On 11 August 2013, Commando decided to do his fifteen mile marathon training run in the New Forest and I went along for moral support and to have a little walk of my own. We set off earlyish. It was raining which was good news for Commando because he likes running in the rain, not so much for me. Still I had my bright pink Moonwalk hat and my windproof, waterproof coat and I figured at least it wouldn’t be muddy and flooded like my last New Forest walk.
11 August 2013
This morning we parked up at the car park near Bolton’s Bench in Lyndhurst. Bolton’s Bench, for those who don’t know it, is a hill not a bench, although, just to confuse the issue, there are benches at the top. By this time it had stopped raining. This was good news for me, not so much for Commando. It’s tough running fifteen miles when it’s hot and muggy, rain helps cool you down. While Commando was getting all his kit sorted out I set off towards the path that runs towards Matley Woods. The clouds looked a tad threatening, good for Commando, not so much for me.
When I got to the top of the path I turned and looked back just in time to see Commando running through the car park. According to his calculations I had about two and a half hours before he came back. The path I was taking is an undulating affair, starting with a steepish climb up, it then rises and falls like a rather choppy sea. At the crest of the first hill there was a fabulous view over the rolling heathland painted mauve by the flowering heather.
Bees buzzed around the heather flowers beside the path, a hum that accompanied much of my walk. The thousands of tiny spikes of little bells like fancy lanterns seem to attract the bees almost as much as my lavender. The colours ranging from palest pink to shocking fuchsia together created a dull purple glow to the landscape all around me.
There are big yellow signs beside the path here warning to stay outside the marked zone. Work is going on to clear unexploded World War II shells from the land. If ever there was an incentive to stick to the path… I stuck to the path, keeping one eye on the sky and the dark clouds rolling in from my left. I’d taken my coat off and tied it round my waist at the top of the first hill, now it looked like I might have to stop and put it back on again.
With the eye that wasn’t on the sky I spotted a strange spider web, like a long dark tunnel amidst the heather and dried grasses. When I stopped to look a little closer there was a spider sitting at her front door surrounded by jewel like drops of rain, or maybe dew, waiting for her prey. I’ve never see a spider web like this before so, of course, I had to Google it. Turns out it’s really interesting. The spider in question is a labyrinth spider, quite common as it happens, and rather shy. The funnel shaped web is designed to protect the spider’s eggs. The tunnel is a spiralling labyrinth of corridors made from shimmering silk. Right in the centre an egg sac is suspended in the air by strands of silken web. Now isn’t that something?
To my right the sky was blue dusted liberally with white clouds and there were ponies grazing amongst the heather. Everywhere I looked I saw a wash of mauve. Looking back the sandy, gravelly path I’d taken stretched off into the distance, disappearing into the valleys and appearing again on the crests of the hills I’d climbed. Almost on the horizon the village of Lyndhurst was just a hazy church spire and one large white building.
All morning butterflies had been fluttering about refusing to stay still for me to take photos. Then, when one did settle long enough, I almost stepped on it because it landed on the sandy path right in front of me. Thankfully I saw it just in time and it sat there long enough for me to take quite a good photo. I’m pretty sure it was a grayling but, as it wouldn’t open it’s wings I can’t be sure.
Around about now the main path runs up towards the road and, in the past, this is the route I’ve taken. Today I decided to take the narrow track through the heather instead. The reason for this was twofold, one to avoid walking right by the road and the other to try to avoid Matley Wood campsite which, at this time of year, is full of caravans and campers. This track seemed to lead in roughly the same direction but I wasn’t sure exactly where it would come out, still I had my WalkJogrun running so I knew I could find my way back easily enough. Anyway it isn’t as if I haven’t got lost before, I’m used to it by now.
After a while the track got narrower still and wound uphill between ferns and prickly gorse. A lot of these tracks are created by ponies and I began to wonder if it would end up petering out or become too steep and overgrown to continue. As it was I had to push my way through the gorse. Suddenly the path through the heather didn’t seem like such a good idea after all.
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