On the Common today

It was such a lovely summer day I decided on a ramble across Canada Common and the adjoining Wellow and Plaitford Commons this afternoon.
This picturesque part is known as Sturtmoor Pond, and unless you know the common lands well in this part you can miss it altogether. Yet it is one of the most serene and peaceful parts of the common, which is all part of the New Forest National Park.
As the only sizeable watering place within this part you can bet your life you’ll find some of the New Forest regulars not far away — ponies, donkeys and even cattle. It’s quite a trek for a picnic on the banks of the pond, but a magnificent setting when you get there.
The locals of the human kind tell me wild orchids are to be found growing here in abundance, although I’ve yet to see the evidence of that for myself. Usually, when I’ve walked this far across the common all I want to do is to sit and savour the peace and quiet, or as today, take the Blipfoto of the day.
I guess we are fortunate in living where we do, not far from the busy A36 road from Southampton to Salisbury, Bath and Bristol. But just the other side of that road, the New Forest National Park begins.
And I can take heart in that the exercise app on my iPhone tells me I’ve walked 5.2 miles today, not far short of that yesterday, and only a shade less the day before.

I should be feeling fit by the time the week’s out. Or shattered!