Archive for the Category »Hiking & Walking «

New Forest Destinations – Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary
Tuesday, July 07th, 2009 / koneill

A beautiful day out and unmissable for adults and kids alike if you are visiting the Forest is a trip to Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary and the Ornamental Drive. A day can easily slip by in this beautiful woodland area with plenty to do for any member of the family.

In case you didn’t know the New Forest National park was once the hunting grounds of the former kings of England, and some of the ancient traditions are still practiced today by the commoners.

On arrival at Bolderwood, just as you have parked your car there is an open air green at the side of the woody area which is ideal for a picnic lunch or just to let off some steam with a game of ball. Soaking up the sun before you set off in to the woodlands or having a locally produced ice cream from the resident ice cream van in the car park.

Just inside the entrance to Bolderwood there is a marvellous woodland area with some picnic and barbeque facilities. You will also find a Forest Ranger manned information centre here which is great for getting advice and answering questions you might have about the forest. There are also some great examples of some of the foliage etc. that you will find during your visit to Bolderwood.

Once you have entered into the Woodland area at Bolderwood there is a choice of variable well marked walks you can choose from. The shortest is about half a mile long and this walk will take you past the Bolderwood Deer Sanctuary. There is a viewing platform here where you can look out across the forest to see how many deer you can spot. The forest feed some deer from here, so if you get the time just right, you can often see a many a deer feeding and grazing.

You can take the Jubilee Walk which will take you through the Bolderwood Arboretum which began in the 1800’s. The arboretum is a marvellous display of many types of trees. Many trees were very sadly lost here during storms in the 1987 and again in 1991. Further trees have been planted now and is an ongoing plan to return this part of the forest back to its original glory.

The Radnor Trail is another walk which will take you through this ancient beautiful forest, during this walk you might spot the odd Deer grazing in the distance hiding amongst the many more variety of tree species. There are many suitably placed benches to take a rest for a while and to admire the beauty of the forest surrounding you.

The New Forest Cycling network which takes you through the many finest parts of the forest and links many of the major villages includes Bolderwood. Cycling through Bolderwood which includes the Ornamental drive is beautiful and can take about 3 and one half hours.

During your visit to Bolderwood you must take the time to drive through Bolderwoods Ornamental Drive. This is at its most beautiful during the summer and its windy narrow road takes you through the tremendous ancient woodland. It forms part of the 100 mile New Forest Cycling network so there are many cyclists along this route and because of its beauty the drive does become quite busy, so please be careful.

If you are looking for friendly local accommodation visit New Forest cottages for local self catering holiday cottages or New Forest hotels for luxury and hotel accommodation.

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Hiking Shoes – Light And Cheap
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 / koneill

A dozen years ago I went from using hiking boots to lightweight hiking shoes. It was a part of my move from mainstream backpacking to lightweight or “ultralight backpacking.” I stopped getting blisters and have perhaps one or two in the years since.

Apart from keeping things light, another important goal of mine was to spend less money for clothing and equipment. The change to shoes fit into that plan. Here are some of the ways to keep your hiking shoes both light and cheap.

Buy Closeouts

For longer hikes and backpacking trips I like to have high-quality shoes. Generally I use good running shoes that weigh a pound or less each. If they list the weights, I buy them through catalogs or online. Otherwise I can tell by lifting the shoes in the local shoe store if they are in my weight range. If you shop in traditional stores, you could also bring a small kitchen scale to check weights.

Of course, many of the best running shoes cost $80 or even $100. I don’t like to spend that much on shoes ever, so I buy closeouts. For some reason, people apparently want the latest fashion. There is no difference in performance as far as I can see or feel, but thanks to this fashion-conscious market last years styles are hard to sell, and so are discounted steeply. I have bought $85 running shoes for as little as $25 in this way.

The Sierra Trading Post catalog is a good one to check for these deals. I won’t mention specific brands that are light or cheap because these change so frequently. Check online, get a few catalogs sent to you, and you’ll find some deals.

Buy Low Quality

My second strategy for keeping my hiking shoes light and cheap is to go to Wal-Mart or Kmart or other places which sell shoes inexpensively. The lowest cost shoes I use at the moment (2009) are $10 at Wal-Mart. They are definitely low quality, but only in terms of materials and longevity. In actual use, they grip better than any expensive shoes when I am hiking in rocky territory where I like to climb around a bit.

The key with these cheap hiking shoes is to use them only for short backpacking trips and hikes that don’t take you too far into the wilderness. I once used a $7 pair of shoes on a week-long 110-mile trip in the Rockies, and I almost regretted it. They came close to falling apart after seven days of rough terrain.

I have to say, though, that they were very comfortable, light, and required no “breaking in.” I would use such hiking shoes again, but limit them to trips of about three days or less. I might also carry some duct tape just in case repairs were needed.

So shop those closeout sales for quality running shoes (they still seem better to me than those specifically called hiking shoes). Or buy the cheapest comfortable shoes you can find for shorter hikes. And bring a scale to the store with you. That’s how you keep it light and cheap.

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