A lunchtime wander around the other end of Hook, Hampshire

Before we get into the pictures, I have become a bit curious about Hook as it's quite an odd place. Thousands and thousands of houses, only a few shops, and a relatively small train station at which the central platforms have been removed a while back, leaving just two remaining platforms, and many trains simply spped through on their way to London or Exeter, and do not stop there. I've come across a book called The Planning of a New Town written in in 1961 which describes a private new town, sponsored by the London County Council (LCC), to be built at Hook in Hampshire; a scheme that innovatively combined Garden City/New Town traditions with sensitivity to modern design. It would not appear though that the Hook of today is a result of this study, and that perhaps efforts were diverted to Basingstoke instead. Anyway, on with the show ...

Following on from my earlier wander around the less well trod paths surrounding Hook, today I wandered in the opposite direction, south along Holt Lane until it petered out into footpaths, eventually reaching and crossing over the busy M3 motorway. The day was bitterly cold but gloriously sunny. The ground was frozen and crisp underfoot, with just a few sticky patches where the weak sun had managed to thaw out some of the frozen mud.

Looking south along Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire

As the lane became thinner it was not particularly obvious where the path went until I caught sight of a footbridge in the distance. A tranquil walk interrupted rudely by the noisy motorway.

Footbridge over the M3, Hook, Hampshire

Annoyingly I didn't manage to capture this view of the footbridge very squarely, but an interesting contrast between the clear blue sky and turquoise railings of the bridge.

Footbridge over the M3, Hook, Hampshire

After crossing the bridge there were a couple of footpaths I could have taken, but lunchtime was running out, and also they looked a bit muddy to attempt in my work attire, so I headed back north the way I had come. If I'm still working here later in the year then maybe there will be more options open to me in the drier weather.

Looking north along Holt Way, Hook, Hampshire

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Autumn

A strange few days and weeks since my last post. I've been to India with work, managed a few, on-road bike rides, completed a couple of autumn walks, and been out both nights on two consecutive weekends ... so the latter may not sound like much, but it's reminding me of how old I am feeling. But let's stick with the positive things, and celebrate Autumn.On Saturday we visited a National Trust property and grounds called The Vyne hust to the north of Basingstoke, Hampshire. Despite being ,e,bers of the National Trust and despite the property being about 30 minutes from where we live, this was the first time we'd ever visited. As we approached the entrance we were "greeted" by 3 deer running across thr road in front of us. After parking up, we chose the brown walk which took us about 2.5 miles through the woods.

Autumn walk through The Vyne, near Basingstoke, Hampshire

 Knarled tree, the Vyne

On Sunday we headed out towards Calne, which is in Wiltshire between Marlborough and Chippenham. It's a place we have driven through on several occasions but we'd never managed to stop there. A strange town, although perhaps no more strange than many towns, in that it had a striking contrast between the old village green, the old castle, the disused canal and railway, and the modern supermarkets with their enormous car parks. We wandered around the old streets and bridleways, looking (in vein) for signs of the old railway station, but we did find traces of where the old railway went on it's way from Calne to Chippenham.

Autumn walk, just outside Calne, Wiltshire

    

In other news, I wnet CD shopping after work last week and picked up a veritable bevvy of new (well old) and exciting music. A 49 track double CD compilation by The Seeds is high on the playlist at the moment. I also picked up the first two Human League albums, Reproduction and Travelogue before Martyn Ware and Ian Craig left to form Heaven 17. Some great tracks on these two, and in my opinion far better than anything they did when they became famous.