Ober Water

 

Ober Water

 

Sandy's Ridge

Sandy's Ridge, a liminal spaces between woodland and heath.

Ober Water

 

Early morning on Ober Water

Ober Valley

The veiw into the Ober valley told me it was time to turn around, all though there are two bridges close by, there'd be no crossing the Ober this morning.

Ober Water morning

 

The banks of Ober Water perfectly illustrate the New Forests' captivating beauty and air of natural magic in late autumn. After our recent bout of aptly named anticyclonic gloom, the suns' return was welcomed, although weakening, the sun still retaining ample strength to illuminate the stands and stream; you could even discern a modicum of warmth. A radiant morning.

Apsey bridge

Aspey Bridge over Ober Water.

Old Apsey ford

 

Morning at Old Apsey ford.

Apsey Bridge

 

It's boots off and wade then.

Ober Water

Ober Water is beyond it's banks again. It never took much, although as with other forest streams, since they've restored the stream below Markway Bridge it's escaped it's banks with more frequency and with greater ease, flooding the shallow valley through which it flows. When the forest gets like this I try and imagine what it must of been like traversing the forest in the past. What a forbidding landscape it must have been at times.

Detritus deposited

 

Although returned to the confines of it's banks this morning, the hefty lump of tree deposited on the path across Ober Water between Ferny Knap and Clumber suggests that the stream had escaped its' confines significantly overnight. These quiet looking forest streams can quickly turn into torrents after a heavy rain.

Nice out

Dappled sunlight plays in this stream side copse on Ober Water. If you'd gone down to the woods today, you'd have found them rather pleasant.

Apsey Shade

 

Ober Water at Apsey Shade.  A lovely spot to stop awhile.

Black Water

 

This stretch of Black Water above Gravelly Ford has always been a favourite of mine. Before they deer fenced a large portion Rhinefields Sandys, we'd regularly  park in the old car park on the ridge a wander hereabouts. Our walks often taking in both Ober Water and Black Water, and the mosaic stands of Rhinefields Sandys enclosure running between the two. It was good walking. Still is. Although as you'd imagine, the imposition of a large chunk of the enclosure being securely fenced and inaccessible really affects your roam.

Tracks in time

A broad loosely linear ribbon of innumerable ruts running from Whitefield Moor on the outskirts of Brockenhurst up onto Hincheslea Moor and Wilverely Plain before snaking off towards either Holm Hill and Ober Water in one direction and Long Slades Bottom in the other; in some sections they're much more noticeable than others, in some sections they're so ephemeral as to be near invisible. You might reasonably think they're natural features caused by erosion or so such, maybe they could be signs of forestry works, or it's quite possible you'd overlook them all together amongst the heather and gorse. In fact they're an interesting archaeological feature from World War Two. Throughout the war the forest was used by various branches of the military, and these are the 80 year old tracks left by Churchill tanks of the 33rd Army Tank Brigade/43rd Bat Royal Tank Regiment on exercise hereabouts in 1942. One of the more recent layers of history etched onto the forests' landscape, joining numerous archaeological features reaching back thousands of years. My photo doesn't do the tracks or their scale justice, if you're interested check them out on a satellite map or LIDAR.

Ober

Ober Water below Markway Bridge early this morning.

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. 

Useless

The perennial forest question 'when is a bridge not a bridge'. The above scenario is played out  throughout the forest, although none more so than on Mill Lawn Brook through Ober Water; where four bridges in succession are regularly unusable. Here a perfectly serviceable bridge made useless by being cut off by flood water; surely this situation could easily by avoided with a little forethought in design. I had to attempt some physics defying mad crane like run to bridge the water gap; enough to say, I only achieved limited success in walking on water. 

Verge clearance

With the A35 closed the authorities have taken the opportunity to cut some of the verges back hard; I don't remember them ever being so clear. The transformation is highlighted by the uncut verge opposite; a striking difference. The clearance has certainly opened up the road, as well as the views across Ober Water below Markway Bridge. 

Bridge too far

 

For me this broken bridge (broken for weeks now) over the Ober is totemic of the New Forest NPA's  failures in managing and maintaining this magnificent tract of land. Well used, it's one of only 2 bridges on the stretch of Ober Water between Markway and Puttles bridges (there used to be a third bridge which fell into disrepair, was removed and never replaced), it's been out of service for weeks now, not too much of an issue whilst it's dry, though when it's wet. That's not the point mind, for years now too much of the forest's furniture, gates, dog accesses, tracks, bridges etal. have fallen into disrepair, languishing as such for a time before being lost/removed. Of course, I known the forest for 50 years and this decline was on going for years before the New Forest National Park Authority came into being, although, under the NPA it's accelerated as the forest has been relentlessly marketed at the same time as the infrastructure has continued to be neglected...then there's been the increased footfall of the pandemic too. Yes, I know I'm being a touch disingenuous, there's always repairs ongoing throughout the forest, and my complaint is not with the rangers or any other forest workers, all who do sterling work, but the NPA who should either fund the required staffing levels, restorations and repairs, or stop marketing the forest until they do.

Rhinefield Sandy's

I love the stretch of open, mainly birch, woodland that borders Rhinefield Sandy's along the low ridge above Ober Water; I've watched it grow and develop...it's the only part accessible of an old roam. Rhinefield Sandy's used to be a regular walk of ours, and a much loved one, it's where our eldest said his first word...tree. Though for over 20 years now it's been inaccessible, surrounded by 8ft deer fencing and locked gates as part of some forest project I suspect. The woodland fringe's position overlooking the river and good cover makes it a great spot to watch deer from, especially of an evening when they gather to drink. As I pass I often wonder when the deer fencing will come down and our roam restored.