We decided to take the kids on a half-term stomp across the fields, so headed for Shalfleet. We left the car in Mill Lane, then headed past the pub, across the road and past the church. We soon took a wrong turning (surprise!) but a helpful local pointed us in the right direction - follow the muddy footpath, not the paved one. OK, straightforward from there on, across fields where we were mostly ankle deep in mud. One field had three hairy pigs in, to the horror of the youngest child, but they completely ignored us. The next field had a sign declaring 'Bull in Field' so we tiptoed across, all slightly scared this time. The bull was not existent, thankfully. This field led to a flooded and exceedingly muddy farm track which resulted in us teetering along a very muddy verge attempting not to fall in the water - exciting!
We walked through several more fields before coming upon Newbridge; from here we followed Clay Lane until we joined another footpath. And went wrong. I followed what I thought was a short-cut, but ended up walking through the lovely Chessell Copse and meeting Doddpitts Lane further down than I anticipated. Never mind, a brisk walk brought us to the end of the lane, past the interesting looking Doddpitts House, and the footpath back to Shalfleet, where, after some more mud, we got back to the car.
Distance: 4.8 miles
Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_2452856.html
