Hungry Robin
track to the carpark at cadmans Pond
The pond is frozen
The lonely Scots Pine at Bratley View.
bridge at Kings hat

Catching Up

Its been rather dreary this week and I have not taken many photos. The fungus on the tree is in a local carpark. It is know as Chicken in the woods and when young is edible,
This is the bridge at Kingshat where we walked on Tuesday. We had to wade to the bridge because heavy rain had caused the River Beaulieu to burst its banks. Unfortunately on our return crossing we had a rather nasty experience when a rather large Staffordshire bull terrier attacked Missy. Apart from a few scratches she was Ok but in recusin Missy , Karen got a small bite.as the dog continued to try and get at Missy. Missy was very shaken by the experience and when the owner of the dog realised that karen had been bitten she quickly fled the scene. Other than admitting that her dog was responsible for the attack and was going to be in "Big trouble she did very little to try and control her dog eventually aiming a few kicks at it. We did report it to the dog warden as had a smaller dog or a child been involved the outcome could have been much more serious.
Missy was very clingy for the rest of the day and snuggled up to Raffles for comfort.
Meanwhile on the ponds we saw the goslings, who have all grown although there are only 9 now. The second swan family has disappeared and we are hoping that it may have been relocated in an area without a resident family.
Missy was back to her happy self when we walked at Pigbush, also flooded from the recent rain.

The Bridge at Kingshat

Missy and Raffles

A Cold and Frosty morning at Kings Hat.

The Beaulieu River at Kings Hat

It was very cold and frosty this morning, but the forest looks so pretty.

The dogs loved their walk and they were racing about. no chance of them getting cold. Fortunately there was no wind and with the sun it was pleasant walking.

The red stems of the dog wood were very pretty in the morning sun.

it was a very enjoyable winter walk.

Early Morning Walk at Kingshat

This morning we walked early as we thought it was going to be hot. In fact we chose the best part of the day, because by 11 o clock it was already cooling down, and we have just had a heavy shower. We enjoyed the early morning sunshine and the dogs had a great time bounding through the heather.It was very muddy down by the river and we could see the tide lines from last months floods but we were able to cross the bridge and do a complete circuit with no problems.

At Last a Sunny Morning

Today we awoke to beautiful sunshine and we decided to get out and enjoy it. So at 8 O'clock we were driving to the Forest. Our first stop was Kings Hat and we went down to see if we could cross the foot bridge. As Missy swam across the foot path we realised that the answer was no, so we got back in the car and went on to Pigbush.
The Forest is very wet and muddy but we had our wellies on and the dogs were having a wonderful time splashing in the puddles and racing through the heather and bracken. It was so good to feel the warm (almost too warm) sunshine on us.
The Ponies were all out in the sun, I bet they welcomed a respite from the rain.
Towards the end of the walk we have to cross the Beaulieu river by the ford, fortunately there is a bridge here as well because the Ford was deep enough for the dogs to have a swim and we could see the water would soon be up to the bottom of the bridge.
We really enjoyed the walk, but alas they are predicting yet more rain!

Flooded Beaulieu River at Kingshat

Tantany wood

The foot path at Pigbush


Fritillary Butterfly (Silver washed I think)

Beaulieu River at Pigbush

The Bridge , the River is nearly up to the bottom of it


The Beaulieu River at Pigbush

A walk at Kingshat

In the Trees by the Beaulieu River

One of the little streams on our route, below Karen just manages to wade across this one.


Karen and I decided to take a chance and see if we could have a walk whilst the sun was shining this morning. Well we didn't get that wet although we had several small showers. The Beaulieu River was just over the path by the bridge, but we easily waded across. because we could cross here we did not think we would have a problem doing a circular walk. However as we got back towards the car park we came to the little stream that runs into the Beaulieu River and we just could not find a place to cross, in the end we had to make a detour up to the road and then walk along it until we reached the car park. Normally in the summer you can do this walk in trainers and I have never found the little stream so deep to be uncrossable before.

A Muggy Walk at Kingshat

This morning we walked at Kingshat.....it was very warm and humid and we soon discarded our coats. We had one brief shower when we were under the trees.
First we went to look at the yellow waterlilies along the Beaulieu River and as we were watching them a Kingfisher flew right in front of us, far to quick to even get the camera ready , but it was lovely to see.
When we walked up to the green we found a large herd of cows with their calves , so we spent some time taking photos , before coming back down to the river.
The threatened deluge still hasn't arrived and now i am going out to tea!

Yellow waterlilies on the Beaulieu River

Summer has returned

It has been a beautiful day. This morning we walked at Kings Hat. The carpark was busy as people got out their chairs and picnic paraphernalia, but once we had crossed the Beaulieu River we had the forest almost to ourselves. There was a gentle breeze to cool us down a little and the rays of the sun to keep us warm. After we had been up the hill along and down we tried to follow the River, watching the dragonflies and damsel flies, but in the trees where it was cool and green and shady it was also very boggy. The heavy rain in May had made the little streams that run into the river difficult to cross and because we weren't wearing boots we had to make several detours.
There are so many different wild flowers in bloom now, we are so lucky to have so much variety here in th Forest.
I put a few we saw today in the previous post and then some shots from our walk before that , blogger was playing up here and I wasn't able to label them!

Sun at Kings hat

At eight o Clock this morning the sun was shining, and the wind had dropped so we had a very pleasant walk at Kings Hat.
This little stream is usually just a small trickle in summer and you can step across it waring trainers, without getting your feet wet. The rain over the weekend has been so heavy and constant. today it was almost over our boots.
The Beaulieu river was topped right up and we could see that it had burst its banks over the weekend, but was now receding. At least we shouldn't have hosepipe bans this summer.

Pony at KingsHat

Standing on the hill surveyiing the kingdom


The track to the little bridge over the Beaulieu River.

it was very Misty when we started our walk this morning

Missy cleans off in the river

This little bridge is hidden in the trees and can take some finding


The sun soon burnt off the mist and here Raffles is surveying his kingdom