South of Monxton

We drove down to Monxton, a couple of miles south-west of Andover this afternoon for a country walk. We took the track called Hook Lane which runs between fields down to the railway. On the right we saw a beautiful tree, standing by itself in a field marked with those chalk fragments which intermix with the soil around here.

Sarson Wood from Hook Lane

As we turned around, Clare saw this pigeon lying dead in the leaves at the edge of the track. It seemed a recent casualty from the flocks wheeling and screeching a few hundred feet overhead.

Recently-deceased pigeon

We crossed the main Salisbury-London railway track and turned onto a new track called Dunkirt Lane. The sun was now behind us, but the arctic wind continued to fight its way through our layered, but merely autumnal clothing.

Dunkirt Lane, looking west

Finally we gained the Abbotts Ann to Monxton road, crossing over the railway bridge (pictured below) where I disturbed several enormous, overfed bunnies as I manoeuvered to get the picture below.

The London-Salisbury main railway -looking west

Took us a couple of hours.