Ruth Livingstone
My book: Walking the English Coast
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Winfield’s Award
Killer Cows: Killer Cows
A Tale of Three Walks: close encounters with cattle.
cornered by herds of cattle
Chris’s Story: a scary encounter with cows and a bull
The bull appeared in front of the gate… about two metres away.
A Farmer’s Story: charged by cattle
I trust cows, but I know when they turn…
Category Archives: 07 Hampshire
69 (part 2). Hurst Castle to Christchurch
I see a Kestrel and eat a cream tea. Checking my map, I realise I have crossed over into Dorset. I am making progress!
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69 (part 1). Keyhaven to Hurst Castle
The small ferry-boat is well guarded by a fierce little black labrador – with a very waggy tail.
68. Bucklers Hard, Lymington to Keyhaven
I can’t get close to the sea in the New Forest. Ignoring ‘beware the bull’ signs, I walk through woods and hear things falling from the trees. I realise it is horse chestnuts (conkers) falling around me.
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67. Calshot to Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard
Sometimes during my walks – not often, but sometimes – I wonder why on earth I am doing this. What posessed me to start walking? And why have I continued? Continue reading
66. Hythe, Fawley to Calshot
I’m not looking forward to the walk today. At Fawley, the map shows a huge oil refinery and then a power station. I am particularly dreading walking along the A326. But I am pleasantly surprised …. Continue reading
65. Warsash, Southampton to Hythe
You can’t mistake the Hamble Ferry. It is coloured pink. Bright pink. My second ferry crossing is over to Hythe and poses more of a challenge. I am impressed by The Queen Mary 2 and enjoy the views from the Itchen Bridge. Continue reading
64. Gosport to Warsash
I get wet and am irritated by ‘private beach’ signs. But I enjoy a stretch of vegetated shingle, where unusual plants struggle to maintain a foothold in the inhospitable surface of dry, shifting, shingle stones. I marvel at the extreme fragility and the incredible tenacity of life.
63. Portsmouth to Gosport
Portsmouth is barely recognisable – changed from the grim city I once knew. And The Spinnaker Tower is wonderful. We strip off our shoes to walk across the glass floor – a vertigo inducing experience. But what are the mysterious buildings on the seafront in Gosport? Continue reading
62. Langstone to Portsmouth
I remember walking across a derelict wasteland of scrub and wind-blown rubbish to the edge of the water. I stood on a rock and gazed over brown mud and grey water and wished I was somewhere on the other side of the ocean – somewhere warm and sunny.
61. Prinsted, Thorney Island, Emsworth and Langstone
I get through the not-so-rigorous MOD security to begin my walk around Thorney Island. Saddened at the thought of wasted young lives, I cheer up when I reach Emsworth – an unexpectedly beautiful town. Frustrated by my lack of decent photographic equipment, I end the walk with the stink of sewerage. Continue reading
