Getting there took us slightly longer than intended as there was a bike race on so there was allot of traffic about. By the time we got there both Lizzie and I were crossing our legs needing the loo! We parked up in one of the forest carparks in the open ground near an area marked as 'Claypits bottom' on the map. We then set off down the Bridleway towards Eyeworth wood. I like the mix of terrain the forest has to offer, on one side open heathland on the other big curly knarled trees (an ideal loo spot!) We then walked through the totally waterlogged woods towards the pub at Fritham. The ground underfoot was sopping wet and boggy - not good for small people! Lizzie valiantly found her way round the worst of it (on most occasions). Steve slipped at one point and ended up splashing himself all over his trousers. It was a good thing the wind was blowing and the sun was shining.
About 1/2 a mile away from the Pub Lizzie decided she'd had enough and it was sulk o'clock. Even finding a heart shaped wild rose leaf didn't cheer up the situation, and neither did the hilly lane leading to the pub. Away from the interesting woods there was less to look at, so the boredom was probably kicking in. Retrospectivly we probably should have played some word games of something to keep the motivation up. It's tricky finding the right balance with kids to push them a little beyond their comfort zone, but not push them so far they end up hating walking! I guess I'm used to Emma being able to walk long distances (my daughter who wasn't with us on this occasion) so it's hard to get used to what other children can do.
Thankfully along the next corner we arrived at the pub (Fritham) and it was all good again. We were surprised it wasn't doing Sunday dinners. The menu consisted of ploughmans, pies, quiches etc all served with home made salads, chutneys etc. I went for a cheese ploughmans and it was really good - although I got envy of Steve's huge goats cheese tart which on trying was delicious. We sat out in the sun shine outside and it felt very summery. Again the weather has got it wrong- the forecast said grey cloud so another sun burnt face for me! The Royal Oak was a really good pub, food and drink pretty cheap - just remember to take cash as they don't take card.
Post lunch we decided to cut short the walk as Lizzie was getting tired. We meandered our way back through forest tracks and trails - some on the map, some not. Steve did a first class job of navigation and we were relieved when we reached a brook which we could place on the map. Lizzie had fun dropping grass into the brook and using a stick to go fishing with. It amazing how kids can find fun in the simplest of things. I enjoyed looking at the birds flying about - there was quiet a variety of little birds, I had no idea what any of them were were though! I thought we might see some deer on our walk as there's was no-one about and it seemed like the ideal terrain for them - no such luck though.
We headed towards Studley Castle (remains of) on the the map. We found a big dip in the ground which we wondered whether it was where the hunting lodge had been. Still not entirely sure if we were in the right place or not! We then joined a forest track to take us out of the woodland & back into the heathland which again was very waterlogged. As it was the end of the walk we had fun splashing each other in puddles- Steve (being Steve) managed to find the optimum angle to jump to get the other person the most wet! Needless to say we all got very wt - my 'summer' walking boots had started to squelch by the end and one very big splash from Steve managed to get Lizzie very muddy - she took it very well and laughed it off - the joys of being/acting like kids...
Still no camera so a few phone shots:
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