Linwood Bog-Dancing

3rd April 2009

As I gathered my gear for a walk I thought to myself, "I'm going across Linwood Bog, shall I take my gaiters?"

For future reference, the answer to this question, or any question with the word "bog" in it, is always "Yes!" "No, I don't think so", is the wrong answer!

The sun was bright although the air was a little hazy.

Starting out from Broomy Walk car park I followed the cycle trail along the ridge and down past High Corner Inn. The track continued round past Nices Hill and at the T-junction I turned left past a ford and footbridge to pass between farms out to Black Barrow.

The barrow is large and crowned with a small copse of trees. I'm guessing the "Black" might come from the thick cover of dark heather which in autumn must be a spectacular carpet of purple going right up over the barrow.

Along a narrow path between farms again, through a little ford with an interesting little stone footbridge beside it, and out to Black Moor, still on the cycle track. There is a lovely view along a shallow valley to the east that looks towards Webb's Copse and Amie's Wood. Ahead, over a rise, a campsite shimmered in the haze. My way lay west past a barrier and over a footbridge, out into wide rolling moorland making for lovely valleys and views as you go up the steep sides of the moors outside Linwood.

Now I've met a bog before. It was an honest bog that gleamed openly wet in the sunlight. It didn't hide itself and it was passable by jumping from one firm-ish bit to the next, tested and proved with boot or pole first.

Linwood Bog is different.

Linwood Bog lurks. On the map the clearly marked path goes across it. Across it, my boots! Into it more like. I could see wet ahead and (I thought) firmer ground around the wet bits.

Ahead of me the way continued through a zigzag gate, past a yellow way-marker and on a good solid path into the trees. In the way was an area that wobbled squelchily under my feet with not a firm place to tread. What looked solid or appeared to resist my probing walking pole turned out to be mostly sinking squelch. Nowhere was there a passable bit of ground.

I was slightly anxious - I had no idea if there was a bottom at all to this place! - and not a little annoyed. Not with the bog. A bog is what it is and does what it does. I was annoyed with the map showing me a path through the bog that does not go through the bog. It disappears into the bog and continues on the other side with no visible means of bridging the gap. The annoyance was founded on: if I really couldn't get to that path on the other side I would have to go back on myself.

I am nothing if not tenacious, even in the face of possibly bottomless bogs. I did not want to go around. I picked the narrowest bit I could find ... and ran.

After fighting my demons, I passed through the woodland mostly on crude footbridges made of old railway sleepers it looked like, and wound my way up the hillside towards the road. On the other side of the road lies Rockford Common which, although it lies within the New Forest, is a designated National Trust area and must be investigated one of these days.

I had planned to go through Appleslade Inclosure and the north of Red Shoot Wood, but as bog-dancing had taken up about 15-20 minutes and I was tied to time, I walked back along the pathway beside the road, finally returning to the car park along a broad, grassy ride.

It was a lovely walk and one I shall do again (with a detour around the bog!). There are many other interesting paths to investigate. It looks like I may return there soon.