28 February 2017
Meteorological spring starts tomorrow, although the vernal equinox and the real, official first day of spring is a few weeks away yet. In the spirit of positive thinking CJ and I set out for Millers Pond this morning in search of signs of spring. It might be considered jumping the gun just a tad but we had high hopes as we set off along Spring Road. Continue reading Searching for signs of spring at Millers Pond
27 October 2016
Today was one of those busy days with no time for a proper walk. The sky was too blue not to take advantage and get some fresh air though so, when I was out running errands, I decided to take a little detour to Millers Pond. It’s been a while since I was last there and I thought there might be some nice autumnal reflections in the water and maybe a few ducks. Continue reading Escaping the chores at Millers Pond
Usually one walk a day is enough but, in Fenruary 2014, with almost constant rain and floods all over the city I was struggling to fit in the miles for the one hundred miles a month challenge I’d set myself. A Staurday morning with blue sky was too good an opportunity to miss and I ended up with not one, but two walks. Continue reading A two walk Saturday – first published 9 February 2014
28 June 2016
Today, with blue sky overhead for a change, CJ and I decided to see if the flood that gave Commando such problems getting home from work last week had caused any lasting damage. There was also a cutway I’d spotted on the map that looked as if it could do with some exploration and might provide an alternative route home. Continue reading Sholing wanderings, Spike Island and a hidden henge
29 March 2016
The hiatus in the building work continued into Tuesday because a delivery of cement didn’t arrive. This was bad news for the progress of my potting shed come summer house but good news for walking. Given the last few rainy walks it seemed prudent not to go too far afield but, as usual, I had a plan up my sleeve. There was supposed to be another boundary stone in Tickleford Gully, about two and a half miles from home. Of course CJ wanted to come along. He may have caught the boundary stone bug. Continue reading The joy of six
2 February 2016
As this wet, muddy winter has drawn on I’ve found myself pining for my long woodland walks, missing places like Tickleford Gully, West End Copse, and Shoreburs Greenway. Street walking might throw up some interesting history but a couple of tramps on the Common didn’t really cut it compared to walking through the woods. On Tuesday I decided to take a wander down to Millers Pond for a semi woodland fix. Continue reading Millers Pond, bricks, balloons and fishermen
At the beginning of July 2013 I was on a mission to explore a route that would take me from the shore to Millers Pond without road walking. At least that was the theory. For once I’d planned it all with precision on WalkJogRun so I knew exactly where I was going. When I say exactly, I mean, more or less because there were woods involved and they’re quite difficult to plot as you can’t see the paths on the satellite map. Still, how lost could I get? Continue reading an addition to the woodland route – first published 7 July 2013
June 2013 and two day weekends were revealing themselves to be problematic. In fact there were things I hadn’t even thought of, turning up to give me problems. Cooking and shopping ate into walking time and it all felt very frustrating. In the end, there was only one thing for it forget all the things I was supposed to be doing and go for a walk. Millers Pond seemed like a good plan and it turned out to hold some wonderful surprises. Continue reading A pond walk and a demonstration of Murphy’s Law – First published 1 June 2013
15 June 2015
As Sunday ended up bright enough for me to catch a little sun on my arms and chest I naievly expected more of the same on Monday. With this in mind I’d planned a nice walk along the shore towards Hamble. Looking out of the window when I got up threw those plans into disarray. If anything it looked like rain, all thick grey cloud, black around the edges. Obviously I would have to think again. Continue reading An exciting discovery in Mayfield Park
Training for the Moonwalk is a challenge. Sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation or the time to go out on long walks especially in the mud and cold. It has to be done though, if you want to live through twenty six point two miles on the night. Every week the walks get longer and the motivation more illusive, particularly when you come to the long miles. In February 2013, three months before Moonwalk night, I reached the first of those long miles. Continue reading sixteen miles, woods, chapels and fallen soldiers – first published 8 February 2013