Fordingbridge

Today dawned bright and calm and seemed like a good opportunity to try the walk down into Fordingbridge, which is about a mile and a half from where we are parked. Situated on the River Avon, its name gives a hint that it’s a town liable to a bit of flooding and has been appearing on Radio 2’s Traffic reports for the last couple of days for a road closure.

We found we could walk a good part of the way through Sandy Balls, past the timber chalets and a residential area of the site. They are in such a lovely setting with the most beautiful views, I’m feeling quite tempted to sell up and move here, it certainly looks like a good way of life.

It was apparent, before we descended the hill that the valley was still flooded, so there was a possibility we wouldn’t actually get to the town.

The weather seemed to be changing with the ticking of time, one second sunny, then some cloud, then dark and even a few spots of rain and the bitterly cold wind got up before we returned home.

At the bottom of the hill, after we joined the road, the flooding was still there but just about passable for us, with a little bit of paddling. We were both wearing our walking boots. What an investment! You can’t walk long distances in wellingtons but I bought both Mike and I ankle height, proper walking boots. Not cheap but never regretted. They seem to help walking by giving a more purposeful stride, they are more stable on uneven ground and waterproof when walking in muddy, or really wet ground.

Having reached the town Mike found a Barber’s and went and had his hair cut! Yes, he agreed to have it cut and it has taken years off him. He would love to grow his hair long but it grows in the oddest shapes and it really doesn’t suit him long. And when it comes down to it, it’s me that has to look at him and he can’t see the back of his head.

The walk back was a slog, that is one steep hill but it must have done us some good, so we could have tea and Ginger Cake, without feeling too guilty.

Back on the Site, I saw my first Snowdrops of the year, it would be lovely to think this is the start of Spring but no doubt Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeve yet.

A bit of housekeeping was needed when we got back, emptying the waste water and refilling the fresh tank. While I was out turning on the tap, I noticed we had a bright, half moon, in a beautiful blue sky, so grabbed my tripod and took a couple of photos. I used the maximum 30 x Zoom and then cropped the photo on the laptop, to bring the moon’s image up larger. It’s amazing what you can capture with a fairly ordinary camera, which the naked eye can’t see.