Ashford Hangers circular approx 5 miles 15/3/13

 

Ashford Hangers, a few miles north of Petersfield.

Length: Approx 5 miles
Time: Approx 4 hours at a slow pace. Normally would be around 2.5 hours but it was very wet,  muddy and slippery. There is a steep climb up Wheatham Hill on a rutted chalk path and the last section up to the end of the walk.

Ascent: +-370m

The map below is from the Ashford Hangers web site and shows where we parked and the paths we used: they're not all on the OS map.

1. Looking east from the road over Ashford Hangers.

2. Looking south-east in the general direction of  Steep.

 

3. One of my favourite photos of recent weeks, though admittedly the sun helps.

4. Time for lunch at Cobbett's View; named after William Cobbett who mentioned it in his book 'Rural Rides' after coming upon the view in 1822.

5. A garden full of snowdrops.

 6. The catkins are out on this tree. I think it's a hazel.

7.  Really no idea!!

 

8. Still no idea! I couldn't get any nearer because of a fence.

9. This is the rather steep and treacherous track that climbs Wheatham Hill. The thick layer of wet leaves on solid chalk make it very slippery. It's also popular with trials bikers so you have to be on the alert.

10. This is the view from only halfway up the hill.

11. A fungus I can identify: King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica).

12. Hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium).

13. We came across a lot of wild garlic on this walk. We picked just enough to go in my carrot and coriander soup.

Rowlands Castle circular approx 7 miles 4/02/13

 

Length: Approx 7 miles
Time: Approx 3 hours at a leisurely pace. There is a fairly steep climb from Wick Farm up to Idsworth Down.
Ascent: +-155m

 

We parked in a side road at Rowlands Castle. 

 

1. At long last some sunshine.

 

2. Holy Trinity church, Blendworth.

3. A typical hanger. The name 'Hanger' comes from the Old English 'hangra' meaning a wooded slope. This one faces north-east and had an abundance of mosses and a lots of low shrubs that I still can't identify.

4. More Turkeytail, Trametes versicolor (baby version this time).

5. This is a fine yew at the top of the hill approaching Idsworth Down. Apparently, there are some notable yews in the Holt which we'd walked through earlier. I didn't find out about them until I was looking for general information about these trees. They must have been on private land as we didn't see them. There are some photos of notable yew trees in the Holt here.

 

 6. Looking north-east towards Uppark House (you can just about see it as a light blob on the horizon in the middle of the photo) which is about 4 miles away as the crow flies.