Synopsis: A circular walk around Ashclyst Forest. On my doorstep, but I had not walked around the forest. The light was dull on this sunless day, but the subdued colours of the forest were very pleasant.
It was early afternoon and I’d not left the house, so I felt the need for a little exercise. I did a quick Google for Ashclyst Forest, and discovered a 3-mile circular walk GPS prepared. I downloaded the walk to my handheld GPS device, loaded my bike with my gear, and was on my way.
It’s a bit of a climb on the final approach to Ashclyst Forest, and I did get off and push on occasion, I will admit. There’s a sizeable forest car park that is the walk’s start point which I headed towards. I crossed the road from the car park and headed towards a shady place in the trees to park my bike out of sight.
There’s little more to say about this walk really. It was quiet, and really peaceful, with birds being my company. I didn’t see a person on the walk, except for some children playing near a camp site, which I believe is a scout camp, which I think is new to the forest (further information). I did see a roe deer and a large bird that I think may have been an owl.
Ashclyst Forest - Killerton Estate - birds singing in the trees
I took this photograph because whilst standing at this spot the birds were singing a beautiful tune, and I thought I’d record their song, which I did by adding a sound note to this photo. I don’t pretend to know what the birds are, but they were lovely to listen to. Click on the music note above, then choose ‘Download/Open’, and the bird song recording should be played.
Ashclyst Forest - Killerton Estate - bluebells
There weren’t very many bluebells in the forest. I had expected more, but there was just the odd patch here and there, of which this photo represents one of the best displays.
The only other thing to mention about this walk is that it was rather muddy in places, but then, we had had rather a lot of rain recently. It wasn’t a problem for me in that I was wearing good footwear, that is to say a good pair of walking boots. You’ll note, if you look closely, that the photos I took during the walk have some motion blurring as the light was very low and I didn’t have a tripod with me.
Cycle/Walk Statistics:
Total Distance (Combined Cycle/Walk): 16.9 miles -:- Walk: 3.6 miles
Elapsed Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 4hrs 27min -:- Walk: 2hrs 8min
Moving Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 3hrs 21min
Stopped Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 1hr 06min
Total Ascent (Combined Cycle/Walk): 430 metres
Maximum Elevation (Combined Cycle/Walk): 139 metres
Buses: (none)
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