August 2015 – I Walk Alone

A disappointing walk in the parks

17 August 2016

We’d purposely saved our zebra hunting in the parks for a sunny day and today had more than enough sun. In fact there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There were six zebras to find, or there should have been. We already knew Skittles, near the bandstand in Palmerston Park, was likely to be absent. He was stolen on the same night as Ticket to Ride, ripped from his plinth. Unlike the poor First Bus zebra he was found, damaged and dumped in some bushes in Hoglands Park. Why anyone should want to damage these lovely beasts and spoil everyone’s fun is beyond me. Continue reading A disappointing walk in the parks

here comes the rain again

26 to 31 August 2015

The rain continued into Wednesday morning so, yet again, I found myself on the bus. Yet again, the trees were blowing about wildly as I struggled through the desolate park and the rain was falling. By the time I got to work I was drenched. The office had a faint smell of dampness about it all morning because everyone who came through the door was dripping. Continue reading here comes the rain again

surprises and weather forecasts

25 August 2015

The forecast for Tuesday was cloudy but fine until about two o’clock so I decided to go out early and have a wander along the Itchen Navigation. There was a side path I thought I’d seen that might, or might not, lead me into the centre of Eastleigh without the need to walk all the way to Bishopstoke Road and back again. From the map it looked walkable and, if it was, it would cut off about two miles to the Swan Centre and make another bail out point from the Navigation should I ever need it. According to my calculations I should be able to walk there, have a quick coffee in the Swan Centre and walk back before the rain started. It sounded very much like a plan when I set off. Continue reading surprises and weather forecasts

Rainy days and Mondays

23 and 24 August 2015

The glorious weather when I was at work on Staurday did an annoying about turn, as English summer weather is wont to do, and rather put paid to my Sunday walking plans. Commando went out in it for his eighteen mile marathon training run while I stayed inside and did the housework I’d normally do on Monday, hoping it would be better then and I’d be able to fit my walk in. When he came home, soaked to the skin, he said his ankle hurt, which is not good news. Thankfully some rest and ice seemed to ease things and we even went out to get the weekly shop done later in the day. By this time the clouds had emptied everything they had on us and the sun actually came out for a while but it was too late to go walking by then.

Continue reading Rainy days and Mondays

Singing in the rain and an Airshow disaster

19 to 22 August

When I left the house on Wednesday morning it seemed darker than it had on Saturday at the same time. Funny how the nights and mornings suddenly seem to draw in although the days have been slowly getting shorter for some time. It was damp and drizzly, which may have added to the dark feeling but there was a touch of blue sky and the clouds were lit by the rising sun. As I walked under the bridge to the footpath that runs bedside the demolished TV studios I thought about a post I’d seen on the Southampton Heritage Facebook page about a log pond along the water there. Continue reading Singing in the rain and an Airshow disaster

Show me the way to go home, an exercise in getting lost again!

16 August 2015

Before I prised myself off the bench in St Bartholomew’s churchyard I spent a moment or two looking at Google Maps on my phone. If I walked back to the road and carried on along Brook Lane I knew I’d end up on the other side of the village near Broad Oak. It would be a simple matter to return the way I came, a tried and tested route. That would have been a little boring though and my initial plan had been for a circular route. My main problem was that the church hadn’t been quite where I’d expected it, or at least the paths leading to it hadn’t. That’s the problem with satellite maps, things look far different on the ground. If I walked through Manor Farm it looked as if I could get to Tanhouse Lane and, from there, eventually, back to Bursledon Road. In hindsight it may have been a touch on the ambitious side. Continue reading Show me the way to go home, an exercise in getting lost again!

St Bartholomews, beauty in simplicity

16 August 2015

After several minutes of dithering, looking at Google Maps on my phone and wondering if there was something I was missing, I decided the only thing to do was to carry on along Brook Lane. Maybe I’d find a path that I couldn’t see from the map and, if not, I’d just have to walk back to Botley Village. Just the thought of it was disappointing, especially as I’d worked out a route home based on finding the church and I’d have to walk back the way I came if I couldn’t. So I turned the corner and carried on, looking to my left hopefully, thinking I might spot the church or a gate or something. There was nothing but trees. Continue reading St Bartholomews, beauty in simplicity

Church Lane, the Cobbett trail

16 August 2015

For the next part of my walk Botley I’d be following part of the Cobbett trail, a self guided walk in the footsteps of William Cobbett, the renowned political journalist turned radical politician and farmer. Cobbett moved to Botley in 1805 to farm the land and one of the first interesting buildings I came to was Cobbett’s Cottage. A house no bigger than my own with a crumbling wall and bricked up window backed with slate tiles seemed a fairly humble place for such a rich and famous man to have lived. Of course he didn’t actually live there, this little cottage is all that remains of his estate which was opposite Botley Mills. Continue reading Church Lane, the Cobbett trail

Revisiting Botley and possibly the prettiest loo in the world

16 August 2015

On Sunday I decided it was time to revisit Botley. Back in January when I walked out there to visit the mills I promised myself I’d go back to explore further and it seemed about time I got on with it. It was a pleasant morning, not too hot, not too cold, a touch of blue in the sky and Commando was out on a long run training for Toronto. There’d been some preparation the night before and I had a good idea where I’d find what I was looking for. I’d even planned a circular route so I didn’t have to walk back the same way I’d come. All in all it seemed like I had a plan. Now what is it they say about plans? Continue reading Revisiting Botley and possibly the prettiest loo in the world

Bodies, weather warnings and a happy ending

12 to 15 August 2015

The working week began with rain. One of those wet Wednesday mornings that had me scurrying along the river with my hood up and my head down. By the time I got to the office I was damp and feeling pretty fed up. The day was mostly about Balloon Fiesta fallout, people who had been caught up in the long delays and weren’t happy about it. In truth I probably wouldn’t have been happy to wait two hours or more for a bus but then I wouldn’t have gone out to catch one when I knew there was a massive event going on that was bound to cause traffic chaos. We put together a standard letter explaining that the traffic wasn’t something we could control and, although we were sorry for the delays, they weren’t our fault and we wouldn’t be able to offer ticket refunds. After that it was a case of picking out all the relevant emails and firing off replies that we all knew wouldn’t be well received. Continue reading Bodies, weather warnings and a happy ending