Tag Archives: trees

A great llloooonnnnnggggg walk :)

10 Apr

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!

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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!!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!!

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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!!

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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!

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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.

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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 ;) !

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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!

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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.

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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 ;) !

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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’!

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‘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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The parklands

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

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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!

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

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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!!

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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 :) !

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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.

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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!

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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 :) !

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A beautiful church with a chutney stall at the back

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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 :) !

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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‘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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Of lush countryside, lovely meadows, two hill forts…….and a butterfly at last!

7 Jul

Well as I sit at my desk typing this blog, the rain is pouring down outside – yet again!!!  It’s been one on those years so far in England, just rain, rain, and more rain with just the odd better day in between.  Ah, the good old English summer – lazy, hazy, crazy days – don’t you just love ‘em!  We wish!  Actually I don’t mind walking in the rain if it starts raining when I’m already out, but there seems little point in going out if it is raining already…….but I miss walking when I am trapped in by the weather.  Still, without it what would we English have to talk about ;) !

I did manage to get out recently for a great walk through some lush countryside and some beautiful meadows, not to mention a couple of hill forts and an old mill.  It started with a lovely woodland walk with some gorgeous dappled sunlight filtering through the foliage (sadly the sun wasn’t to last long though :( )

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Through the dappled forest

And part way through the woodlands I came across a rather unusual tree that was playing host to a whole load of ferns.  Walter De La Mare’s poem, The Listeners, refers to ‘the forest’s ferny floor’ but maybe this should be changed to ‘the forest’s ferny trees’ ;) !  The tree was still living but was clearly decaying and moss covered, giving the ferns a foothold – or is that ‘root-hold’!

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The forest’s ferny trees

Out of the woodlands, my route took me down another of those oft seen ‘Smuggler’s Lanes’.  I haven’t been able to establish whether it really was a smuggler’s route or whether it was just named that because it was quite a secret and hidden path.  It wasn’t near the coast but I guess contraband needed to be taken well inland so it might well have seen illegal traffic in the long ago past.  Ah, if only those trees could talk, I’m sure they would have many a tale to tell!  For me though, it was just the beauty of the path that I enjoyed.

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Smuggler’s Lane

I told the story in my last blog entry of my ongoing battle with butterfies that taunted me constantly as I tried to photograph them.  Well on this walk I fooled them and I actually managed to grab some shots before they took off rather than after!!  The picture below shows a Meadow Brown butterfly wearing his rather nice fur coat.  He clearly knew what the English summer was going to be like ;) !

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Meadow Brown

There were butterflies everywhere along this route, partly because the hedgerows were so thick with plants and flowers, I saw so many different varieties.  It is amazing when you look at these delicate ‘flying flowers’ to think that some of them actually migrate and have flown a thousand miles to get here.  They don’t look capable of flying that far or indeed of flying in any specific direction – as the poem says, they have a definite gift of ‘flying crooked’!

The hedgerows themselves were thick with wild flowers and were so beautiful to walk through, it was a delight, especially in the warm summer sun.  I think it is difficult to capture in a photograph because you need to use all the senses to fully appreciate the beauty, to feel the sun’s warmth, to hear the birds and the rustling of the leaves and to feel the gentle breeze.  I did take a couple of pictures though……and tried to find a different angle too :) !

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Hogweed

For some plants, you have no choice but to lay on the ground, like the Common Spotted Orchid below.

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Common Spotted Orchid

This was a real walk of variety and the next part took me up onto the hilltop, well in fact, up onto two prehistoric hill forts.  The first was covered in lovely meadow grass and wild flowers – it would have taken me a long time to identify all the different varieties.  And the views from the ramparts were spectacular on this clear day.  There were cattle and sheep grazing and I thought, ‘What a great place to eat’ – so I joined them!  I ate sandwiches of course, not grass ;) !

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Across the ramparts

Then it was down into the valley and up onto the next hill fort and an even bigger surprise.  At the top was a fantastic field of poppies.  It was a photographer’s paradise!  And clearly a few had been there before me as quite a lot of the flowers had been clumsily trampled down :( !  Well of course I managed to take one or two pictures as well although I am always careful where I tread.  The code of the country says ‘Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time’ but sadly not all observe that!

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The poppy field

The colours were really vibrant in the now hazy sunlight, although despite their beauty, it is still quite difficult to get a satisfying composition for a photograph.  I guess you are always left with the feeling that you just haven’t done it justice – well how can you!  Further along the hill, there are more ramparts, and well defined ones too.  It seems hard to imagine that these ramparts were dug out by men with primitive tools.  As you stand looking at the views though, you can see why they ‘built’ the fort and with the wind whipping up from the valley, you can perhaps imagine a little of what life must have been like up there in those bygone days.

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On the hill fort

Dropping off the hill, my route passed through probably the worst part of the walk and yet there were still lovely things to see.  I had to walk through a farm and as often is the case, farms=mud!  And there was mud aplenty!  Not only that but I had to plough my way through the most overgrown footpath that I think I have ever walked!  It led me the next day to make a few phone calls to see if the path could be sorted which is something the local authority will do if you report a problem.  However it was not that simple.

There are a number of types of byway – 1) the public roads, 2) public footpaths and 3) all vehicle public routes (these fit somewhere between 1 and 2 and are often farm tracks or old lanes/drove trails.  My overgrown footpath fitted into category 3 which is dealt with under roads and highways and whilst they have a budget to maintain the public roads, they have no budget to maintain the lesser routes such as mine.  So basically there is a budget to maintain the roads and there is a budget to maintain public footpaths, but there is no budget to maintain the routes that fall between the two extremes!  Ah well, I tried.

I did in the end make it through the overgrown lane and came out into a clearing where there was an old mill – I suspect that the overgrown lane once served the mill.  This is now a private dwelling but as I looked at it, I could just picture in my minds eye the miller leaning on that stable door getting some air and clearing his lungs of the flour dust that would have filled the mill in those days.

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The old mill

Apart from the old mill, one of the other lovely things I passed on this part of the walk was a gorgeous barley field.  These fields are always great to see but especially so when there is a bit of wind and as you stand watching the barley waving its heads in the breeze, you can almost feel you are standing before a huge lake with gentle waves washing across the water.

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The barley field

My walk was almost completed but there was one more crop to pass, another cereal crop which I thought was particularly picturesque with those curving tramlines running through it.  The sun had long since gone by now but at the end of a great day in the Dorset countryside it made a beautiful sight.

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Down the tramlines

Another magical day in Dorset, and one to be savoured as I look out at the still falling rain!

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

Your friend

The Dorset Rambler

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

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Back to walking in beautiful Dorset, a cat that plays ball…..and a car that doesn’t!

22 Jun

Well, having scaled the heights of Snowdonia in my recent posts, we are back in beautiful Dorset today – and beautiful it was with some strange blue stuff above me and even a big round yellow thing ;) !  It was actually sunshine and blue skies which is something of a miracle this ‘summer’!!

I parked up in a north Dorset village right outside the church so before I even got walking I had a look round – village churches are always so interesting and this one was no exception.  The thing that caught my eye was a lovely circular window with stained glass depicting the verse ‘Suffer the little children to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven’.  It was unusual to see a circular window.

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Suffer the little children to come unto Me

Those who have been following my blog will know that I regularly look round churches on my walks.  This is partly because I love the old church architecture and the different styles that were popularised through the ages such as Norman, Early English, Decorated, Perpendicular etc as well as the fact that everything has a meaning or conveys a message, things such as gargoyles, bench ends and so on.  Not long ago there was a documentary on television called ‘How to Read a Church’ which was really interesting because unless you know what you are looking at, the messages are all lost.  More than this though, I love the sense of all the lives that have been touched by these churches over hundreds of years – this is a far greater legacy than the purely architectural heritage and goes much deeper.  And along with this is the pure witness of the churches – after all, when you approach a village on a walk, what is the first thing you see – it is the church tower standing proud and declaring the message of Christianity to all.

But I was challenged recently!  I went into a church, looked at all the interesting features, took lots of photographs and was on my way out when I stopped short!  This was a house of prayer and all I had done was look around and take pictures!  So I made a decision that whenever I look round a village church, I will always offer a prayer for those who worship there, for the local people whose lives are impacted by its presence.

Once I’d got going on my walk, I very quickly came across the most beautiful meadows that were rife with wild flowers and butterflies.  The flowers were comparatively easy to capture with the camera but not so the butterflies – but more of that later!

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Dandelions and blue skies

I just love meadows!  With the long grasses, dandelions, daisies, buttercups, orchids and all manner of other colourful flowers waving their heads in the breeze – for me, its almost as spiritual a place as being in church.

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In the meadows

So back to those butterflies :) !  They are so pretty, delicate and harmless aren’t they, but I think they have a devious side!  So there I am walking across this meadow and the butterflies, loads of them, flutter past me and settle on a stem of grass right in front of me.  I get my camera out carefully and approach stealthily and they just sit there whilst I frame the shot and focus the camera.  The shutter release is halfway down and I’m about to capture a classic competition winning shot…….and they take off leaving me with a lovely shot of a blade of grass.  So I walk on a short distance, they flutter past me again, settle on a blade of grass, and the whole thing is repeated again!  I’ll swear that they have a grin on their faces as they take off ;) !!  So I gave up and they won the day!

It wasn’t only the butterflies that toyed with me either!  The cows, well heifers, did the same.  I crossed several fields that were part of a dairy farm and they kept following me – they are inquisitive little things.  Every time I stopped and turned round, they stopped too.  Maybe they thought I was the pied piper of Hamlyn!

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Nosy!

About half way round my circular walk, I came across another delightful village church.  This one was full of photographic opportunities such as beautiful windows with the most gorgeous light coming through onto the flowers that had been placed on the window sills inside.  I think the window below was really lovely in an understated way with its plain glass.

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The church window

The window below had tinted glass which really warmed the soft light coming through.

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Beautiful light

But it wasn’t only the interior, the churchyard was lovely too.  It had the most gorgeous copper beech tree and the afternoon sunlight really brought out the fabulous colours of its summer foliage.  I often eat my lunch in graveyards which might make me seem strange but they are great places for finding wildlife……and besides, they are often the only places you can find a seat :) !

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The graveyard copper beech 

Part of the walk took me down some country lanes.  Now normally I like to avoid roads but country lanes are different provided they are quiet.  They can actually be very pretty in the summer when the hedgerows are vibrant with wild flowers and there are usually some lovely old typical Dorset thatched cottages to add interest as well as the odd orchard or nature reserve to detour onto.  The hedgerows seemed to be particularly vibrant on this walk.

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The hedgerows

There seemed to be a lot of the plants in the picture below – like miniature conifer trees.  I believe it is great horsetail and that lovely fresh green colour looks striking with the low sunlight streaking through from behind.

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Great Horsetail

There was a surprising amount of what I call ‘autumn’ colours too – I loved the subtle changes in tones in the picture below, ranging from the deep red new growth, through reddish orange and yellow to green.  God is such a great ‘painter’ of colours!

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Subtle hedgerow tones

And hogweed, probably not the most attractive plant but its hairy stems always look great when backlit by the sun.

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Hogweed

Eventually the country lane led me to another village and here, it was The Dorset Rambler to the rescue again!!  This time it was a little bird, a blue tit, in the mouth of a cat!  Actually I didn’t set out to rescue it, I could just see that the cat had something in its mouth and when I went towards him he let it go and it flew unharmed up into the tree in the cottage garden.  I was glad I happened along at that moment though!

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The cottage garden

The last few miles of the walk took me through the most beautiful parklands that surrounded the local manor house.  It was the golden hour, the time when the sun is getting low in the sky and the light is at its best – if you are a photographer you will know that morning and evening light is by far the best.  The grounds had been landscaped and planted with a whole variety of different trees so naturally I spent more time taking pictures than walking!

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Parklands

It was a spectacular end to a fabulous day’s walking back in my beloved Dorset – but sadly the day wasn’t to end as I’d hoped!  As I drove home feeling very satisfied, the car broke down and I had to call the RAC who were unable to fix it so it had to be transported back on a rescue truck.  I spend a lot of time sat by the roadside waiting to be collected.  So what does a photographer do when he has time on his hands……take pictures of course.  I wandered off with my camera :) !

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Beside the country road

Whatever happens and wherever you are, there is always something beautiful if you just look for it :) !

PS – I did get home safely at about midnight and the car is now at the car hospital having an operation :) !

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

Your friend, The Dorset Rambler

The pictures on this blog are all copyright of The Dorset Ramble and must not be reproduced or used without permission.

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A walk with great company :)!

15 May

This was a walk with a difference – I had company, and just the best company too :) !  Because I mostly walk during the week, I normally walk alone which is fine because I am quite happy in my own company and besides, you are never really alone out on the trail because you always bump into some interesting people along the way.  But this time my son Paul and his lovely wife Laura came with me :) !  Now Paul is a best friend as well as my son – we are kindred spirits, and the three of us make a great team out on the trail.  And what a great walk we had!

It started in some beautiful meadows, famous meadows in fact, with bluebells everywhere and even an orchid or two!  Plus of course lots of orange tip butterflies, so called because their wings have……..orange tips!!

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An Early Purple Orchid with bluebells

There were several ponds along this 16 mile walk, some man made and some natural…….in fact there were some ponds on the footpath itself because of all the rain we have had recently – but more of that later!  The pond below is actually part of a fishery and it is in a beautiful setting in a small hamlet.  Overhanging the pond and tied to a tree branch was a swing which just needed someone sat on it to create a prize winning photograph.  We tried to persuade Laura to pose on it for us but for some reason she declined ;) !

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The fishery pond

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A swing just begging for someone to sit on it ;)

After all the rain we have had recently, everything looked so beautifully clean, fresh and lush.  In fact we decided that the word of the day should be VERDANT because everything everywhere was just that!  At one point we dropped down through a valley and the light coming through the tress threw such lovely shadows across all the greenery – it was just magic!

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Verdant, the word of the day!

Mind you, that rain brought problems too as the paths in many places were extremely muddy or even impassable because they had ‘ponds’ of their own.  On occasion it meant detouring off the track and following an obstacle course over fences and through hedges just to get round the obstruction.  It was either that or take off the shoes and socks and paddle!!  I did suggest to Paul that he should do the gallant thing and carry Laura through the puddles, but we climbed fences instead ;) !

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An unforeseen ’pond’

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Part of the obstacle course ;)

Apart from puddles and ponds, something else we had aplenty was clouds, lots of fluffy white sky sheep swimming across the deep blue swimming pool of the sky.  Very photogenic!

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Fluffy sky sheep – or is that an airship?

Half way round our circuit we passed the lovely Manor House in the picture below.  It sits in an idyllic position in a tiny hamlet in a beautifully picturesque valley, and it was clearly well looked after.  We met the current ‘lord’ of the manor – although he is not really a lord any more, just a wealthy person.  He was another of those friendly country folk that I so often seem to get talking to on my travels and he told us a bit about the house and the hamlet it sits in.

It was once a village with around 100 inhabitants but with the declining manpower needed to run the farms, it is now down to a small hamlet of about 16 people.  The Manor House itself dates mostly from the 17th century and at one point it became almost derelict.  So much so that an underground spring actually ran through the lounge which was very useful to the local pig farmer who took his pigs into the lounge to be slaughtered so that the blood would be washed away by the spring!  A bit gruesome but it is part of the history and heritage of the now restored Manor.

The hamlet has its own church dating from the 1870′s and this too is now owned by the current ‘Lord’ of the Manor who paid the princely sum of £50 for it not long ago.  It has to be maintained in good order as a church so it’s great that he felt able to take it on and preserve a part of history that might have otherwise become derelict!

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The manor house

Shortly after passing the Manor, we came across another pond with some great photographic opportunities…….and Laura almost provided a great action shot opportunity for me, but she resisted ;) !  Paul is taking a photograph by the way so was oblivious to what she was doing ;) !!!

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Go on!  There’s a great picture to be had!

Now normally, I try to avoid any convenience food or drink when on a walk, preferring to have my sandwiches sat somewhere in the countryside.  This walk however took us through a town and when we heard the chimes of an ice cream van, we couldn’t resist!

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Ice cream time, even if it doesn’t go with the rugged outdoor image :)

This is another walk that takes in one of those sunken lanes and you can get a sense of scale from the picture below.  These lanes always intrigue me – it could be that it was formed simply by water running off the hills but I prefer to think of it as having been deliberately dug to make a route for smugglers carrying their contraband in unseen!  It really is an awesome place to walk!

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A smuggler’s route?

As always, there were many sheep with lambs on the route and for the third time recently The Dorset Rambler came to the rescue of one little lamb.  There was a tree in the particular field which had a fence around it and somehow the lamb had found its way into the fenced off area and it couldn’t get out.  It was bleating pitifully and was throwing itself against the fence in an effort to escape – sheep are a bit dense I think!  With some difficulty because it kept running away from me, I managed to get it out and ran happily across to its mum…….and a good feed!!Image

Happy families!

Shortly after, we met another interesting character!  He was the local farmer who was using a JCB to dig a hole in the middle of one of his fields.  It seemed a bit of a random thing to do so we stopped and asked him, ‘Why?’  Apparently there is a network of land drains running throughout the field and one had exploded and needed repairing.  Without it, a verdant green grassy field would become nothing more than a useless quagmire!  He told us all about his farm which was several thousand acres of arable, sheep and cows, all operated by 5 people.  In the past of course that one farm would have been split into numerous smaller farms, each of which would have employed many men.  And of course the huge field we were stood in would have been numerous smaller fields too.  How times change with the coming of more sophisticated machinery!  With the loss of all those hedgerows that provided cover for much wildlife, the change is not all good!

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Care, exploding land drains!

As evening settled over the countryside and the beautiful golden hour approached, we passed through another lovely wooded area.  How the scene changes at this magic time of day.  Even the conifers look picturesque with their new foliage uncurling!

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A lovely evening woodland walk

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Even the conifers take on a special beauty in the golden hour!

As we neared the end of the walk, the sun was setting and we dropped down off the hilltop and into the valley.  And there was just time for one more photograph, a reminder of a special day!  Memorable for great scenery and sun, memorable for lots of water and mud, memorable for fences climbed and lambs rescued, memorable for interesting and friendly country folk, but memorable most of all for the company of two great people who are close to my heart!

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Two special people!

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

Your friend,

The Dorset Rambler

Please note that all photographs on this blog are the copyright of The Dorset Rambler

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Two castles, two ponds and two very different people!

10 May

This was another lovely walk, 21 miles through the beautiful north Dorset countryside and some interesting things and interesting people on the way!

It started with two castles, an old castle and a ‘new’ castle!  To be more exact they are fortified palaces with the original one being built in the 12th century and destroyed by the Parliamentarians in 1645 during the English Civil War.  It was at one time owned by Sir Walter Raleigh having been gifted to him by Queen Elizabeth.  He originally tried to improve the old castle but in the end he gave up with that and in 1594 built a lodge which was eventually to become the ‘new’ castle.  Just as an aside, Sir Walter Raleigh fell out of favour with royalty and he was beheaded in 1618.  Apparently his head was embalmed and given to his devoted wife and it is said that she kept it in a velvet bag until her death some 29 years later when it was reunited with his body in his tomb!

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The old castle on the left across the water and the new castle on the right

Having passed the castles, the walk took in some really beautiful parkland with great paths to walk on – it made a great change after the muddy paths of recent walks.  I think you can just imagine royalty riding along these paths in their carriages, or whilst out with the hunting parties.

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Beautiful parkland

Shortly after exiting the parkland, I came across the first of the ponds – or rather a series of small ponds.  They were in a beautiful setting on the edge of a village beside a farm and it wasn’t clear whether they were private or not.  They weren’t fenced off and there were no signs so I took the opportunity to grab a picture or two.

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Pondlife

On this walk there were many rape fields, and very beautiful they were, like bright yellow table cloths laid out ready for a spring picnic.  It seems really strange that these crops which are so pretty bear a name which has such horrible connotations and it made me wonder where the name comes from – it apparently derives from the Latin word for turnip!  The fields do seem to be particularly vibrant this year!

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Beautiful rape fields

Whilst I was walking, they were spraying the crop….which concerned me a little!  I am not sure what they spray it with, but I am sure that it is not intended for human consumption particularly when it is in neat form.  Fortunately the day was still and I was able to avoid getting too close so I managed to avoid breathing it in.  On the plus side, it was interesting watching what looked like an aeroplane driving up and down the fields…….and of course it gave me a nice focal point for a picture :) !

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Ah, lovely fresh air ;)

It wasn’t long before I came across the second pond, a much larger affair than the earlier pond and equally beautiful.  The public footpath circled right along the bank so I was able to enjoy the labours of the landowners.

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The second pond

The pond was part of the grounds of a ‘manor’ house (I use inverted commas as I am not sure that it technically qualifies as a manor although it was a very large house with many acres of land) and in fact the ‘Lord and Lady’ of the manor were showing some friends around their grounds.  The ‘Lady’ and I fell into conversation and I commended her on the beautiful grounds and she was very quick to give the credit to others, saying, ‘We have a good gardener’.  She also told me that they had recently improved the stiles across their land which is quite refreshing as many landowners neglect the public footpaths that they are meant to keep in good order!  These were lovely people and I bade my farewell and moved on.

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A beautiful place for a public footpath

There were a number of lovely village churches on this walk.  The church below was renovated in the late 1800′s and when the survey was carried out, it was discovered that most of the church, including the tower, had only one foot of masonry below ground and virtually no foundations.  The restoration improved the situation and the church still stands although as you can see in the picture below, the walls lean at a slightly crazy angle!

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The church with leaning walls

One of the interesting things about this church is the east window which is ‘stained glass’ but more modern than the other glass in the church.  It depicts the crucifixion scene and Christ’s tomb.

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An interesting ‘stained glass’ window

The church also contains a 15th century tomb with an alabaster effigy.  As is often the case, this is partly set within the wall of the church.  I was impressed with modern technology when taking the picture below :) !  Cameras these days often have face recognition so that they automatically focus on the face if there is one in the picture.  Well, my camera automatically focussed on the effigy’s ’face’ even though it barely has one!

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The tomb

At another church just down the road, I noticed a strange sign!!  The church was locked but the sign indicates that the key is available in the porch of the farmhouse on the left……and promptly points to the right :) !

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How does that work – left, right??

During the afternoon, the route took me through the most delightful woodland which was beautifully brought alive by the afternoon sun.  All the trees were dressed in their brand new clothes and were stood on a lovely bluebell carpet.  It was a quite magic part of the walk!  Strangely, I fancy the carpet is not so blue as it usually is – perhaps it is because of too much rain and not enough sun!

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Spring greens on a carpet of blue

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A perfect place for a spring walk

Towards the end of the day, I passed another two tiny churches.  The first one, pictured below, was in a delightful little hamlet which was typically Dorset.  The second one was in reality only part of a church – just the chancel.  The rest of the church has long since disappeared!

Having looked around the outside of this second church, I decided to go in but the door was jammed and as I tried to push it open, a voice came from inside saying, ‘Hold on’!  Shortly after, a man opened the door for me.  At first I thought he was the cleaner but it turned out that he was in fact a homeless man who had lived, or rather slept, in that little church for 7 years!  Some might say that it was inappropriate for him to be there but he was doing no harm to either the church or anyone around – he was just using it as a night shelter.

He was another friendly individual who told me all about himself – both his parents had died 10 years earlier and it had sent him into a tailspin that resulted in his losing his home.  He talked about the difficulties and challenges of being homeless and the freedom that it brings too.  How the summer is easy once you get used to having no home base, but how winter is so difficult because of the cold.  He told me of winter nights when he just had to walk all night to keep warm!  He was in his sixties and now claiming a pension and the prospect of another winter sleeping rough at that age was not appealing!  In addition to that, he had that day lost his glasses so was unable to read – I felt for him!  One unusual thing about him was that he didn’t touch alcohol – he must be one of the few homeless people who don’t drown themselves in drink to help them cope with their lifestyle!  We chatted for quite some time – I think he was glad of the company – and he waved to me as I set off again down the trail.

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A little church in a Dorset hamlet

It was interesting, the total contrast in social status between the ‘Lady of the Manor’ and the homeless man, and perhaps just because of circumstance!  In my eyes, and God’s eyes, they are both equal and I enjoyed sharing part of my journey with each them.  Isn’t that what life is really about!  We rub shoulders with many different people on life’s journey – hopefully we leave a little something behind with each one as we travel.  These two certainly contributed to a memorable walk for me!

Thanks for reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler!

The Dorset Rambler

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Of transport, of trees, and of waterproofs that are not!!

28 Apr

This was a walk of ‘wonderful’ ;) weather, wonderful Dorset scenery, and some really interesting people along the way!

You know, the more I walk, the more I look forward to meeting people on the path.  There is something about being in the countryside – everyone you pass has a nod and a ‘hello’, and often they will stop for a chat as well, whether it be a farmer, the local vicar, the postman, or just another walker.  Isn’t that really what life is all about!  There is a lovely camaraderie in the country that you don’t find much in the towns, and people are just so interesting.  One of the tings all the people I meet have a view on is the weather – well we’re English aren’t we!

On this walk, it was a truck driver.  He was parked up at a country crossroads in a somewhat difficult position and I thought he had broken down.  We fell naturally into a conversation.  Apparently he had come from Poole, picked up a load at Corfe Mullen, driven 100 miles to deliver it, picked up another load near his drop off point, driven 70 miles to where I saw him dropping off half the load.  He was then going to drive another 50 miles to drop off the other half, picking up another load, and was then going to drive 500 miles to the Scottish border to drop that off!  What a crazy life!

The crossroads he was parked at is called ‘Four Ashes’, because there are four ash trees, one on each corner.  He was trying to deliver 12 bags of fertiliser to the local farm, but articulated lorries and country lanes don’t go together!  The only way to deliver it was to park up at the crossroads and for the farmer to bring his tractor and trailer up to collect it – which he finally did, and I moved on.

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Four Ashes crossroads

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Delivering, or is it collecting, the load

The scenery on this walk was simply stunning, that typical Dorset rolling countryside.  It was a walk that took in a number of hill forts and the picture below shows one hill fort as viewed from another.  In fact on top of one of the hill forts was a bull!  He was on his own except for the hill sheep and I was a bit surprised because the land is owned by the National Trust and is open access land popular with walkers.  As I have blogged before, that is technically not legal!  I had my red cape with me but he didn’t seem very interested ;) !!

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One hill fort to another

Part of this walk took me through the most fantastic area of woodlands and at this time of the year with the sunlight slanting through a gap in the trees, the colours and tones of the Spring foliage really come alive.  New life, and new growth, is everywhere!  Don’t you just love the fabulous greens of the moss and lichen that cover these trees and bank!  It is an interesting area and and as you walk through it, you just wonder about the millions of people who have passed that way before over the centuries since the line of trees and the bank are clearly an ancient boundary of some sort.  If trees could talk!

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The wonderful Spring greens of Dorset

And speaking of trees, don’t you just love them!  You could almost hug them…….and some people do!  I love that well known poem by Alfred Joyce Kilmer called ‘Trees’:

I think that I shall never see,

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest,

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree!

How true that is!  (Just as an aside, as I am writing this, I am listening to the duet from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers – what a spine tingling piece of music that is!)

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I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree

In that poem, Kilmer speaks of trees ‘living intimately with rain’ – well at the moment, The Dorset Rambler does too!!  The weather for much of this walk was beautiful, but it was interspersed with really heavy bouts of rain and hail – it’s what I call ‘interesting’ weather ;) !  Now I had my waterproofs, but I have discovered that they are not…….waterproof that is!  The consequence was that I got literally wet through!  So at the end of the walk I decided to reproof my walking gear, and I’m sure it won’t be long before I check to see if it has had the desired effect!!

One of the side effects of all this rain is BIG boots!  They start off a normal size 9 but some of the fields on this walk were MUDDY, and it was that thick clingy mud so that by the time you get to the other side your feet are size 30 and you have a job to lift them off the ground!  Picture the scene – this silver haired man, soggy and wet through, unable any more to lift his heavy feet, on his hands and knees dragging himself across the field to reach the sanctuary of drier land on the other side ;) !  Once there, there is usually a handy gate post ‘scraper’ nearby so they are soon back to normal size.  Note to self – in future if it is wet, head for the chalky well drained hills ;) !

And talking of hills, there were a few of them on this walk too….steep ones!  I climbed up this near vertical slope to reach the top of one ridge and just as I got there, a fighter plane on a training mission went over.  He was clearly practising low level flying and I reckon he must have been only 10 feet above my head (well, that might be a slight  exaggeration ;) ) – it was deafening!

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Some good waterproof testing weather coming!!

Ah, but the sun always shines again – and you can’t fully enjoy the sun unless you get the rain!

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The sun shines on the Dorset landscape

Thanks again for visiting and reading the ramblings of The Dorset Rambler!

The Dorset Rambler

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