WALK REPORT This was meant to be a test of my New Forest mushroom hunting walk. Sadly, we only found one mushroom. It was up a tree, and not very photogenic, so you won’t see it featured in the pictures below. I expect to have more luck in October and November, when the growing conditions will be better.

Our route today starts in Brockenhurst, on the edge of the New Forest National Park, and follows the Lymington River valley down to the sea. 23 pics in this set. Thanks for coming, Nadine!

1. Donkeys in the street, Brockenhurst village. One nice feature of the New Forest is that animals of all kinds roam free here.

2. The ford at Brockenhurst, where a tributary stream of the Lymington River flows over the road. The vertical post behind the car has markings on it to indicate the depth of the water.

3. A horse loitering outside the front door of a house in Brockenhurst.

4. A berry on a thousand-year-old yew tree in a churchyard near Brockenhurst. The ripe flesh of this berry is edible but don’t bite into the seed. It contains heart-stopping toxins that will kill you.

5. A passion flower (Passiflora caerulea) on the path near Brockenhurst Park.

6. Flowering heather on the edge of the New Forest at Setley Plain.

7. New Forest ponies drinking. These semi-wild horses run free throughout the entire national park.

8. A New Forest pony at Setley Pond.

9. We stopped for a picnic lunch in a field near Sandy Down, overlooking the Lymington River valley.

10. Nadine and some flowering fuchsias, on a country lane near the tiny hamlet of Boldre.

11. A Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’) at Spinners Garden, on the path to Lymington.

12. Nadine taking a photo of the Fleur de Lys pub in the village of Pilley. Shame this pub was closed when we arrived – it looked a nice one.

13. A field of geese at Warborne Organic Farm near Lymington.

14. Fruits galore – on a tree at Warborne Farm.

15. This sign is on the bridge that crosses the river into Lymington.

16. It’s now early evening and we’re arriving in Lymington. The town’s chock full of marinas, and there are frequent ferries from here to the Isle of Wight, which stands about 5mi off the coast, in the English Channel.

17. A cobblestoned street in the center of Lymington.

18. We finished our walk at the marina in Lymington. Definitely the best weather of the day now.

19. Nadine on the waterfront at Lymington marina. The ship on the left is one of the three ferries that run regularly from here to the Isle of Wight.

20. View of the setting sun through a willow tree at Lymington marina. Heading back “downtown” to the pub now.

21. Leaving the marina. This boat is the 72′ Barclays Adventurer, which came 2nd in the 2004/5 Global Challenge. The Challenge is regarded as the yachting world’s toughest endurance event and involves a round-the-world race against the prevailing winds. The Adventurer made it in 168 days.

22. Sunset from the waterfront terrace at the Ship Inn in Lymington. We had lagers and “rustic bread” with olive oil.

23. 7:46pm. Catching the night train home from Lymington Town station.

That’s it for this walk. I’ll be amending the route so as to take in more prime mushroom-hunting areas. Keep an eye out for the walk profile, which I’ll post up on the site soon.

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to leave a comment!

— DW