Pay to play

 

We knew it was coming, but still, it's a sad turn of events. Living in the area since I was four, the forest has been a canvas on which so many of my memories have been painted. We walk here more days than we don't. This morning notices have gone up in every one of the New Forests' car parks, parking starts at £1.50 an hour. It should be noted that Forestry England have a monopoly on forest parking. The forest has always been free when you've needed it, a place to explore both the stands and your own imagination, a place to build memories, or a place to find solace, tranquillity, some measure of relief from what troubles you. That's the magic of the forest, it's all things. Not any more though, strictly pay to play now. At a time when the country's suffering an omni health crisis, on top of seemingly endless austerity which is thinning lives to the bone; when Government and health experts wax lyrical about the holistic benefits getting out in nature, an executive agency of the same Government put a barrier in the way. I mean. What a soulless place we're becoming.

Brinken

It was lovely reconnecting with Brinken Wood this morning. Brinken used to be a regular haunt of ours until the New Forest National Parks Authority closed the lay-by which had always allowed us direct access. Since then we've only skirted it's edge on some of our longer walks, but not had the opportunity to wander its familiar stands as we had. Silly really, it's just that we'd always used that lay-by. There are other ways to access Brinken which only involve short walks.

Camel Green

One of the seasonal watercourses that appear periodically through Camel Green. We'd not walked this way in a while (not since the New Forest National Parks Authority blocked off the popular lay-by which allowed easy access to this roam) and I was taken by the startling number of large trees slighted since we were last here.

So why not keep it simple (profanity alert)

  

In the words of esteemed presenter Roger Mellie (the man on the telly) 'so why not keep it simple, how about cunts!' I mean seriously, what wankers get their jollies fucking up disabled toilets, I mean, there's not that many public amenities in the forest as it is. Arseholes! Geoff and I were on the return leg of our Sunday long walk, it had been a lovely walk too, when as we approached Anderwood I noticed a large bough down in from of the toilets, the mystery was where had it fallen from, on getting closer it became apparent it hadn't fallen at all; some fucktard had randomly chainsawed a tree down, cut into another larger tree behind (which will now need removing), cut through and down the rails around the public toilet block, cleaved the men's and disabled doors in half; I didn't go in so don't know what damage may have been done to the interior. Fucking pricks. I regularly moan that the New Forest National Parks Authority don't maintain the forest's infrastructure, shit like this isn't going to help; I'd imagine the bill for repairs will run into the thousands, not to mention the man hours; or maybe they just board it up or knock it down and another public amenity will be lost.  Any wonder Britain's broken, we really are a country of turds.

New causeway

Credit where credit is due. I'm regularly berating the New Forest National Parks Authority for their failure to maintain the forest's infrastructure, therefore in the pursuit of balance I commend them on crating a new causeway across a notoriously seasonally impassible wet area which feeds Duck Hole Bog; so bravo. Now I going to sound churlish, though, and it's a criticism I've recently voiced, knowing this spot I fear the causeway, cool and welcome as it is, may find itself inaccessible in aforementioned wet area when wet proper; I think it may have benefited from having longer raised approaches. Time will tell.  Still, it was very useful today, replacing as it has a jumble of wooden flotsam and jetsam that you used to have to try and negotiate.    

A bridge too far

Oh ha ha, the joke you never tire of; it's that time of year when the New Forest National Parks Authority like to prank walkers by providing bridges you can't access. Of course they could say there are bridges 0.5miles up and down stream from this one, but both are a walk of 1.5miles off route to get to, and upon reaching the up stream bridge you'll likely find a similar situation. Why they don't sort the common issue out is beyond me (and it is commonplace), it wouldn't take much, and it would save a lot of bother. Instead they create Jim Bowen bridges; here a bridge you could've crossed.