Blessed with a good weather forecast, 21 , mostly be-wellingtoned ,members and two dogs set off from the leader’s home at Ridge. Initially the walk was on the route of the Furzebrook Railway built in 1840 to carry the valuable ball clay from various pits to the wharf at Ridge and onward to Wedgewood’s pottery. This was easy walking as the route is straight and a very low gradient, designed to allow gravity to transport the clay trucks to the wharf , being returned under horsepower.

The same trail crossed the main road towards one of the clay pits, the Blue Pool. After passing under the Swanage/ Wareham rail line the bridleway went round the edge of a clay pit still working to enter Creech Heath, an area of wet heathland and bog. It lived upto that description!

On the heath the path joined the Purbeck Way and after a short refreshment break led to an equally wet Stoborough Heath to pass the site of the extremely rare White Basket Fungus (the leader is a fungus nerd).

A variety of footpaths through Bog Lane, a local green space, then led to Stoborough and a walk across the Causeway to the Quay at Wareham and lunch stop.

The final leg followed a footpath along the river Frome to Ridge and the leaders home for leek and potato soup