Test 01: 13 Feb 2016; Ashridge boundary walk

Walk descriptor	Test		Day	01
Date	Sat 13 Feb 2016		Start to end time	06h 24m
Start point	Bridgewater mon.		End point	Bridgewater mon.
Miles today	16.86		Cu miles	16.86
Ft today	1,698		Cu ft	1,698
Route miles left	0.00		Route ft left	0
Today’s weather	Overcast, light rain all day, light W wind, gale on Ivinghoe Beacon. Appx 2C

Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)		GPX based track of today’s walk (click button to download file) GPX

Commentary

It’s always a bit hazardous trying to create a sequel, but this is exactly what this is.

I haven’t really had the time or felt the inclination to start blogging again, since my “LEJOG” hike finished in June 2014. But after a gap of a couple of years, maybe it’s worth starting again, so here goes.

I’m going to be walking the Pennine Way in a week’s time, so today was just about the last chance to stretch the legs and test out the waterproofs.

And what better way than the Ashridge boundary walk? It’s a decent-sized circular hike close to where we live, so it was possible to complete it without having to get up at ridiculous-o’clock in the morning, and still finish before the creeping winter gloom turned into night.

In fact, the depressing weather forecast had put most people off, so we had most of the route to ourselves today. But although it was a bit dull, damp and cool, the weather wasn’t bad at all. The route was muddy in parts but that just about goes with the territory in this part of the world and at this time of year, and it wasn’t unmanageable.

Although I have walked in the Ashridge estate hundreds of times in the past, this walk still managed to cover a lot of new territory. The highlight for me of any trip to the estate is always the wind blasted ascent of Ivinghoe Beacon, and today was no exception. A brilliant cobweb-removing experience.

Along the route, we came across a million (approximately) trees in all states of repair and disrepair – laurels and cherry coming into flower, fallen beeches brought down by lightning and old age, and even a couple of blackthorns bursting into leaf.

Perhaps because of the absence of hikers and their attendant dogs today, deer and other wildlife seemed to be in abundance. We saw three or four herds of the ubiquitous muntjac, and even a light coloured spotty thing which I think was a fallow deer.

We finished this excellent excursion at just after 5pm, as darkness was rapidly falling, with the only disappointment of the day being the early closure of the café at the end.

Perhaps just time for one more hike before the big day on 22 February?

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


*Bridgewater monument (think “father of inland navigation“) at start and end of walk*	Looking a bit damp

First signs of spring	Summit of Ivinghoe Beacon – seven counties supposedly visible from here, but not today

Tree destroyed by massive lightning bolt. Feels like the carboniferous era	Ancient beech hedge, which somebody obviously forgot to prune a couple of centuries ago

Not the best camping spot in the world