were looking tired so we ventured up Ryde  Union Street  to the Bottega bar for a fine cream tea. The catamaran trip back was very smooth and we eventually got back to Petersfield station at around 6.00pm  A nice relaxed day.

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Fernhurst and Lurgashall Day Walk 5th July 2017

Marion led this walk, ably assisted by Maddie. The weather was warm - around 28 degrees C. Fortunately we were in the shade for most of this scenic walk from Fernhurst along the lower slopes of Blackdown before heading downwards to Lurgashall. Excellent lunch in The Noahs Ark before a flattish walk back to Fernhurst. Just over 7 miles with about 500 ft height gained. Thanks to Marian and Jane for photos.

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