Bank Holiday Monday = pub lunch surely? And what better way to justify this than to walk there and back. well, almost. We decided to park in the layby by the Fovant Badges viewpoint out west of Salisbury, and head over to Broadchalke. A lovely loop we've done many times before, but always worth doing again! The Badges - as you may recall - are regimental badges cut into the steep chalk escarpment overlooking the village of Fovant. They're best viewed from afar, but the walk takes you right passed them, whereupon they take on a more abstract quality.
Signs of a past spectacle of cowslips, the singing of corn bunting, yellowhammer and skylark, and spectacular views down to the valley below, made our steep ascent worthwhile. We then looped down through various chalk valleys towards Broadchalke for a delicious lunch in the sun. The route back took us along an old droveway, with more beautiful views, including a red kite swooping over the treetops. the latter has become a much more common sight around Salisbury now, which is great to see in these days of doom and gloom. The final descent took us along an ancient trackway, cutting across the steep escarpment, lined with clumps of horseshoe vetch, with yet more skylarks. Stunning.
Then, last Sunday, we decided to head to the New Forest. At this time of year, careful planning is required. A sunny day in the forest is attractive - so the hordes often descend. Starting from a less-touristy spot - the Canadian Memorial - we walked down to Burley along the cycle paths. Although easy, it seemed long in the heat of the sun. It passed through tranquil ancient woodland and conifer plantation, with the hot sap creating a summer scent reminding me of childhood holidays in the South of France. dense stands of tall foxgloves lined the way, with trees humming with life - notably a deep buzz of a hornet, which we watched for a while at a distance. Detouring away from the cycle paths and the road on the final approach to Burley, where a cold drink awaited, we crossed a beautiful wildflower meadow, with good clumps of common spotted orchids and spearwort, before lunching in a lovely patch of woodland sat on a fallen tree.
Quenching our thirst in the village, we took a slightly different route back, which we more than slightly regretted due to a seemingly-impassable bog dotted with dead trees with unstable branches to cling onto. None of the party were lost! Taking a beautiful woodland ride over a lovely stream, where we watched beautiful demoiselles dancing in the sunlight, showing off the male's iridescent turquoise wings, we rejoined the cycle path back to the car. A long but beautiful walk avoiding most of the crowds.
