Another local patch

Last weekend I was at my boyfriend's in Winchester, and with a slightly murky and drizzly weekend ahead of us, we weren't that inspired for choices of walks. However, a quick peruse of the map yielded some interesting exploration of his local patch, which he'd never walked around.

The first walk from his house took us through the scenic delights of a housing estate and the Sainsbury's carpark, before crossing the main road on an elevated footbridge - suddenly we were out in the countryside. It's always amazing how quickly in some places one can do that.

We walked along ancient boundary hedges, the tufts of the year's wild clematis festooning the fences, beside remnants of chalk grassland grazed by British White cattle owned by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and along old droves along a ridge top. We descended steeply, with gnarly old yews marking the way, as they have done for centuries. Very tranquil and seldom walked, and definitely a route to do again in the future (the Sainsbury's carpark is actually a very handy point on the route!).

The second walk on Sunday was a bit of a race against time before the rain moved in. We walked a loop from Kings Worthy, skirting wild wet woodland, streams and wetlands in the Itchen Valley, walking underneath the M3 and across the A34, through the picturesque villages of Easton and Martyr Worthy, and again encountering more British White cattle - the Wildlife Trust are busy making contacts with landowners to restore these fragments of rare wetland and chalk downland habitats. Alas, the rain came just as we started our route back, but despite this, it was a great loop through some less well-travelled bits of the valley. Sometimes it's really worth looking at the map to discover these hidden treasures.

Rewarding perseverance

We've had some wild weather lately, which has perhaps decreased my motivation for getting outside.

The final day of the Christmas Market, just before packing up, we managed a swift walk along the Broken Bridges footpath. This meandering path crosses many short bridges, winding its way across water meadows grazed by Highland cows on one side, and more commercial cattle on the other. On this cold afternoon, we encountered very few people in this surprisingly tranquil spot sandwiched between Harnham and Churchfields Industrial estate!

But the real reason for the title of this post was our walk into town along the Avon Valley Path on Sunday. You may recall this was the day of rain, sleet and snow, depending on where in the country you were. The wind whipped our faces, with squally showers blowing in intermittently. Funnily enough, this usually-busy path was rather devoid of crazy people like ourselves.

Having made it into town, and had a quick mooch around the Christmas Market (so dull now our chalets aren't there!), we retraced our steps back home. The observant in the party quickly spotted something moving along a tree trunk overhanging the river - a woodpecker! We were able to watch it for a little while, hopping along trunks and hammering for insects. Certainly the best view of a greater-spotted woodpecker I have had.

And then, walking along the boardwalk by the river and the reedbeds, he again spotted something interesting - this time a magical flash of blue. Yes, a kingfisher! It flew into the reeds and turned to face us - the rufous breast camouflaging perfectly with the surrounding habitat. The path split off in its direction, so we decided to follow it for a closer look, resulting in it zooming away from us, a beautiful splash of azure on this otherwise-drab lunchtime.

I was so glad to have been 'forced' out of the flat that morning, to the best views I've had of these beautiful birds.