10th March - Buriton to Meon Stoke - 14.8miles

After a relaxed breakfast it was hard to imagine that we were only a few hundred yards away from the busy A3 as it ploughs its way from London to Portsmouth.
We left Buriton, passed the village pond
 and climbed steeply passing old chalk quarries and wound our way through the woods back on to the South Downs Way as it enters the Queen Elizabeth Country Park.
Having had so far, a day of snow, a day of rain, today was the day for blustery cold winds.
The climb up Butser Hill against the wind was tough going.....
but the view from the top, South over Langstone Harbour and West towards the Isle of Wight was well worth it.
Then Westwards again towards Tegdown Hill
where we watched some mysteriously colour-coded sheep!!!
and then through Hyden Wood
 before dropping down Salt Hill 
towards the Meon Valley
and the fishing ponds at Whitewool Farm.

At the Bronze Age fort at Old Winchester Hill we stopped and imagined life 3500 years ago.
 

....and admired some motley grey, long haired sheep
before continuing on down to Meon Stoke
 and our accommodation at The Bucks Head.
Over supper we enjoyed a delicious pint of good old Butcombe Original
and met the manager Luke, who we found 
out is a passionate Brighton and Hove Albion supporter. He explained how FatBoy Slim had set up the Skint record label to help fund and rescue the club when they'd fallen on hard times a few years ago. B&HA are now riding high in the Premiership and apparently have a crunch FA Cup tie coming up with Grimsby Town!! We'll keep an eye on the results.



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