A New Forest Trek With Friends; Weekly Walk #23

I’d only just met my friends Ewa and Maud, and couldn’t think of a better way for us to get to know each other than to take in a New Forest walk. I drove us about twenty minutes through Downton to the east side of Fritham for some good conversation, great pictures, and tasty lunch at the Royal Oak. It was a lovely sunny day as I trundled over Parisian like cobbles and cafés to our bustling market square meeting point, where I bought some juicy cherries for us to enjoy on the road.

It didn’t take long to reach the open New Forest plains, where we were held up by cattle waltzing the road. Some great pictures can be seen on Ewa's blog. I parked at Janesmoor Pond, which looked like something from the African plains, crowded with cattle and ponies taking a drink in the summer sun. By a stroke of luck, there was a cycle race on that day, giving Ewa a chance to get coffee before I led the three of us into King’s Garn Gutter Inclosure.

We followed the winding cycle path into a clearing, where we stopped to take some photos, before walking a path between woodland. It led us back towards the car-park, making it feel a bit of a pointless circuit, but it was nice to explore the woods nether-the-less.

We took a path to the right and followed it back up towards the main road, where we crossed over and walked the lane into Fritham.

Fritham is a small village in the middle of a vast expanse of open heathland and forest, and features a fantastic little pub called the Royal Oak. I wasn’t planning on drinking any beer, until I noticed at least five barrels on gravity. I enjoyed a nice pint of Bowman beer in a shaded part of the garden, and some duck with apple sauce, salad and tasty bread. It was healthy, but filling; a nice change to usual pub food, although I did finish off with a towering rum raisin and berry ice-cream!

We continued along a footpath past houses, before reaching a footbridge and a selection of paths. I had to get my navigating hat on, as the New Forest isn’t like most traditional walks, across designated footpaths, but an amalgamation of little tracks. I whipped out the compass, but mostly relied on the map to lead us through the woods. A group of students on Duke of Edinburgh also seemed to be having trouble, but both our groups emerged at the same time.

The final stretch led us across an open plain towards the car-park, which made for a nice photo stop. Summer had most definitely arrived, with people basking in the sun and horses hovering by people’s cars, either in search of food or trying to cool off.

 

It was nice to have spent this lovely walk with such lovely people, and I would recommend best friends and new friends a-like to take in a walk together. It’s a great way to keep conversation going, and finds like the Royal Oak always seem to add to the fun.