tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post5932585670792883949..comments2024-03-28T11:16:38.801+00:00Comments on SWC - This Week's Walks: Saturday Walk - South West Trains Spring Offer – West Wiltshire Downs, Wardour Park & Castle Ruin, Upper Nadder ValleyAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11395064086819994526noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-75907280864893136872017-07-02T11:17:52.874+01:002017-07-02T11:17:52.874+01:00The day got off to an excellent start with the B+I...The day got off to an excellent start with the B+I Lions defeating the NZ All Blacks and n=9 of us alighted from the train at Tisbury station after a standing room only journey for many passengers (really SWT just 3 carriages on a summer weekend!! )<br /><br />This was the first SWC outing for the long version of this walk and what a superb ramble it is: beautiful open vistas (Dorset visible with possible new SWC adventures there next year) lovely woodland trails and ridges through dappled sunlight; quiet country lanes and tracks and picture post-card villages with numerous thatched cottages and an award-winning pub providing top-quality cuisine; (most of us were sandwich-eaters though who lunched in the nearby cemetery!).<br /><br />You have to do over 10 miles after lunch but the variety and beauty of the landscape means you don't get bored. We stopped at the Old Wardour Castle for tea and ice-cream (English Heritage get your act together and provide a proper cafe like the National Trust; you will attract more people!). Here we hqd an amusing incident when a very young toddler , part of a large family group, staggered up to the top of the short slope where we were sitting and presented one of our group with a plastic bag full of rubbish which he expected him to deal with. Top marks for initiative I say.<br /><br />Some of the group picked up the pace to catch the 18.01 but five of us decided to walk into the village and have some refreshments and buy some "supplies" at the local Co-op for the 19.01. (We walked past the South Western pub as I don't think blasting out Gary Glitter singing Rock and Roll is a good way to attract custom!)<br /><br />On the journey home we had some pleasant badinage with the young Tibetan guy running the food and drinks trolley. He tried to persuade us to buy some of SWTs appalling red stuff rather than drink our classic 1874 Chateau........ er whatever it was! Frisson of excitement at Salisbury when Jenni Murray, journalist, broadcaster and Women's Hour Presenter ambled past us on her way to First Class. Extra point for me as I identified her.<br /><br />A fabulous SWC day out and many thanks to the purchasers of wine and snacks. (Oh the weather was w=warm-and-sunny. <br /><br />Two points about the walk: (1) its a pity the pub comes so early but nothing can done about ths and (2) although it has plenty of up and down there are no knee-crushing ascents and only 1 winding steep descent so is this really a 9/10! Even in my increasingly enfeebled state I would have said 8 or even 7. Were some people put off by the rating?)PeteBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135468832090264900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-50784627261584643862017-06-29T19:30:54.950+01:002017-06-29T19:30:54.950+01:00It would be a shame to come to a group walk but en...It would be a shame to come to a group walk but end up walking alone just after 5 mins into the walk. Pity. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-228558750140365612017-06-29T10:14:10.830+01:002017-06-29T10:14:10.830+01:00The short walk has 15.1 km (or 9.4 mi in medieval ...The short walk has 15.1 km (or 9.4 mi in medieval measures), as it says near the very top of the walk post. If you walk the slightly longer and more uppy-and-downy long walk's morning route, it will be marginally longer, but in my opinion you should really save your energy for the small loop just b4 lunch that gives you the valley views (and which the long walk only touches in the afternoon). So if you are the kind of person that fancies a shorter walk, I recommend to just following the short walk as it's written. You'll bump into the long walkers at the pub.Thomas Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298846868417688062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-3877577605515619442017-06-28T13:05:38.468+01:002017-06-28T13:05:38.468+01:00Re#5 comment: if I join you, how many miles is th...Re#5 comment: if I join you, how many miles is the walk in total (excl walk inside EH)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-20105724040058948262017-06-28T12:00:21.431+01:002017-06-28T12:00:21.431+01:00Anyone interested in doing a short cut with the mo...Anyone interested in doing a short cut with the morning session walking with the group, and split after lunch? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-43514144546751645912017-06-27T11:41:54.542+01:002017-06-27T11:41:54.542+01:00The short walk is devised to minimise the effort (...The short walk is devised to minimise the effort (the ups and downs) while still giving some of the up-the-valley views that the long walk has in its post-lunch stages, and to free up time for potentially visiting Old Wardour Castle (if you so wish). If you mix and match pre-lunch route bits, the difference in length is marginal, as you can see from the route map. Thomas Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298846868417688062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-18127232079623985702017-06-27T10:52:05.878+01:002017-06-27T10:52:05.878+01:00If one walks with the group in the morning but lea...If one walks with the group in the morning but leave after lunch to follow the short cut, what would be the total miles. Is there a reason why the short cut needs to follow a different route in the morning?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-32758181507409197842017-06-27T09:35:48.770+01:002017-06-27T09:35:48.770+01:00The short walk basically cuts out an outer loop, p...The short walk basically cuts out an outer loop, please see the 'OSmap' tab on the walk's webpage for both route maps. But the short walk also has a slightly longer morning route to the pub, as you can see there, and the routes split after 5 minutes.Thomas Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01298846868417688062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665817.post-57095098606318153402017-06-26T20:53:05.690+01:002017-06-26T20:53:05.690+01:00This walk sounds interesting. A question for the ...This walk sounds interesting. A question for the short cut option: where does it separate from the main walk - before or after lunch?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com