We were walking in Velmead Woods and at the back of the Tweseldown race course and the weather was so good that we were reminded of the long school summer holidays and searching for local (and free) things to do with or without the children. If you are fairly new to the area and exploring from Crookham Park then you have plenty of great country on your doorstep.
Fleet, Church Crookham Ceasar’s Camp and Ewshot are our usual stomping grounds and if you’ve never tromped round off-road you’ve missed a trick.
The woods are particularly pretty this time of year with the slanting sunlight causing dappled shade through the tree canopy and highlighting the tree trunks.
You can find a lot to see too: yesterday about 10am we saw a deer
Often seen – but usually when folk are absent!
delicately crossing the track by the race course boundary and prancing through some higher vegetation in the direction of the Basingstoke Canal. She saw us, halted and watched us for a moment before shaking her head and continuing his journey. A glorious sight. Also we were entertained by a green woodpecker travelling almost alongside us as we made progress towards the Foresters.
And there were the usual crop of finches, nuthatches and sparrows.
Oh! and there are some friendly highland cattle who live in Velmead Woods.
In this walk of about an hour we covered about 6 kilometres and the walking was easy, mostly on laid out paths but with some tracks. It’s difficult to get lost thanks to the surrounding road network.
There are lots of places to begin your walk but we suggest one of the car parks along Aldershot Road or from the Foresters (serving real ales and a modern British menu – Aldershot Rd, Church Crookham, Hampshire GU52 9EP & 3.5 stars from 180 Trip Advisor reviews!).
Nuthatch – nests in holes in tree trunks
If anyone wants me to I’ll add the route…. over to you.. 🙂
Green Woodpecker – often seen on the ground
Finch
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