Combined walks

My writing about the walks have been slightly slacking. Mainly because it's been so cold during the walk that after walking I spend a long time in bath and during the week I'm too busy. I know, excuses, excuses!:
So today, I'll do a sort of combined post to catch up with all the walks I've done in January and post some pictures of them.
I have a relatively local walk which is roughly 1.5-2 hours which we do whenever we ca't do a whole day one. And I love it. Even though we've done it so many times, you can still find something new.

My son got a camera for Christmas and that is making walks even more interesting for him.

On this walk there is a farm shop and a cafeteria. We've visited it a few times in summer and as they have a garden, it's not a problem with a dog. This time we were willing to sit outside in the cold with the dog, but when I was ordering food, the lady kindly allowed to bring the dog inside too. I highly recommend this place and they do get very busy even without my recommendation.

Although I'd like to keep it to myself, you can check them out at https://www.fernygrovefarm.co.uk/coffee-shop
The reason we did a short(er) walk was the fact that I went to a lovely concert in support of local charity for homeless people. They are doing amazing job, can check them out  http://www.launchpadreading.org.uk/

In summer time it is a nightmare to get to the sea cause most of the time you're not the only one thinking of doing it. But at this time of year, it's not a problem. So we decided to visit Thorney island. I had descriptions and map of this walk but after finding the start of it, we didn't need any of it as it literally takes you on the edge of the island and all you need to do is keep the sea on your right hand side. I have to say we nearly turned back when our footpath was blocked by the fence and razorwire.

We nearly turned back but then decided to press a button on the yellow box and miraculously the gate opened. On my walk decription it said you had to give your name and phone number and same on the exit, but nobody even spoke to us. The reason for all this  - it belongs to MOD. When I was little and Estonia was under Soviet Union occupation, all the most beautiful places naturally were under the army. We had to have permission to visit Estonian biggest island, you couldn't just take a ferry and go there. Those were the times. And it seems to be same in other countries - most beautiful places belong to the army. Or is army preserving them?

There were a lot of sea birds. If you are lucky, you could even see seals, unfortunately we were not.

This year I have decided to try and walk 1000 miles. Although I've been walking for a while I've never measured it or had any goals. I just like to be out in the nature. But as a working woman you have to share your time with chores so usually we've walked only on Saturdays and me doing jobs around the house on Sundays. But because of my goal this year I try to walk on Sundays too as I'm too tired to get out after the work during the week. My son on the other hand doesn't find it exciting at all. Because of the horrible weather we've had I have left him home on Sundays but he knows it's only temporary. Come spring or summer, he'll be with me!

It's funny how I feel much more confident when he's with me. Not like he's any protection or anything but with him I could pick a walk and go to the end of the world but alone I don't feel that confident, so I tend to stay in the areas I already know.

So I did a walk along Thames path. 

I won't go into details but as a nurse I offered my help. I could already visualise how instead of my walk, I'm gonna spend the morning doing what I do all the other days. But my help was declined with a polite "Ambulance is on the way".  My thoughts stayed with them though.

I haven't seen many fairy doors in our area, but here's one. I would have missed that too, but my dog discovered it:)

When I lived in Estonia, we had proper winters with few minus degrees and occasional very cold ones, when it dropped down to -30. But now I'm cold when it's +5! How is it possible!?! May be I've had my fair share of cold and all I need now is warmth:) Anyway that day looked beautiful but it was freezing cold. 

I've done few other walks but they were mostly in the rain, so no pictures. One place that I frequently visit, is Virginia Waters. I like it especially in winter as it's not that crowded. I have a walk that takes me all the way through the woody area and there are hardly any people there. The only downside of walking there is parking fees. This time I paid 7.50! 

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This weekend will be very shorts walks only, as I have a poorly boy in the house. But I will be back with my blogging soon! Hope you all have a great weekend and get to go outdoors!

Winter Wonderland

Not all mornings are the same. Today it is pouring down rain. Yesterday I woke up to the frost and sunshine. And as planned before it was time to go for a long walk. This time I chose one from the Country Walking magazine. I have developed a love - hate relationship with mountains. I hate climbing up the hill (haven't actually climbed any mountains recently) but once on top, it is breathtakingly beautiful. So I chose a walk near White Horse Hill.
All along the motorway there wasn't any snow but as soon as we turned off I could see the sides of the road were snowy. As our parking was in the country side and I hadn't been there before, slight panic set in - are we gonna make it all the way with my summer tires. I have been driving in winter conditions and don't find it a problem, but we had studded tires. What I've also noticed in England is that it's not me who's causing problems and dangerous situations in those winter conditions - it's the other drivers who don'y have a clue how to drive. Anyway, I didn't want to turn around just yet at least until we were in a proper standstill. We could have also just parked at a road side and done the walk from there. And it was so beautiful - we had truly reached a winter.
Maurice got a camera for Christmas as he has been showing interest in photography and has been taking mine. So this was a first trip out with his camera. So I stopped the car so that he could take some pictures of winter. Suddenly I saw a herd of deer running down the hill. I drove slowly a bit forward when they changed their mind and started running back up.

Soon we found our destination and parked at the closed campground, near a farm. This is probably the only time I'm not actually scared of the bull on my walk. What a magnificent animal they are! Farmers must be very brave to handle them, that's my only conclusion!

Our path was supposed to take us to the Ridgeway and as the name says, it's at the top of the hill. So here started my hate part - we had to climb up the hill. I know it's not even a proper mountain but it really is hard work getting up there. Today I can even feel my leg muscles. But that is probably more to do with our fun descent which I'll talk about a bit later.

On top of the hill there was a reminder why I keep torturing myself. The view was magnificent! We had made it to the winter wonderland.

When we do our walks I prefer places where there are not many people. That's one reason that makes them so magical - you feel like there is no one else in the world. All the forests and mountains belong to you. Since it was cold and snowy, I didn't expect many people out and about anyway, but I was very wrong. As the White Horse Hill is a National Trust place, it was packed with people. The white horse itself was under the snow, so we decided to come back in summer time even with all the people present.

Soon we had to say good bye to this winter wonderland and started the descent. We were on a small road and only now I realised how slippery it is. We tried to avoid visually icy patches but most of the time you couldn't even see where the ice was. Even our dog lost her footing quite a few times. While we had several near misses, we managed to avoid proper fall. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun while doing it, clinging on to each other, screaming and laughing at the same time. 

When we finally made it to the normal ground, there wasn't much left of the snow either. It's as if we had been dreaming and now woken up to reality. Our path took us through the mud which is normal to this time of year. I made a mistake when choosing this walk. I thought it's gonna be 6.9 miles but turned out to be 6.9 km. Maurice was very happy. Don't think we could have done any more than that or we could but it would have been a real push.

I have signed up to walk 1000 miles next year and it's nearly here. This might be the last post of 2017 so hope you all had nice Christmas and wishing you a very very happy 2018 with all your dreams coming true.

Accident

When I started walking, I had a book called "Walks in Berkshire". But for some time - I'm talking about years, I have found my walks from elsewhere. And some routes from the book that are near to where we live have become firm favourites, so I don't even need the book. Yesterday I managed to find the book again and surprisingly there was a walk with perfect distance (7.5 miles) that I hadn't walked before and it was only 20 minutes from us. I didn't even read the walk description - it was enough to see that it's a circular walk. 

For some time we were walking through the town streets, which is not ideal for us. For one we like country side but also Summer enjoys running without the lead on. But there was nothing to do, so we just kept walking.

I have never noticed so many birds out in winter. Last time it was mostly red kites. This time there were some red kites but so many small birds - tits, sparrows, finches, robins. For me it's always small things that makes me happy. Spotting a robin is enough to cheer me up! While we were enjoying fresh air and country side, some people think that it's a good place to get rid of their rubbish. I don't understand that at all! And clearing all that comes from tax payers. Apparently last year it cost a taxpayer 58 million pounds! How many hungry children we could feed for that money!  

I hope I have raised my children well enough so that they would never even consider littering, not to mention fly tipping. I remember one time when my daughter was very little and we were in the shop waiting for my friend and while looking out through the big glass windows we could see a woman finishing a cigarette and just throwing it on the ground. My daughter was totally shocked, how she didn't put it in the bin almost next to her. 

When the town is grey and boring, you have to find small things to cheer you up. I liked this colourful railway bridge and even the railway. I could imagine sitting on a train and going somewhere far-far away. Saying that, we are already planning our summer holiday. And if all goes well and by the plan, it's gonna be an amazing adventure!

Finally we made it out of town! Some days I have to force myself to get dressed and outside but once I'm outside, there isn't a better feeling! It's the sense of freedom and being part of the countryside. Sam applies to my son, who is getting closer to being a teenager, so I guess it will get harder to get him outside. But once he's out, he's very happy. He's outgrown the playgrounds but nature provides plenty to do. Climbing trees is his favourite thing.

The path took us through the forest where Summer found a stick and Maurice could climb the tree - find him on the picture below! 

We even managed to find some snow that hadn't melted yet. There must have been a lot in this area as we hardly had any. It was more of a slush and it has been nearly a week since it happened. So how this snow remained, I have no idea. But it sure gave my children a lot of joy:)

     

Next part of the walk was a paved path through the fields. We were supposed to turn left at the tea junction. There had already been two turns to the left which in my mind don't qualify as a t junction but Maurice thought they might have been. That's the downside of walking by the book's description. It might be a mile before that junction comes but in the description it's the next sentence and you start to panic. So I much prefer walking with the map and having the route on View Ranger so that if I doubt, I can look it up. 

This time we never made it to that T junction. Maurice liked the sound of the squelching mud, so he was walking one leg in the mud, the other one on the pavement and somehow managed to slip. The trousers were ripped and so was his knee. 

I am ashamed that as a nurse I never carry any first aid kit with me. Luckily I had tissues. Sometimes (in summer) I don't even have that. So we managed to stop the bleeding with the tissues but there was no way for him walking onward. So we turned back and headed towards the car park. It taught me that I really need to carry some basic first aid kit with me as we do walk pretty much in the middle of nowhere and if something happens, you need to be prepared. 

Despite of turning back we still walked 6.2miles (10km). In my next blog I might reveal my big plan for 2018. Stay tuned!

Cristmas common - Cowleaze wood

It was a sunny but bitterly cold day for England. We usually walk on Saturdays but last Saturday Maurice was trying out free running. I don't know if it's good or bad, but he didn't like it. He likes the idea of free running, but he didn't like the set-up of the session. As he put it - something was off. And apparently it wasn't off in his karate class or swimming. But at least he tried. There were so many Red Kites while driving towards our destination. All gliding above the busy road. Don't know what brought them there. Probably small birds in the trees.
As we are getting slowly into Christmas mood, what can be a better place for a walk than Christmas Common! It is a small village off M40, around 45 minutes from us. As we pulled into the parking place, we were greeted by this little fellow. The picture isn't the best, but you'll get the idea:)

Soon we were off the main road and in the forest. Maurice had somehow hurt his leg yesterday and now when walking, he could feel it. There were (I think) old bomb holes in the forest, where I know he would have loved to run up and down but now he only carefully climbed up and down.

Usually it is the forest where you can loose your track if there is no clear footpath, but this walk was very clearly marked. We only went wrong once towards the end of the walk but even then ended up parallel to where we were supposed to be, so it didn't cause us any extra miles.

Sometimes there are clear way marks and when you have reached them, you know you're on the right track. On this walk, there was supposed to be an urn in the forest. It was near the property so I guess some time ago it must have been part of someone's huge estate. 

Soon our route took us up the hill. While going up the hill was tough, the views were

 amazing. We were surrounded by the calls of red kites all around us. 

It is never clear on pictures how high or tough the hills actually are. We were supposed to go up through that yellow corn field into the forest. And this wasn't the highest climb of the route. People who climb mountains must be really fit! I can walk for hours without problem but throw in a mountain and I'm dead. Something to work on. 

Our route ahead of us

Half way up

Rest time

When it's so cold outside, there is not much time to rest cause you will get too cold, While Maurice and doggy were having a little rest, I took some pictures of surrounding beautiful area. 

At the moment the days are so short that we don't have time to go off the route while in summer we can climb the trees or do whatever we want. But we couldn't miss some of those shelters that were built. We didn't have time to build one. My dream is to do some wild camping one day. It's not allowed in England but a lot of people do it - they settle down late at night and take off first thing in the morning, no harm done. 

Last push uphill was a killer. I was probably too tired. The water that I had with me was too cold, so I didn't want to drink it as much as I normally do. Also I have been struggling with my health recently, so I guess that doesn't help either. But the sense of achievement when you finally make it to the top is amazing! And in your head you already plan your next walk, having forgotten how you swore never to do it again. 

This walk was taken from the www.walkingworld.com If you like walking, I highly recommend you subscribe and you'll have unlimited access to walks. Even some abroad. 

Last post from Acadia

When reading about things to do in Acadia, one of the recommendations was watching sunrise on top of Cadillac mountain. While the view and sunrise were amazing, I couldn't believe the amount of people doing it. And it was the end of season. I don't know what's happening in summer!  It was a great experience, but I much prefer doing it without the crowd. One time driving in California we ended up in mountains somewhere and it just so happened to be sunset. That's my most amazing sunset ever! In the middle of nowhere all alone - just amazing!

Another activity that I planned to do was star gazing. So we headed to Sand Beach with Maurice. I think because of living in towns and having constant light pollution I had forgotten how dark the nights actually are. From the parking lot we had to take stairs down to the beach. And there we sat, listening to the waves and watching stars. It wasn't the best night for star gazing as there were some clouds. In all honesty, it was a bit scary too - us two in complete darkness. As if that wasn't enough, my son begged me to drive to Cadillac mountain to see some stars there too. And a good mum as I am I try to please him within a reason, so we headed there. But it was like a different time zone. There was light from Bar Harbor and the wind that we didn't feel at all at Sand Beach wanted to blow us off the mountain.
I took a few pictures and when looking them at the hotel I was puzzled about the colourful dots. The next day when we visited an Abbe museum, they had a whole exhibition of these kind of pictures! So I'll post one for you too. May be you can find a constellation cause I couldn't.

 Our second hike was planned to be a circular walk from Jordan Pond to Asticou but something went wrong and I adjusted the plans as we went along. 

So instead of Asticou, which is a small garden, we ended up walking towards south next to Jordan Stream, eventually ending up by Long Pond. Our route was through the forest and although there were some signs occasionally, at time to time the footpath disappeared under all the autumn leaves. 

Jordan Stream

Cobble stone bridge

Where is the footpath?

While we were hoping to see some moose (which we knew was quite unlikely), we kept joking about it. The only wild creature who kept seeing was a squirrel. One of them was completely crazy, running up and down the tree just in front of us. And it wasn't a park, but proper forest. But he wasn't scared at all. There must have been something wrong with him. 

We saw some others that acted normally and I even managed to get a relatively good picture of one.

Maurice probably loves climbing as much as the squirrels even if he doesn't have that much choice. But whenever he does, he is up in the tree. And it has been like that since he was little. Picking him up from the preschool - all his friends were running around, playing it, and he was observing them from the top of the tree. 

Find Maurice

Little Pond, which wasn't that little at all!

Our way back was an easy walk along the carriage road, even if it was uphill. There was no way of  loosing the track. 

End of the carriage road.

This is my last entry about our trip to Acadia. If you like nature and hiking, you should go and check it out yourself and be part of that amazing experience. I would love to go back to see the moose and whales (our trip was cancelled), but there are so many other places in the world you want to see and go to, but never enough time or money, so I don't think I will ever go back to Acadia again. But it will always have a special place in my heart.