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A great llloooonnnnnggggg walk :)

I was clearing out my office today when I came across the journal I wrote during my first end to end walk……….so I thought I would post it !

Most of my walks are circular day walks but I like nothing better than just taking off with a pack on my back and walking wherever the mood takes me. No car, just my legs………and hopefully a B&B at the end of a days walking (not as easy as you might think!). This walk was quite some time ago now and the pictures are therefore quite old.

Day 1

It’s here at last! Something I’ve always wanted to do – an end to end walk over several days. Someday perhaps I’ll walk the whole of the South West Coast Path, but for now, this is great – a 4 day walk along the Dorset coast starting from Osmington and reaching wherever. Around 15/20 miles a day, can I do that for four days whilst loaded up? We will soon know!

Early in the morning my ‘taxi’ arrived as a friend was giving me a lift to my starting point. I was ready and waiting although still debating which waterproofs to take, how many layers I needed, whether to wear boots or shoes – it’s so difficult to know in this country! It was 11.30am by the time I actually set off walking.

Osmington is a really nice village, very unspoilt and pretty with lots of cottages. The first part of the walk took me through the village and along a lane which became a farm track where I caught my first glimpse of the famous white horse etched into the downs above the village………actually ‘grey’ horse was probably more accurate as it had lost some of its whiteness! It’s strange but when I actually reached the top and stood by the horse, it looked like nothing, just some unrecognisable bare patches in the grass. I guess life is a bit like that – things often look clearer from a distance!

Here’s looking at ewe!

Walking along the top of the ridge was lovely, there were lots of lambs, and the skylarks were out in force – it was beautiful to hear them. The day was perfect, quite balmy and still, and although the sun wasn’t out, it was a bright day. The only downside was that it was hazy so I couldn’t fully enjoy the amazing views. I took my life into my hands a couple of times as I had to walk through some fields of cows. Now sheep, they are lovely, friendly, cuddly things, but cows, they are a different kettle of fish altogether ! Anyway, I survived the ordeal!!

Mist in the valley

I had lunch near Bincombe and then dropped down into the village to have a look round the old church…..and to take some photos of course! It was a lovely old church but a bit of a nothing village, so I passed on up the hill. I must say I had no problem route finding, with my map/book and the clear waymark signs it was straight forward. In fact I surprised myself!

Leaving the village, I could see my next target in the distance, about 7/8 miles distant. It was The Hardy Monument and I set myself a goal to not stop until I reached it. This was a goal my head had set but my feet hadn’t necessarily agreed with! And they started to complain about it too – not verbally of course, but in every other way!! Note to self – set shorter goals in future! But as always with me, a goal once set cannot be changed or it means FAILURE ! So I trudged on – and it was a bit of a trudge towards the end! But I was determined! And I made it, too, without too many sore places, and no blisters.

Hardy Monument

I rewarded my feet by letting them have some air as I sat beneath the monument – i.e. I took my shoes and socks off. I could hear my feet audibly sigh with relief! It was funny how all the other visitors disappeared at that point ! Ah well, its one way to get the place to yourself. I was really pleased as I had covered 10 miles in 4 hours and I was ahead of schedule. I could afford to take my time a bit more for the last 4/5 miles.

Having aired my feet for half an hour and taken on some energy, aka food, I set off again. After a mile or two the promised rain came but it was a bit of an apology of a downpour, thank goodness. I didn’t even need waterproofs so they had the luxury of being taken for a ride without having to work for it. I eventually dropped off the hill through yet more sheep with lambs, some clearly called Shawn as they had no wool, and into Abbotsbury, my stopping point for the night. It was 6 o’clock when I checked into a B&B.

A bit of a sunset!

What a fantastic day! I thoroughly enjoyed it! And I thoroughly enjoyed my hot shower and cuppa too ! In fact, in the evening I was so energised that I went out for a walk, climbing up to St Catherine’s Chapel that sits at the top of a hill overlooking the village. By then, the haze had cleared and there was even a bit of a sunset, although the emphasis was on the ‘bit’! When the sun had gone down, it was time to retreat to the local hostelry for a well earned drink.

A great end to a great day!

Day 2

Surprisingly after a poor nights sleep, I was up early. I was dressed and down for breakfast at 8.00 and a great breakfast it was too – full English with toast, marmalade and tea. Just what I needed to set me up for the day.

St Catherine’s Chapel

I was out and walking before 9.00, first of all climbing back up to St Catherine’s Chapel before dropping down the other side to Chesil Beach. It was a fabulous sunny morning. I expected my first few miles to be nice and easy as they are flat but I forgot they followed the edge of Chesil Beach which means walking on shingle – hard work! It’s just the greatest place though and I spent some time trying to capture the essence of the place with the camera.

On Chesil Beach

All along this part of the walk through West Bexington and on to Burton Bradstock, there was a fantastic display of wild flowers of all colours and they were picked out beautifully by the bright sunlight. The footpath after Burton Bradstock was lovely too. There were only minor climbs and lots of nice flat, wide grassy paths – very kind to feet and knees ! They didn’t complain a bit even after yesterday’s exertions.

A myriad of wild flowers

After a few hours I dropped down into West Bay, which was just as well as I was hungry and also had no water left – this hot weather exhausts the water supply very easily. Mind you, I had to take quite a detour before West Bay, going inland through a caravan site just to get across a narrow stream – it would have been quicker to have taken my shoes and socks off and paddled across rather than walk all the way to the bridge and back on the other side.

I also had quite a detour in West Bay too, but that was of my own making as I kept going up walkways only to find there was no way across the harbour entrance and having to retrace my steps – should have checked the map first…….but that is far too easy and sensible, and after all, I am a man ! Anyway, my spirits lifted when I saw a sign over a kiosk saying ‘bacon rolls and tea’, so I just about ran over to it – and got them to fill my water bottle as well. I sat and ate beside the harbour wall with just the starlings for company – they kept landing on the table right in front of me and looked longingly at my roll. I almost felt guilty at not giving them some – almost, but not quite! I figured my need was greater than theirs!

Give me some food!

It was time to get on the road (or path) again so I said a cheery goodbye to the starlings - and they just ignored me. Well they were probably put out with me! With lunch inside me and 10 miles behind me, I walked with a new spring in my step – until I saw Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast of England, in the distance. I would have to climb that later, but there were numerous others before and after as well. Its funny how sights like that can suddenly sap your energy ! Anyway, I ignored it and carried on.

Do I really have to climb that?

The views from the top of each peak were amazing…….but why do they have to make them so difficult to get to? Why can’t someone invent an eco friendly country escalator? Golden Cap, when I reached it, was a difficult climb, especially after 15 miles of walking. My feet and legs were now complaining in unison! My body was soaking up water like a sponge too and I had very little left. But when I reached the top, it was worth it…….because I could sit down ! The annoying thing was that there were people on the top which meant I had to pretend to be climbing it easily – well it wouldn’t do to let people know I am not a superwalker ! There is a need to create the impression that I am strong, energetic and young. Vanity, vanity!!

From Golden Cap

The disappointing thing was that having reached the pinnacle on this days walking, I still had another three and a half miles to walk…..and more climbs! In fact the last climb of the day was the toughest, with a heavy pack and virtually no water, I was relieved when I reached the top. I just kept telling myself that all I had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time and I would get there. Simples! Yeah right!!

Showing the way

From this point, my route took me down hill into Charmouth where because of cliff falls I would have to follow the road into Lyme Regis, my stopping point for the day. Walking along a road with noisy traffic flying past is not my idea of fun but I was determined that I would still walk it even though I had already walked 20 miles. And then, after a mile or two of torture I spied……..a bus stop! And not only that, but a bus was due in 5 minutes ! It was just meant to be, so I did!

The Cobb, Lyme Regis

Tired but happy, I checked into a B&B – which was no easy task as they were all fully booked! It was something of a disappointment after last night’s accommodation but I was so tired that I didn’t care! After a refreshing shower and cuppa, I went off for……..you guessed it……..a walk!

Day 3 – to follow next time

Be blessed!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

If you would like to contact me, my details are on my website which is http://www.yarrowphotography.com – comments and feedback are welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, flowers, meadow, nature, photography, rambling, spring, trees, walking

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Of dancing waves, hovering clouds, diving Chinooks, and patterns in the sand!

21 Feb

This is a walk that started with one of my favourite modes of transport, the ferry that plies its trade to and fro across the entrance to Poole Harbour. As the ferry leaves on its journey, we can see the results of the devastating action of the tides which have over the years undermined the foreshore putting buildings at risk. It seems that no matter what man does, he cannot defeat the forces of nature.

Repairing the foreshore

This is a ferry that I have travelled on all my life, in fact I travelled this even before I was born…..in my mother’s womb ! I like it so much that I bought a metre of the chain to add to the cornucopia of quirky things that I have collected on my walks over the years and that now adorn my garden. Why only a metre? Well, it is heavy and it took two of us to lift just that length into the car! The chains are each 1,235 feet long and are replaced every 15 to 18 months because they stretch and wear out – so I have a very small piece of history in my garden !

Getting off the ferry is like entering another world, we leave one side inhabited by man and land on the other side inhabited by nature. Suddenly we are transported from some of the most expensive real estate in the world into the wide open spaces with three miles of the most broad, clean, sandy beaches you could wish to find!

Wide open spaces

Flanked by the most delightful sand dunes and beyond that, acres of heather clad heathland – entering this world, you just revel in the sense of freedom and with the bracing wind blowing off the sea, you can just feel yourself coming alive! No matter how many times I walk this beach, I never lose that wonderful sense of freedom………and I never run out of new photos to take!

The beauty of the sand dunes

On this day the wind was strong and the waves rolled relentlessly to the shore, one after the other without losing any momentum. As one finally dissipates its energy onto the beach, another three pile in behind it, like some perpetual motion machine. Standing on the shore, you get some sense of what King Canute must have felt! And that great Iona song, ‘Wave After Wave’ comes to mind.

Three in a row

Even with their relentless and unceasing power, the waves do not have it all their own way as the wind seemingly does battle with them, whipping the tops off as they break. What an amazing sight and one that a photo can never do justice to. As we stand watching the dancing waves and flitting spray carrying out their performance, it is like watching a well choreographed stage show, only so much better! Ah the wonders of God’s creation completely outdoes the best that man can offer!

Whipping the wave tops

Even the clouds seem to join in as they hover like giant airships! As we watch them, we can’t help but let our imaginations run free and wonder what it would be like to stand on top and see the world from their perspective.

A hovering airship!

This beach is not only a walker’s paradise but it is a horse rider’s paradise too as the local stables offer beach rides in the winter months. The picture below just typifies freedom to me.

Freedom

But it is time for us to leave this captivating scene and head on with our walk. Passing through a delightful village, we cross the graveyard that surrounds the beautiful Norman church and it is alive with snowdrops – a timely reminder that spring, and new birth, is not too far away.

Snowdrops in the churchyard

And then beyond the village we are met with a stiff climb that takes us up onto a ridge of hills and once again we are met with that same bracing wind that has us reaching for our gloves again. From here we have amazing views back across the village and beyond we can see almost the whole of the four miles we have walked so far. In the summer, these hills are rife with skylarks rising high above but today, it is a bird of a very different kind that sings overhead!

What a view

With a thunderous roar, like a giant bird coming out of the sun, the Chinook appears…..and it will accompany us for some time. This is a military machine on manoevers, landing on the headland and hovering over the water by turns, depositing and picking up troops on a training exercise. With precision timing, it is another, if different, spectacle to behold. As much as I love the solitude and silence of the countryside, these helicopters make an awesome sight with their massive power and yet incredible manoeuvrability - to quote Cassius Clay, they ‘float like a butterfly and sting like a bee’!

A bird of a different kind

With the Chinook following us, we continue on our way round the famous landmark that is Old Harry Rocks with its strong tidal race curving around the headland. A few years ago I kayaked round these stacks which was easy and great fun on the way out but somewhat more difficult on the way back, fighting a fast flowing tide. By the time I reached the safety of the beach, my arms felt like lead but it was great to see this chalk headland from a different viewpoint.

Old Harry Rocks

Having stopped off to enjoy a flask of hot Bovril at the top of the chalk cliffs in the one sheltered spot that was available, we continue along the track that leads back to the beach as for the last three miles, we would be retracing our steps from earlier in the day. By now the tide had gone out, revealing another of those quirky things that litter this coast.

This is The Training Bank, a man made reef of rocks laid to help maintain the deep water channel through the entrance to Poole Harbour by directing the tidal flow. This is only visible at low tide and it makes an interesting spectacle stretching out across the bay towards Old Harry Rocks.

The Training Bank

One of the amazing things about The Training Bank is the beautiful red seaweed which clothes all of the rocks.

Red seaweed

I love walking the beach as the sun sets. Apart from the wonderful peace, the soft evening light and low tide just seem to bring out the most beautiful patterns in the sand. It is a sight that I can never resist photographing!

Patterns in the sand

As we near the end of the walk, we have to cross several streams that are watersheds from the heathland. These are normally shallow and no bother to cross but with the rain that we have had in recent times, they were somewhat deeper than normal and the result of this is………wet feet! Ah well, I normally manage to get wet feet anyway as I am usually so busy taking pictures at the water’s edge that I don’t notice the incoming tide reaching out to grab me by the ankles ! Reflecting the post sunset glow in the sky, these little streams do make picturesque subjects for the camera !

Watershed wonder

And of course, the dunes with their Marram Grass also provide some photographic fodder !

Sunset in the dunes

And so finally after a fantastic day along the Dorset coast we reach the ferry again. Now that the sun has gone, the temperature dips to below freezing so the little bit of protection that the ferry provides is welcome. And we take the ride back across the harbour entrance with just the last remaining glow in the sky. What a great day!

A twilight journey back

Thanks for joining me on this walk – I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Be blessed!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

If you would like to contact me, my details are on my website which is http://www.yarrowphotography.com – comments and feedback are welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: church, conceptual photography, country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, flowers, Iona, nature, new life, photography, rambling, walking, weather, wildlife

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Twas on a cold wintry day……

23 Dec

Ah what a fabulous walk this was! For almost the first time this year I could walk on solid ground, not because there wasn’t any mud but because for once the mud was frozen. After the rain we have had seemingly all year, it was such a refreshing change to have seasonably cold, frosty weather which froze even the deepest puddles. So it was hat and gloves on, and a hot drink to have on the way!

Mind you, before I even got to walking, the camera came out as I passed the beautiful valley in the picture below – I thought it looked as if Santa had passed by in his sleigh on his way to deliver presents to all the lovely children !

Where is Santa

I arrived at the starting point of my walk and parked in a delightfully picturesque village with its picture postcard cottages and leafy lanes. With the dappled sunlight, it made a beautiful start to the walk – but later, the darkness would reveal something even more special!

Dappled light on a village street

Leaving the village, the first mile or two took me down one of those quintessentially timeless Dorset country lanes. With the crisp frost and the dancing sunlight, it seemed that I was walking in an age more familiar to my grandparents and I almost expected to see a horse and wagon come by on their way to market. It is truly wonderful how some things just don’t change, especially in this fast moving 21st century technological society that we live in. How grateful I am for these timeless places, these quiet moments, and for the ability to enjoy them.

Timeless

Turning off the lane, my route took me onto a farm track, passing the farmhouse on the way. Seeing this farmhouse bathed in sunshine on this crisp day made me understand afresh the pleasures of living in a rural area. I know there are ‘disadvantages’ to being a farmer like having to get up at 4.00 am every day but, hey, as they say, ‘every silver lining has a cloud’! Hmm, or is that the other way round !

The farmhouse

But just standing there gazing at the view…….well, you couldn’t help but sigh and drink it all in. With the frost in the foreground echoing the shape of the fence, and the gentle mist settled over the valley in the early morning light, it was magical What a morning, what a view! Stand there with me and realise afresh the truth of the poets words, ‘What is life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’!

‘What is life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare’

But, move on we must, before the cold freezes us to the spot! From here, the route winds its way across farmland…….and loses its way a little! A lack of signposting and some poor stiles can make it difficult to follow the path, especially when one field looks much like the next, but this is all part of the enjoyment of a good walk, creating some small challenges along the way and making the compass and map worth carrying.

We have a good system here in Dorset, a system that allows any problems with the footpath to be reported to the local authority – you can love or hate the Internet, but how did we manage without it? Within days of my sending through the report, I received an email advising me that the corrective works had been commissioned so next time I walk this way, the path should be clear again ! I bet they love me!!

One of the things I love about this county of Dorset is the variety of habitat and terrain. After the farmland, the path gently winds down into a lovely area of woodland with the frost clinging to the trees and shrubs creating a fairytale land. If you let your imagination go, you could almost expect to see little snowmen running free. And then, it is out into the open hillside again to be greeted by the most wonderful view.

Across the open valley

Lunch time was beckoning and I knew that there was a lovely village church not far away. That is significant because it is always nice to sit down to eat but that is not something that is straight forward in the winter when the ground is so wet. However, most churchyards have a bench or two which solves the problem ! I often think it would be nice if more farmers would provide a seat or two beside footpaths crossing their land – it doesn’t need to be a padded sofa, just an old log or two will do ! But on this day, it was a churchyard, and a beautifully peaceful one at that, and as I sat there, the weak winter sunlight falling on the delightfully coloured gravestones caught my eye.

In the graveyard

On these cold days, it is always nice to have a hot drink so I usually carry either a flask or my small camping stove which in many ways is even better because it means I can brew a hot drink whenever I want to. And today I wanted to! Sat in that peaceful churchyard with food and a hot drink reflecting on life is one of the pleasures even on a cold day like this. And so often, these country churchyards are a haven for wildlife too.

The second half of the walk crosses some pristine parklands, with two old stately homes to pass, with the usual array of cottages. I think the one below with its mansard roof and country garden must be the perfect place to live.

The country cottage

And then a little further on, another old and now disused but beautifully positioned building which probably housed farm workers in time gone by. Its days of usefulness are long gone and it looks forlornly out across the land that its inhabitants once served. And yet it still has a picturesque beauty that enhances the distant view, and a heritage that stretches even further.

Empty but beautiful

Climbing up onto the ridge just as the sun was setting, my route took in some amazing views across the valley. The evening mist was creeping stealthily across the low lying land creating a mystical atmosphere which was lit by the gentle pastel colours that are typical of a Dorset winter evening. And the frost that had lingered on the ground all day, grew crisper as the temperature dropped even further.

The evening mist settles across the valley

And as I dropped down off the hillside again, the village of Evershot was sat in shade with the blue mist creating a winter wonderland.

A winter wonderland

Passing through the village and out into the countryside again, I looked back to see the last vestiges of the milky sunset reflecting off the smoke from the bonfires in the cottage gardens.

Bonfires in the sunset

The last two miles took me across the most perfect parkland with its landscaped grounds and beautifully laid out trees. One in particular seemed as if it was standing out from its peers, like a lookout on the ramparts of a hill fort.

The lookout

And as darkness fell and the frost grew heavier and whiter still, I walked on alone apart from the many deer that roamed free. They were my company for what I often think is the best part of the day.

The parklands

And of course past the old mansion itself, now looming out of the darkness.

The old mansion

Eventually, I walked back into the village I had started from and it was there that the darkness brought to light that ‘something special’ that I mentioned at the start. It was a beautiful nativity scene set up in the window of one of the old cottages, lit up and glowing with its warm light shining out into the cold, darkness outside. I stood and looked, and thought what a great message, light shining into darkness, and a what a wonderful reminder of what this Christmas time is all about!

Be blessed!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

If you would like to contact me, my details are on my website which ishttp://www.yarrowphotography.com – comments and feedback are welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: church, churches, country life, Dorset, farming, nature, photography, poem, poetry, rambling, trees, village life, walking, wildlife

Comments 11 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Poetry, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Of autumn mists and mellow fruitfulness ……..well, just mist really!!

4 Nov

I think we all like walking in the lovely bright summer sunshine, but I’m a strange person in that I like to walk in all weathers! In fact there are times when bad weather really improves a walk – for instance, on a bright summers day mountains can seem quite tame but bring down some stormy weather and they take on a whole different character, much more threatening and dangerous. On this walk, the day was very misty and with heavy cloud that really suited the landscape so well, as I think you will see.

It started with a walk around the southern shore of Poole Harbour, said to be the second largest natural harbour in the world with 100 miles of coastline. Initially, the walk was straight forward with sandy beaches, gently lapping water, and……and house boats!

The house boats at Bramble Bush Bay

These always intrigue me as some are not really boats at all – because they were effectively falling apart, they have been embedded in concrete to ‘stop the rot’. They still lean at crazy angles and you would be justified in thinking they were derelict, but they are not. They are still occupied in the summer months when the concrete bedded ones are joined by a number of additional floating houses to form a village by the beach. It is one of those quirky things of Dorset that I have known all my life.

A little further on in my walk I came across another of those mysteries, a row of dragon’s teeth – but are they?

Dragon’s Teeth?

This line of heavy concrete blocks stretches a short distance into the harbour’s water and are usually referred to as Dragon’s Teeth, a wartime anti-tank blockade, but I often wonder if that really was their purpose. At one time, Brownsea Island, the largest island in the harbour, had a pottery industry and raw materials were transported by boat to the island, and in turn, the pottery goods were exported. To do this, the barges used to berth at a number of landing stages on the harbour shore and I wonder if these blocks are the remains of one of these. I have never been able to totally prove one way or the other but in many ways, it is the very mystery that makes these utilitarian blocks fascinating.

Continuing round the shoreline, I passed below the beautiful low sandstone cliffs with their amazing array of warm colours ranging from yellow, through the whole spectrum of oranges, to deep browns. And below, the sandy beach begins to turn a little more rugged.

Sandstone

There is quite a lot of debris along this part of the coast, remains from the days when there were thriving industries. This is very evident at Redhorn Quay. The old jetty itself has long since disappeared but there is a rusting hulk, still standing proud, determined to hold out till the last. I fear it will not be there much longer as the weather over the years has destroyed most of it already.

The wreck at Redhorn Quay

I always linger at Redhorn because as you stand there with the wind whipping around you and the sound of the sea lapping on the shore, you can almost sense what it would have been like all those years ago when the wreck was a working barge plying its trade around the harbour. With other derelict vessels nearby, it feels like a graveyard.

But it was time to move on. Now this is not an easy walk and in some ways that is what makes it special because it is not frequented by many people. This makes it seem all the more remote. What makes the walk difficult is that it is extremely marshy and great care is needed to avoid stepping in the wrong place! But it has a very beautiful loneliness about it. With the heavy mist and cloud, the marshes take on real character as you walk carefully beside the water. The tide was out revealing vast expanses of mud flats which were frequented by a whole range of waders, and their plaintive cries echoing across the harbour just emphasised the feeling of loneliness that this area evokes. I love those plaintive cries, especially that of the curlew and the oyster catcher!

Marshes and mud flats in Poole Harbour

I lingered as long as I could but had to move on because there was a lot more to enjoy on this walk. As I left the harbour shore, I took one last look back across the wonderful autumn marsh grass.

Across the marsh grass

From the marshlands of the harbour, I walked on across the heathland further inland, with its famous Agglestone (holy stone). This stone stands proud on its hilltop as if it was monarch of all he surveys…..but the truth is it is not meant to be there! It is a massive block of sandstone, not necessarily massive by world standards but massive in the context of the sandy heathland that surrounds it. It is this incongruity which makes it another of Dorset’s curiosities. Legend has it that it was thrown by the devil from the Isle of Wight when he was aiming to destroy Corfe Castle which is a few miles away. Clearly his aim was not that good…….or maybe it is just that it is a relic of the ice age !

The Agglestone on Godlingston Heath

One of the things I like about this walk is the varied terrain, from marshes to heathland and on to much more civilised ground as I crossed the well manicured grass of Isle of Purbeck Golf Course, famed for being owned by Enid Blyton. Even here though there was wetness!!!

Tracks in the wet grass on the Isle of Purbeck Golf Course

And having passed across the fairway, watching for low flying golf balls , my route took me up over to the top of Ballard Down with its well known obelisk looming out of the mist. This obelisk was erected for the first time in 1883 to commemorate the coming of a clean water supply to Swanage. I say ‘for the first time’ because it was taken down during the Second World War to prevent its being used by enemy pilots to aid navigation. It was erected for a second time in 1952 but somewhat shorter because the bottom section had been damaged.

The ‘shorter’ obelisk on Ballard Down

The view from the obelisk is wonderful and it was a view that stayed with me as my route followed the ridge for several miles. Normally on this part of the walk I would be serenaded by skylarks but not on this day. I did however come across some fungi, grouped together as if they were deliberately posing for a family photograph. Naturally I obliged !

A fungi family gathering on Ballard Down

Having enjoyed the spectacular views…..and the bracing wind……on the ridge top, I eventually dropped down into the valley again to pass through a farm with the usual array of ‘abandoned’ farm machinery. Some of this was clearly just parked until needed again but it always amuses me how much machinery simply gets left to rust away. On some walks it almost seems like someone has deliberately set up a museum of farming through the ages!

Waiting to be used again

I was nearing the end of my walk now but there was still time to look for some more pictures. I like to look for a different view of things and recently have been searching for what I call ‘alternative autumn pictures’. I found one on this walk in a river bed which reflected the trees above – the ‘autumn leaves’ were in fact pebbles under the water.

Autumn in the river bed

The final stretch of this wonderful and varied walk should have taken me along the beach back to my starting point but I took a detour to revisit the early part of my walk again, hoping for an amazingly vibrant sunset across the Dragon’s Teeth and house boats – but as often happens it didn’t come!! Well I guess the sun did set, but hidden from view behind a huge bank of cloud! Ah well, I took the pictures anyway.

Somehow, in the fading light, the random concrete blocks seem even more imposing.

Poole Harbour in the fading light

And standing on the shore on this crisp evening with the water gently washing across the sand with the mist still lingering across the harbour, there was a special atmosphere. It is what makes walking so enjoyable and memorable!

Darkness falls on The Bramble Bush Bay houseboats

By the time I reached the Sandbanks Chain Ferry for my trip back across the Poole Harbour entrance, it was dark – but then, I finish nearly all of my walks in the dark….just to make them last a little longer. And this was a walk I didn’t want to end.

The Sandbanks Chain Ferry

Not much sun, lots of cloud and mist, chill breezes, waders and fungi, marshland, heath, hilltops and beach, and a good smattering of Dorset quirkiness – a wonderfully varied and evocative walk. I hope you enjoyed walking it with me.

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

If you would like to contact me, my details are on my website which is http://www.yarrowphotography.com – comments and feedback are welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, Enid Blyton, farming, nature, photography, Poole Harbour, rambling, walking, weather, wildlife

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

The long and short of it…..!

15 Oct

As you will know by now, I like L L o o o o n n n n g g g g walks ! Anything from 10 to 20 miles a day is good, and I even did one walk of 35 miles earlier this year. It’s great to be able to stride out and spend a whole day on the trail. I’m not sure if that makes me strange, in fact I’m not sure why I like long walks so much really. Is it the challenge, that sort of ‘man against the elements’ sort of thing? I guess you could ask, ‘Why climb Mount Everest?’ or, ‘Why skydive from 24 miles up? There isn’t really an answer, except for me, I love being outdoors in this wonderful countryside, close to nature and creation, and I like to keep fit at the same time !

There was a time when I used to search the book shelves for walking guides that covered longer distances, but I found virtually none! Oh, some books paid lip service to long walks by including the odd 8 or 10 mile route, but nothing substantial. So I started to plan my own routes, originally using paper OS maps, and now OS map software, and I have to say, I have really enjoyed doing it. There is something special about walking a route that is ‘all your own work’!

Well, I then had a thought – why not publish a book myself?? Now, I’m not really a writer, although I have been known to get the odd article in print, but that is exactly what I am doing, and have been for some time. Thus far, it has been very much down to route preparation and design and I have over 30 routes now. I also have a potential publisher and am looking at my options because these days it seems that self publishing is the way to go. The book will cover some spectacular walks and include maps, route descriptions, lots of information on interesting things along the way, and of course lots of photographs!

Anyway, as much as I love long walks, I really enjoy shorter walks too and often of an evening or weekend, you will find me walking in the local area where I live.

The local nature reserve

It is great to be able to walk straight from my front door without the need for the car, and although I live in an urban area, it is possible by linking footpaths, stretches of urban woodland, heath, parklands etc to feel like you are actually out in the countryside. One of my favourite sunday walks takes in a small nature reserve, a lovely oasis in the middle of suburbia where there is so much wildlife to see.

The log pile – a bug high rise!

After the nature reserve, my route takes me into an area of woodland known as Delph Woods. It isn’t a large woodland and it is surrounded by houses, roads and a golf course but when you are in amongst the trees, you forget you are in the middle of a town. I have been walking these woods for many many years and I can well remember how I used to take my children there on a Sunday. There is a disused railway line running through it and I used to tell them tales of the ghost train that still travels through on a moonlit night ! I don’t think they believed me then, and they definitely don’t believe me now that they are grown up!!

In the autumn evening light

One of the challenges for me is to capture some good landscape pictures and undoubtedly the early morning or late evening is the best time to do that – the so called ‘golden hour’. Somehow, it is easier to take notable landscapes when at the well known landmarks that have featured in books and magazines the world over, but to repeat that in your local woodlands is a new challenge. And I like a challenge !

At the end of the day

The walk also takes in a small pond or two and it is always magical standing there in the fading light watching the setting sun reflecting off nature’s mirror. You may be in the middle of a town, but with the singing of the birds, the hooting of an owl, the sight of a deer in the dusk light, you could be anywhere. Long may these local havens be preserved for us to enjoy and escape into when we have just a little time to spare.

So the long and short of it is……enjoy both! Just enjoy the freedom of being outside in God’s creation, drink it in, it will refresh and renew you, it will reduce the stress levels created by modern life, it will improve your heart and your mind. It always does mine!

And if you need a guide book to help you, I know where you can get one….. !

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

If you would like to contact me, my details are on my website which is http://www.yarrowphotography.com – comments and feedback are welcomed.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: autumn, books, Dorset, local walks, nature, photography, rambling, reading, trees, urban life, walking, wildlife

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Of summer and autumn, Dorset heathlands, memories of a hero, and a spider rescued!

5 Oct

Betwixt and between seems to summarise where we are at the moment and this was a betwixt and between walk! In terms of flora and fauna, summer has not quite gone and yet autumn is here; in terms of weather, autumn is definitely here! On this walk there was evidence of both seasons and there is such beauty in both and so much to be enjoyed if we just walk with our eyes open.

The walk started off by crossing some classic old Dorset countryside……although there is precious little of it left now – I mean that mix of conifer plantations and open heathland that was made famous by one of Dorset’s great authors, Thomas Hardy. At one time, much of Dorset was covered with open heathland but gradually over the years it has either been built on or reclaimed for farming, making it a rare commodity in the 21st century. Fortunately some pockets remain dotted around the county and this walk took in several.

The beautiful Dorset heathland

Having crossed the high heathland in the midst of changing from its summer dress to its winter garb, my route dropped down into woodlands with ferns in a similar state of change. These look delightful as they gently unfurl in the spring but are equally delightful as they change into autumn colours on the ‘forest’s ferny floor’ as Walter De La Mare describes it.

The forest’s ferny floor

It was at this juncture that I rescued a spider!! Well to be exact, I avoided destroying him and his web! I was walking along the forest track just listening to the birds singing their myriad different songs – its strange really, who told the wren that he had to sing that particular tune, or the yellow hammer his particular tune? The wonders of this wonderful creation!

Anyway, as I walked, I noticed something glistening immediately in front of me so I stopped for a closer look. It was a single slender strand of web that stretched a full 10 feet from one side of the path to the other and that supported the web with the spider in the middle waiting for his prey to fly by (it conjures in my mind pictures of me walking into the web and being bound up by the spider like something out of a horror movie )! Well, I didn’t want to destroy his handiwork and it was at the wrong height for me to get over or under it so I detoured around it by fighting my way through the brambles and undergrowth to the other side, not an easy task!

A very grateful spider with his lunch!

A little farther along the trail, I came across some evidence of summer, just to contrast with the autumn heathland that I had just walked through. This was a hover fly on a corn marigold. It was almost as if summer was saying, ‘I haven’t quite gone yet!’

Hover fly on a corn marigold

For a time I left the heathland behind (although I would return to it later) as my route took me to the resting place of one of Dorset’s heroes. To get there, I had to cross the river, and a beautiful river crossing it was too with its hugely long and thin bridge alongside what was a ford. In fact whilst I was there, a group of cyclists thought it still was ‘fordable’ as they all rode into the river for a short distance before each in turn got stuck as their wheels sank into the shingle……and they fell off!

A delightful river crossing

The goal was St Nicholas’ Church Moreton, famous for being the resting place of T E Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia. It is a beautiful church with some spectacular windows, each engraved with lovely scenes. The original church was badly damaged in the Second World War when it was hit by a German bomber and instead of repairing the windows, it was decided to commission Lawrence Whistler to create new ones. They are beautiful and world famous!

St Nichols’ Church, Moreton and its windows

Lawrence’s grave itself sits in a small detached part of the graveyard.

Lawrence of Arabia’s resting place

For the time being, I left T E Lawrence but there would be more reminders of his life further on in my walk. My route took me back across the long bridge and through another pocket of heathland. This one was covered partly with wonderfully picturesque long, yellowing grass. I love this grass and I sat and ate my lunch in the middle of it, just listening to the gentle sounds of the Dorset countryside. It was a delightful place.

The lunch stop

And here too was a reminder (or is that a remainder!) of summer, with a plethora of butterflies all around me.

A speckled wood butterfly

All too soon it was time to leave my idyllic surroundings and continue on my way to an altogether different area in more ways than one. My route took me out of the heath and onto a country lane, but not just any country lane, this was the very place that T E Lawrence met his untimely death on 19th May 1935 at the age of 46. Having achieved and survived so much during the Arab campaign, Lawrence finally succumbed on this stretch of Dorset road when he lost control of his motorbike whilst trying to avoid two boys who were cycling in a hidden dip. It seemed fitting that as I walked this stretch of road, an army tank passed by.

The spot where Lawrence died

Of course Lawrence was an author, famous for The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but that wasn’t his only legacy. As a result of his accident, crash helmets were ultimately introduced for all motorcyclists. Just a short distance away along the same road sits Clouds Hill, Lawrence’s cottage home for many years, now in the hands of that National Trust.

Clouds Hill

Leaving T E Lawrence behind, I continued my walk, and crossed yet another pocket of heathland. Here again there was a mix of summer and winter with the delightful Bell Heather still bearing its summer magenta-purple plumage whilst the equally delightful Bog Asphodel had changed from yellow to a wonderful autumn orangey red.

Colours of the heathland – Bell Heather and Bog Asphodel

I was nearing the end of my walk now but there were two quintessentially Dorset villages to pass through, picture postcard perfect villages! Apart from the usual array of delightful thatched cottages, the first village had a rather interesting village post office ! Sitting beside the old village hall, the shop was in what was at one time a granary with its arched foundations designed to keep unwanted visitors out! This was a wonderful village to walk through although I suspect that there may be less residents there now with some of the cottages having been turned into second homes. It is a shame that the soul has gone out of a lot of our lovely villages as local people are priced out by the ever increasing prices of these cottages!

A delightful village

The old granary

My final stopping point was another village of picture book cottages and the nice thing about this one was that although there is recent development, it has all been designed to blend in with the old. It does give you some faith in the authorities that control the planning requirements and a greater hope that our wonderful heritage will never be lost !

New and old alike

I started of by saying that we are betwixt and between and this wonderful walk contained much to prove that. It highlighted the beauty of both summer and autumn – in fact every season has its beauty and this is never more true than in this county and country of ours. With the changing seasons and weather, we never have a chance to tire of anything and I think that is a real positive………..unless it is rain, and I think we have had our fair share of that !!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: church, churches, conceptual photography, country life, Dorset, farming, flowers, Lawrence of Arabia, nature, photography, rain, rambling, Thomas Hardy, village life, walking, weather, wildlife

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Categories Dorset, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

What are your favourite sounds?

25 Sep

Since I am a photographer you might think I am a visual person, and I am. But I am also very much an audio person and I love sounds, not only music but all sounds – well, perhaps not literally all !! Many years ago I listed my favourite sounds so I thought I would share some of them with you.

The sound of surf washing over shingle

This is such a beautiful relaxing sound, especially at the end of a long walk as the evening light settles over the coast and everyone has gone home – the time when in the words of the poet, ‘All is left to darkness and to me’. Sitting in the solitude on one of Dorset’s shingle beaches with the gently washing surf is special.

The sound of the skylark singing on a warm summer day

To me, this is a quintessentially Dorset sound when walking the chalk uplands and it just typifies summer. I will never forget the evening at the end of a great day when I was walking along the coast with the skylarks singing on one side of me, the surf washing gently across the shore on the other, and a fantastic sunset straight ahead of me. Magical! Just lay on the grass and listen to the skylarks singing. I love it so much that I wrote a song about it once – perhaps I’ll share it one day.

The sound of children playing

What a cheerful sound this is! Children have such a sense of wonder and adventure, it is such a shame we lose it as we get older……not that I have ever lost mine as I am still a child at heart and I deliberately try to keep my sense of wonder and passion as you will probably have sensed from my blog. The innocence of children as they play is one of the wonders of the world.

The sound of a steam train

Maybe it reminds me of my youth. We don’t see them so much now but fortunately we have enthusiasts who still run preserved steam railways like the Swanage Railway in Dorset or the Toddington Railway in the picture above. I know they were slow and dirty but I can forgive all that for the wonderful sound they make!

The sound of a finely tuned bicycle wheel

This may seem a strange one but when I was younger I was a racing cyclist and I had lightweight aluminium wheels and tubular tyres on my bike and when you got up a good speed whilst racing, the wheels would just sing with the friction of the road and the air through the spokes. It was a great sound and a great feeling……but you would probably have to be a cyclist to understand it!

Sounds that travel on a very still summer evening

This is another ‘end of walk’ favourite. Occasionally we have those very still, balmy summer evenings and it is really great to be walking the hilltops just listening to the sounds that travel across the valley, sounds like dogs barking or cows mooing in the far distance. Normally you wouldn’t notice it but sounds travel a long way in the still summer air and they have a different quality.

The sound of push/pull lawn mowers

Its strange how whenever you sit down in the garden for a quiet read, there’s always someone who decides to mow their lawn! These days nearly everyone has either an electric or a motor mower, the former makes this stress inducing whine and the latter just makes a din! The old push/pull mowers like the one in the picture above have such a lovely relaxing sound……..when the neighbours are using them of course !

The singing of the blackbird

Always the last to sing as darkness falls, and usually from a favourite perch high in the tree. Such a beautiful sound!

The crackling of a blazing log fire

In the freezing cold depths of winter, there is nothing better than a blazing log fire that crackles and makes all sorts of strange patterns and pictures as you gaze at the flames. No need for a television or music, a log fire is entertainment all by itself. If its not in the hearth, a bonfire is equally good, or as in my garden, a chiminea! Wonderful…….even if everything does smell of smoke after – well, I can’t smell it anyway! When I was young, I used to take my dog Rex out for long walks and then together we would sit beside a blazing fire with the lights out and the room being lit by just the dancing flames.

The plaintive cry of the curlew

Walking through the mudflats at low tide with a myriad of different waders is fantastic, and there is no better sound than the lonely, plaintive cry of the curlew. It sends shivers down your spine!

The sound of seagulls

I guess they remind me of holidays long ago spent at the west country seaside or harbours. The sound to me just takes me back to holiday time when I was young.

My wife’s singing

She has a beautiful voice although she doesn’t think so!

So what are your favourite sounds? Have you listened to what is around you recently, I mean, really listened?

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, nature, photography, poetry, rambling, sounds, wildlife

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Poetry, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Of an island that’s not an island, quarries and more quarries, and wind instruments with no wind!

12 Sep

I had a fabulous walk last week, a walk I have done many times but one which always provides something new and different each time. It was a circumnavigation around an island, The Isle of Portland, which is in fact not an island at all because it is connected to the mainland by a causeway and beach. Whether you would describe it as pretty or scenic depends on your point of view but I would describe it as rugged, probably some of the most rugged coast you will find. It is also probably one of the windiest and wild usually except on this day when I wanted it to be – but more of that later!

There is for me an amazing variety of interesting things on this walk, and it started straight away as soon as I parked the car at the highest point on the ‘island’ with amazing views straight down the causeway back to the mainland.

The view to the mainland

Having admired this spectacular view, I set off on my walk but within a mile I was ‘forced’ to detour off the track to take in the first of the interesting features of this rugged landscape, three of them in fact! The first is the remains of the old quarrying industry in the form of two bridges spanning the incline that drops off the hill. This is carved out of solid rock and as I stood looking down the rutway lines (grooves cut into the rock like railway lines), I could visualise the quarrymen working hard to get the heavy stone down to flatter ground – I wonder what modern health and safety consultants would have said about their practices! There will be much more quarrying references throughout this post as it was a major industry here.

Continuing a short distance, I passed the old military barracks dating from the late 1800′s. You can visit this, or at least the people who live there, but not as a tourist as it was converted to a prison in 1949! Opposite this, and once part of it, is another military establishment built around the same time and which you can visit, and a fascinating place it is too.

This is High Angle Battery. Built in a disused quarry in 1892, this fort once protected Portland Harbour far below, but was in the end only operational for 6 years. Being below ground level, it gets its name from the fact that the shells were fired high into the air to drop onto the decks of any attacking ships. I always enjoy exploring this fort with its gun posts and underground ammunition dumps and can imagine the busyness of the place when it was operational.

Part of the High Angle Battery ammunition dump with rails still in place

Leaving the fort behind, I continued my walk along the cliff top on the east side of Portland, with views over the extensive old quarry workings that run all along the coast, passing the Young Offenders Institution on the way – this is a Dorset walk with a difference! After a while, I dropped down into the quarry to continue my walk along a ledge part way down and that once formed the tramway for the quarry.

Looking back along the tramway

This path eventually took me to one of my favourite places, Church Ope Cove, a place with a real air of mystery and so much of interest. The first sight is of the old castle, one of three on Portland, known as Rufus Castle or Bow and Arrow Castle which stands proud on the cliff above the cove. Built for William Rufus, hence its name, this is very much in ruins now.

Rufus Castle

Beyond the castle and part way down to the cove my route passed the remains of St Andrew’s Church, once the main place of worship for the islanders. Destroyed by landslips and invasion by French pirates, the church is said to have smuggling connections and has some smugglers’ graves.

Smugglers’ graves with the skull and crossbones

Passing through the old churchyard, I was again ‘forced’ to take a detour to look at some other remains! Difficult to access because of erosion, this is the remains of John Penn’s Bath – a rather quirky Dorset curiosity! John Penn, previously governor of the colonial Pennsylvania and part of the family after whom the state was named, owned Pennsylvania Castle which stands on the cliff top above the cove. In the early 19th century, sea bathing was becoming very popular but John Penn didn’t fancy climbing all the way down to the cove so had a ‘bath’ cut out of the rock just below his castle. The idea was that his servants would carry sea water up in buckets from the cove to fill the bath each time he felt like bathing and he would then sit and soak happily whilst looking out through the window onto the sea. Unfortunately he made the mistake of building his bath on common land and was forced by the local community to pay to use it. It is said that he was so outraged that he abandoned it!!

John Penn’s Bath

A short distance away was another distraction from my walk, and one that was even more inaccessible! This was an old underground reservoir. It has been suggested that this might date from Roman times although this has not been proven. It may well have served the old cafe that once existed on the beach in the early 20th century but this also is just speculation. It is a fascinating, and dangerously fragile, place and one that is not easy to find if you did not know it was there. I did venture through the narrow entrance into what was a pitch black and very muddy interior to grab one or two pictures using flash.

The interior of the old underground reservoir

So, detours over, I continued to make my way down to the cove itself, and as I walked I thought about John Penn’s servants carrying hundreds of buckets of water up that path – I bet they were relieved when he abandoned the bath ! The cove itself is a wonderful place, and one I love to visit. It was once a sandy beach but remains of the quarrying industry has turned the beach into a stony one. There are remains of the fishing industry too in the form of an old winch, and some interesting old beach huts with their pebble wall surrounded ‘front gardens’.

Church Ope Cove – the old winch and beach huts

I sat on the beach and ate my lunch listening to the gentle and relaxing sound of the surf washing over the rocks before I continued on my way, following the cliff top quarry path above the sea to eventually reach the southern most tip at Portland Bill. Here too there are remains of quarrying with old derricks on the cliff top, once used to lower stone into the waiting barges below.

An old cliff top derrick

And they are not all disused either – well, there is no other way to get the boats into the sea!

A newer cliff top derrick

Strangely, despite the fact that it is almost impossible to reach the sea from this point without some serious climbing, there are still beach huts here and if you have around £20,000 in spare cash, you could buy one! As you can see, it is basically a shed !

Beach hut for sale!

Of course, Portland is not only famous for its stone but also for its lighthouse, and no walk around this area would be complete without a picture, or ten, of it ! I always think these old lighthouses are so attractive, this one particularly so with its red stripe.

The Portland Bill lighthouse

It is also famous for its Pulpit Rock – named for obvious reasons. It just begs to be climbed, and people regularly do, and in fact fish from the top too. This is a long exposure shot, hence the blurred clouds and sea.

Pulpit Rock, Portland

So, it was on with the return journey, this time along the west coast of the island as the cloud started to form, obscuring the sun but providing some delightful light for me to photograph. The walk along this coast is mainly along old quarry ledges, nice and flat, and being west facing, normally watched over by the setting sun – although not on this day! I walked along here with barely a whisper of breeze, accompanied by seagulls and butterflies, enjoying the stillness.

Every cloud not only has a silver lining but produces interesting light too

Ah, but sadly that lack of wind was to spoil the next highlight of my walk. This was a temporary art project called Inside Out Dorset with rather unusual events taking place throughout the county. The event on Portland was an audio visual experience with many instruments, both wind and percussion, set out all around one of the old disused coastal quarries – except it relied on wind and there was little of that on this day. There was though just enough to get a feel of what this project would be on a windier day and I think it would be amazing !

Part of the Inside Out Dorset project

I was nearing the end of my walk now but there was yet another interesting feature to take in, and it is such a great one – and yet another old quarry! This was Tout Quarry which is now being put to very good use as a sculpture park with lots of different artists and even classes on sculpturing. It is a place to take your time exploring as every corner you turn brings another surprise be it a face, a fireplace, a boat, an animal or whatever, all carved out of the solid rock. The most famous is undoubtedly Still Falling by Anthony Gormley.

Still Falling by Antony Gormley

Reluctantly, I had to leave the quarry as the light was fading and I completed my walk along the cliff edge accompanied by wheatear and the gentle sounds that drift across the still air. And as I returned to my starting point, I once more stopped to take in the breathtaking view across the causeway with the famous Chesil Beach curving away to the west into the gathering evening mist. What a delightful evening and finish to a great walk.

The causeway and Chesil Beach from the northern edge of the Isle of Portland

Portland is beautiful in a rugged way and although it is 100% Dorset, it has impacted many places in the world through its quarrying industry – Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, the National Gallery in Dublin, Casino Kursaal in Belgium, and even the United Nations building in New York are some of the places to have benefited from its limestone. There are parts of this corner of Dorset everywhere, but it is still my Dorset and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler.

All photographs, poems and words in this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be reproduced without permission.

Tags: church, Church Ope Cove, churches, country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, nature, photography, Portland, quarrying, rambling, walking, weather

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

A walk of contrasts, of new birth, of a disappearing ghost, and a jar of chutney :)!

24 Aug

Well it’s a grey day outside as I look out of my office window – definitely a day for blog writing, and a walk I did a couple of weeks ago. It was a walk that took me past a number of lovely Dorset churches but the first one as I trod my way through the first village was one that I couldn’t visit. There had been a fire in the church earlier in the year and damage was caused to the roof rendering it unsafe. The good news is that it should be re-opening soon.

So having left the village, my route took me alongside the little stream that runs through the valley and past some historic machinery, relics and reminders of bygone days. These were the remains of sluice gates above the tunnel in the picture below. This was part of the 200 year old irrigation system that was used to flood the meadows, raising the temperature of the land early in the year to ensure a richer crop. Even without the flooding, the land around this area is still a relic in itself as it always seems muddy whenever I walk it!

The tunnel and the old irrigation system

The water meadows are delightful, with many wild flowers, bugs and bees around and it is lovely to walk with the chattering of the stream beside you, almost as if it was trying to talk to me about ‘the old days’. But all too soon, I had to leave its company and strike out further ‘inland’ to reach one of those lovely little hamlets with its own church. A picturesque and peaceful place and a church with an added bonus – there was a stall inside selling cakes, jams and chutneys to raise funds for the church. Well, naturally I had to support it even if it did mean carrying it around all day! I like these stalls though, they are part of Dorset life, and you often find some unusual chutneys on them !

A beautiful church with a chutney stall at the back

A picturesque cottage in the hamlet

Having left the hamlet (and returned 10 minutes later because I had left my hat in the church!), I continued along one of those very old ‘roads’ that always intrigue me. I wondered who had gone that way before me in years gone by – was it a drove trail to the local market, was it just a link between villages or farms? There are many of these routes in Dorset, probably busy byways in the days before cars but that have never been converted to modern roads. I’m glad of course because they make me think about what life might have been like in those days, and they make great walking routes too with lovely hedgerows on either side.

A few miles further on, I passed a beautiful old manor house and another puzzle – what was it now? I was to find out more a little further on in my walk !

A lovely manor house and a grand entrance – but what is it now?

It was actually in the nearby village that I found out more, a village that goes by the delightful name of Frome St Quintin. This village has a beautiful remote church that I have blogged before and I found out more about that too ! The church, in the picture below, has a rather strange tower which looks like some afterthought; that is because it was – the somewhat squat tower was added after the main church was built but what makes it so incongruous is the fact that the tower is rendered. The rendering is a much more recent addition, necessitated by severe damp problems.

What makes this such a lovely place is that the church is surrounded by fields and has no road access – tradition has it that there was originally a settlement immediately surrounding the church but that it was decimated by the Black Death, leaving the church isolated. The church was restored in 1881 so many of its features are late victorian, such as the beautiful carving on the altar pictured below.

The isolated church and beautiful carving of the last supper

While I was there, I met a lady from the village and we fell into conversation – it was she who told me some of the history of the church and also of the old manor house. So what of that magnificent old house? Well the original house built in 1212 was owned by monks from Milton Abbey and it was rebuilt as this amazing mansion in 1612, passing into the private ownership of Sir John Strode. It was said to be haunted by a ghost who on the same day each year would chant, ‘Search for Wat Perkins’ – many years later the skeleton of a murdered Scottish peddler was found in a ditch nearby and the ghost was reportedly never seen again!

In 1951 the Home Office acquired the house for use as a police training centre. At that time a lot of ‘modern’ buildings were added such as accommodation blocks etc. Being surplus to requirements, it was sold into private ownership again and has been used as a Christian retreat centre aimed at the American market, and for weddings etc. The house has been described as the best in Dorset and it would be great to see it restored to its former glory – but somehow I suspect that is unlikely!

This was a walk of extreme contrasts in many ways! As I climbed up to the ridge above the village I could hear the sound of many engines…..clearly the nearby Go-cart racing track was in use. I stopped for a quick look at these tiny machines racing round the track at breakneck speed with just the sound of the high pitched engines speaking of tension. Passing swiftly on down the other side of the ridge, their noise faded and I was able to walk in complete peace again. And in this valley, I experienced a very special moment!

Who will win!

There were sheep on the hillside and one particular sheep was all on its own, laying on the ground. I thought it looked unwell but it was also very big so I guessed it was heavily pregnant. What I hadn’t realised was that it wasn’t only pregnant, it was giving birth at that very moment! After a while as I stood and watched, she stood up and I saw the amazing sight of the head of a little lamb poking out as if it was just looking around surveying the scene to decide whether it wanted to come out! With a head at each end, it looked like something out of Doctor Doolittle !

It wasn’t long before the rest of the tiny lamb appeared and the mother then very lovingly licked it to clean it up whilst the little chap bleated at her – it was clearly a moment of mother/son (or daughter) bonding and it was very special to see. With no midwife, no vet, no farmer, not even other sheep around, the ewe gave birth to a bonny baby. Isn’t creation wonderful! I felt very much like an intruder, as if I shouldn’t be there, so I kept my distance rather than get too close. I did take a couple of pictures but the quality is not great because I have had to enlarge them quite a lot.

Amazing new life

After some time, I continued my journey and as I got to the bottom of the field there were more young lambs seemingly waiting for their new playmate. It seemed strange – new lambs in August. It once heralded the coming of spring!

Waiting for the new playmate

Strangely, in the opposite field there were some really attractive cows with rather ‘wonky’ horns. It seems strange to talk of a cow as being attractive, but I think these really were.

‘Attractive’ cows!

I continued down the valley to the ever present sound of the buzzards and eventually came into another picture postcard village. I have been to this village before and to the church but this time, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. It was a fireplace actually in the porch beside the entrance door – this is something I have never seen anywhere else. Apparently, before the village hall was built, the porch was used for some village meetings, hence the fireplace!

The village church and its porch fireplace

The afternoon was drawing on and I still had a few miles to walk, so I moved on. I climbed up out of the village through the trees and the beautiful light of the golden hour beamed down between the foliage creating an ethereal atmosphere that took my breath away. I tried to capture the moment but the camera is a poor substitute for being there.

Golden hour sunbeams

And as I reached the top of the ridge again I stole a last look down into the valley and the picture postcard perfect village in the distance.

A delightful last look into the valley

My last couple of miles were down into the neighbouring valley and to the village I had started out from early that morning. This too was a delightful village but in many ways contrasting with the village in the other valley. A villager summed it up well when I stopped and chatted as I walked back to the car, this was a ‘working village’. But to me, it was none the less beautiful for that!

A ‘working village’

What a great walk this had been! Great weather, some interesting conversations, new birth witnessed, delightful villages and churches, and a jar of chutney ! What more could a man want!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler

The pictures on this blog are all the copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be used without permission.

Tags: church, churches, country life, Dorset, farming, nature, new life, photography, rambling, trees, village life, walking, wildlife

Comments 13 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

Of a walk gone wrong, summer sunshine, and Two on a Tower :)

14 Aug

You can tell the weather here has improved – I’m blogging less often and I have a backlog of walks to upload. The reason for the backlog is that I have been out walking so much, often for four days a week which is not bad considering I am not fully retired yet so still work some days. The forecast today wasn’t great so I thought I would catch up a bit and add a post from a walk a few weeks ago. It was a walk that didn’t work out as I had planned but which had an unexpected bonus thanks to a lovely couple, Liz and John, but more of that later !

This day I decided to take a slightly shorter walk, just 10 miles, and to stop along the way to do some ‘proper’ photography. I planned to do a circular walk taking in a lovely inland ridge, dropping down to the coast to walk along the water’s edge for the return leg. It all started fine with some spectacular views from the ridge on a beautiful sunny day as had been forecasted.

Wonderful views from the inland ridge

After a few miles I dropped down to the coast path to make my way to one of the few places on this stretch of coast where there is access to the shore with the intention of walking along the rocks to get a different view of the coast from the more normal cliff-top path. However, when I got there I discovered that the tide was coming in which posed a problem because the foreshore gets cut off in several places at high tide, making in impassable. Now I had checked the tide tables before going out so clearly either the tables were wrong or I had misread them – probably much more likely the latter! So I had to walk the more usual cliff tops – which turned out to be a great bonus in the end !

The view east from the cliff top path

The flowers along the coast path were gorgeous and walking along this undulating path was a real audio visual experience with the amazing views, gorgeous flowers and the undulating song of the skylarks overhead seeming to match the undulating path. Aside from the fact that I had all my camera equipment with me, it was such a relaxing and leisurely walk.

Beautiful flowers along the coast path

The real surprise came when I reached Clavell’s Tower ! This is a tower I love and have known all my life from its days as a derelict building in danger of falling into the sea, through its dismantling stone by stone and its rebuilding some 30 meters inland, to its restoration and re-opening as a holiday home by The Landmark Trust. I have hundreds of pictures of it already……..but there’s always room for one more ! So I was leaning on the gate taking the picture below when the new tenants for the week, Liz and John, arrived at the gate. We got chatting, as you do, and they very kindly asked if I would like to have a look inside. Well I needed no second bidding and jumped at the chance as I had not seen inside it since the restoration!

Clavell’s Tower from the ‘garden’ gate

The tower has four floors with the lower floor being a basement. That was the only floor I had previously stood on because in the days before its restoration that was the only floor that existed – and it was just dirt. The others had crumbled or been destroyed by fire long since! When I was younger, that floor proved useful as an outdoor toilet (well there is no other cover around that could be used for that purpose ) so I thought it was quite fitting that the basement still provides bathroom facilities – albeit it is nicely tiled now !

The steps to the tower

The entrance steps lead to the ground floor (or is it first floor) and the kitchen and dining area. Then the second floor is the bedroom with the top floor being the lounge. Liz and John kindly allowed me to take some photos even though I was invading their space.

The bedroom – what an amazing place to sleep

The lounge

The only way of getting between floors was via the curving staircase which takes up some space. This means that the tower is only big enough for two – I guess Thomas Hardy knew that when he wrote ‘Two on a Tower’ which was based here – but I think The Landmark Trust have done a fantastic job in restoring the building so sensitively. Probably the best part for me was the gallery that is accessed from the bedroom, this has amazing views!

The curving staircase and the gallery door

What an amazing place to sit with a cup of tea

There are just a couple of downsides to staying in Clavell’s Tower – one is that you will need to book it some two years in advance because it is so popular, and the other is that although there is a track that leads up to the tower, guests are not allowed to drive up it which means you will have to park by the bay and climb the steep hill on foot carrying your luggage! It pays to travel light when you stay at Clavell’s Tower!! There is a lot of history to this place, but that is for another blog.

Thanks Liz and John for allowing me to invade your privacy and view the inside of this beautiful Clavell’s Tower – I hope you had a great holiday !

So, it was on with the walk but only a short hop down the hillside to reach Kimmeridge Bay where I intended to take some time out from walking and take some pictures that would hopefully capture the essence of the sea in summer. This is much more difficult than you might think. I sat on the rocks watching the waves gently rolling over the shoreline and the constantly changing light and movement with the sun reflecting off the water creating an ever changing array of what I can only describe as bursts of light like twinkling stars in the night sky. It was beautiful to watch but to capture it with the camera was like trying to catch a rainbow.

Starlight

I set the tripod up and tried a few long exposure shots, creating a milky smooth water effect against the hard crispness of the rocks.

Across Kimmeridge Bay

Finally I tried to capture some of the activity in the bay which is a popular place for snorkelling, boating, fishing and just rock pooling.

Gone fishing

I sat for some time dangling my feet in the water to cool down but the sun was getting lower and it was time to move on as I still had a couple of miles to walk. As I made my way back, a gentle sea mist rolled across the fields adding a beautiful atmosphere to the golden fields.

The fields are ripe for the harvest

Kimmeridge and the surrounding area is a special place and one that I always love to visit whether it is as part of a long walk, or just to sit and ponder and drink in the beauty. This walk hadn’t gone as planned, but it turned out even better than I had expected because of a chance meeting with two kind people who gave me the opportunity to see something I hadn’t had the opportunity to see before. My only disappointment was that there was no staircase up to the tower roof !

Thanks for stopping by and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler.

Your friend
The Dorset Rambler

The photographs on this blog are all copyright of The Dorset Rambler and must not be used in any way without permission.

Tags: Clavell's Tower, country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, farming, flowers, Kimmeridge, nature, photography, rambling, Thomas Hardy, walking, wildlife

Comments 18 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

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A walk of contrasts, of new birth, of a disappearing ghost, and a jar of chutney :)!

Of a walk gone wrong, summer sunshine, and Two on a Tower :)

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