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A great llloooonnnnnggggg walk – Part Two :)

For anyone who hasn’t read my previous post, this is an account of my first end to end long distance walk. I recently came across my journal written during the walk so I thought I would post it here. So here goes with part two of my first end to end long distance walk

Day 3

Another fantastic day! I left the B&B before 9.00 – well I was glad to be out of it to be honest……..having ‘filled up’ on my continental breakfast. The B&B couldn’t run to a full English despite the £40 price tag! The first thing I did was to go to the local outdoor shop as I thought I would treat my shoes to some new laces, but they were closed (unlike my shoes) – so I had a wander round the Cobb and harbour taking pictures instead. It was a lovely morning, but very windy – I nearly lost my hat several times, and my head!

Seaside colours!

I picked up the coast path at around 10.00 and the first few miles were great as I walked through a nature reserve created out of the cliff falls. The birds were singing and I was sheltered from the sun so the walking was good. I think the best part of this coast walk is the variety – ridge tops, beaches, headlands, cliffs, woodlands, just about every type of habitat you could think of, and on this particular stretch, even some abandon buildings that have become ruins over the years.

Ripe for renovation? The Lyme Regis under-cliff

It’s strange but I passed a lot of people on this stretch. Each time I had to step up my pace to convey the impression that I was a fit, rugged, Bear Grylls type when inwardly I was just waiting to get out of sight behind a tree so that I could collapse back to my normal pace ! The trouble was that I would then meet someone else and have to go through the whole process again !

I was thinking as I walked that I hadn’t met any serious walkers so far, just lightweight strollers whose car would be parked somewhere nearby. You can usually tell them by the size of their backpack and the way they walk…….and the fact that they have car keys in their hands ! But on this section, I met two serious walkers, and they put me to shame! One who I got talking to said he had walked from Boscastle and had covered 400 miles in 22 days. I can’t remember where the other one had started but it was a similar story. It made my 4 day walk seem a bit tame! But then, they were both younger than me and they had lighter packs too. I’ve obviously got a few things in mine that they haven’t – must check my packing list but I’m sure I didn’t put in the kitchen sink!

A great place for a fried egg sandwich ! Beer beach.

After 7 or 8 miles I dropped down into Seaton, and quickly passed on through! I hit Beer at 9 miles – the place not the drink – and I had a great fried egg sandwich and a cup of tea on the beach ! I passed a B&B there with sea views and outside was a sign saying ‘vacancies’ but 3.00 seemed a bit early to be bedding down for the night so I walked on. And I’m glad I did as there was more great walking to come.

The way up

The walk from Beer to Sidmouth was great! It was quite cloudy and there was a strong wind but it was mostly on my back. It was mainly along flat, high cliff tops but unfortunately it was punctured every now and then by a number of river mouths. Each time I hit one it meant dropping down to sea level and then climbing all the way back up the other side.

What goes down must come up

Some kind soul had even written the number of steps on the stiles before and after these big dips! Very helpful and encouraging!!! It’s funny but as the day goes on, I’ll swear the climbs get steeper !

Useful information……or not!

As always, the last climbs are the toughest, especially when they are not expected! Going up that last climb, I had to go through several fields of cows, all annoyingly gathered around the stiles that I had to cross. But I walked on through them – they can’t frighten me any more! By this time my little toe was complaining, as was my left knee, although that seemed to come and go – the pain that is, not my knee! It’s strange but there have been times when I have felt really tired even to the point where I have considered stopping early. But then by keeping going, I seemed to push through the bad patch and regain some energy from somewhere. Well, with this fabulous scenery, who wouldn’t. Anyway, after nearly 20 miles I was relieved to see Sidmouth come into view and I headed down off the headland after that last climb.

Sidmouth appears out of the mist – just one more climb!

Mind you, it wasn’t over yet as I had to spend an hour wandering round the town looking for a B&B. I thought for a while that I was going to have to sleep rough on the beach but eventually I found one, which was a relief as I really needed a shower and a cup of tea ! And not only did I get my shower and cuppa but I got a turkey sandwich, fruit cake and a beer too, thanks to some lovely B&B owners who went way beyond the call of duty and took pity on me. And I was able to watch the football as I ate ! It was a great end to a great day!

Sidmouth

Day 4

Today I woke up to a wet, dreary morning…….so I had an extra half hour in bed! After a good cooked breakfast I left the guesthouse and wandered along a damp sea front, although by now the rain had stopped.

A wet sea front at Sidmouth

Alone on the beach

The day started with an immediate climb from the end of the promenade over Peak Hill. It started on the road, and then onto a disused road, parts of which were practically going over the edge of the cliff, and then on through the woods, upwards into a damp sea mist!

The way onwards

It’s funny but I hadn’t been looking forward to this as the headland looked daunting from sea level but I was pleasantly surprised as I went over the top much quicker than I had expected. I was looking for yet more climbing, not realising that I was in fact already at the top. From here, there was just downhill, lower level walking, which was just as well because you couldn’t see much from the high headlands!

Up into the misty forest

I headed down towards Ladram Bay, which basically comprises a massive caravan site which rather spoils what is a lovely bay with many red sandstone stacks just off shore. Two things spoiled this part of the walk – one was having to walk through the caravan site which went right up to the cliff edge, and the other was the stiles! I had a real struggle to squeeze me and my rucksack through some of the gates – clearly Devon is a bit meaner on space than Dorset for some reason !

Looking back at Ladram Bay

From here, it was quite a flat, easy walk into Budleigh Salterton which was just as well as my left little toe and my left knee were complaining quite loudly – in fact I was limping a little by now! On a positive note, the weather was brightening up quite nicely by now and it was becoming quite warm out of the breeze – in fact, the last part of the walk was a breeze ! I even took a self portrait by balancing the camera on a post – well, why not !

TDR on the trail

I was in sight of Budleigh Salterton much earlier than I had expected. I stood within touching distance of the town……and yet, still had another mile or two to walk! This was because there was an estuary separating me from it and I had to walk inland to reach the crossing point before walking back out to the coast on the other side – a one and a half mile walk to gain just 20 yards!

Budleigh Salterton beach

My walk finished on the sea front where my pack suddenly became four stone heavier – I picked up four stones from the beach, a memento of four fantastic days of walking!

The End!

Budleigh Salterton seemed a fitting place to end my walk as my ancestors came from here. Although I am 100% Dorset born and bred, I guess there must be a little bit of Devon blood in there somewhere.

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: Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, photography, rain, rambling, walking, weather

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking

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

Happiness is snow shaped :)

3 Feb

Now Dorset and snow don’t usually go together, especially South Dorset! We get the occasional light scattering, just to tantalise us and remind us of what we are missing and it has usually gone within hours. But recently we actually had a fall of snow that was worth walking in……and I did just that ! Now I don’t like snow for what it does to the community, the slippery roads that can make driving difficult, and the effect it has on the elderly who can’t get out, but I love it for the effect it has on the landscape, turning it into a magical fairyland, a delight to walk in!

This walk started from a wonderful Dorset village, probably one of the prettiest you could wish to see, a designer village that exists simply because one man didn’t want the view from his manor house spoilt by houses and cottages! But more of that later.

A designer village cottage

The village nestles in a valley with its single street lined on both sides with identical cottages and with its almshouses and church part way down. These cottages are always picturesque but with the myriad icicles hanging from the eaves of each one, they took on a real fairy story look – you could almost expect to see Hansel and Gretel appear from the doorway!

I have said that the cottages are all identical, and they are from the outside, but internally they now differ. With their single front door, you would imagine that they were all built as substantial single dwellings but in fact they were semi-detached – inside the front door of each was a lobby with secondary front doors into separate cottages on each side. There was much overcrowding in the days when these were built and it is said that at one time as many as 36 people lived in one of these small cottages……with two bedrooms! Many have now been knocked into one single larger cottage.

The post office and shop

As I walked down this street, I met one of the villagers and we fell into conversation – I was to bump into him again later in the walk. He had lived in the village for 14 months and was undertaking a project to film the village through the year. Naturally with rare snow on the ground, he was making the most of this as he captured the scene! As I left him and continued down the road, I wondered if he was still filming and if I would feature in his production!

A beautiful lane

From the village, my route took me down a lovely lane with parkland on each side and past one of the many manor houses that stand in the area. High on the side of the hill, this manor house had commanding views across this beautiful valley.

One of the manor houses

But this manor house would pale into insignificance compared to the main feature in this part of Dorset, the magnificent Milton Abbey and House.

Milton Abbey and its grounds

The abbey was originally founded in 925 by King Athelstan although those buildings were destroyed by fire in 1309. The current abbey dates from the 14th and 15th century and as huge as the church is, it is only a fraction of what it was meant to be as the eastern chapels have been demolished and the main nave was never built. An interesting story is told of John Tregonwell who at the age of 5 fell from the tower……and lived! It seems that his petticoat which was the fashion of the day acted as a parachute, enabling him to ‘land’ safely!

The parkland around the abbey, designed by Capability Brown, is truly magnificent and my walk took me through this beautiful countryside.

Through the parkland

Coming to the end of the lane in the picture above gives us a chance to turn and look back at not only the church itself but also the impressive mansion that is attached to it. This was the home of Joseph Damer, later Lord Milton. He bought the estate from the Tregonwell family who had acquired the abbey after the dissolution of the monasteries to use as their private residence. Joseph Damer had the ‘new’ mansion built in 1774.

At the time, the village, then known as Middleton, was below it in the valley but Joseph Damer did not like his view being ‘spoilt’ by the cottages so he had them all demolished and built a new village out of sight round the corner! As hard as that was for the then villagers, one of whom refused to leave and had to be literally flooded out, I guess we have him to thank for the picturesque 18th century designer village we now see.

The abbey and house, as is often the case with old mansions, has now been turned into a private school.

Across the Capability Brown parkland

But we must move on! For a short time, our route takes us along a quiet country lane where I again bumped into my friend with his camera filming a different view of village life. And in the distance we can see the next unspoilt village on this walk.

Down the country lane

But we don’t stay on the road long before detouring across the fields and footpaths to reach that village.

Across fields and footpaths

Eventually the path brings us out to another of those quintessentially Dorset villages with its delightful thatched cottages and its church standing proud in the centre.

An unspoilt Dorset village

It is always a pleasure walking through this interesting village whatever the time of year but all too soon, we have to head out into the country again to climb up to one of the highest points in Dorset with its amazing views over the Blackmore Vale and across four different counties.

The route up will take us through varied scenery.

Through beautiful woodlands…….

……..through lovely open farmland…….

…….and out onto the open hillside with another of my favourite views back down the valley. Amazingly, the gorse here was still in flower and provided a lovely splash of yellow in a monochrome landscape.

On the open hillside

Reaching the ridge of the hill, my route took me along the country lane which was a blessing because the views are spectacular and walking on the road means that you can enjoy the scenery to the full without having to look where you are walking……..well, apart from the occasional patch of ice ! Now I know why I carry a walking pole – it has saved my backside several times !

The Blackmore Vale

Soon though I had to turn off the road and drop down into another snowy valley and along this section, it was 12 inches deep in places………apart from where the sheep had worn it away in their quest to find grass.

Snow grazing!

And I even managed to find some virgin snow, not yet walked upon, it almost seemed a shame to spoil it. I never could resist a gate or stile and in the virgin snow, this gate looked particularly attractive.

The gate and the virgin snow

So I spoilt the snow by walking across it and then continued down the valley along a lovely farm lane.

Looking both ways!

As I was walking down this section, the clouds produced a spectacular display and it seemed like it was just for me as it added a different dimension to the pictures. Eventually I had to climb up the side of the valley again and spoil yet more virgin snow which came up to my knees making it hard work climbing up what wasn’t really a very steep hill. But there is always something special about being the first person to walk in the snow !

Almost too lovely to spoil!

And it was the same as I crossed the next field; and looking back with the snow, the sunshine and the blue sky, it was quite breathtaking. Just stand with me a moment and admire the creator’s handiwork. ’The fool has said in his heart there is no God’.

Rolling hills of snow

And so it was on down the farm track again where I could feel less guilty because the tractors had already christened the snow ! It was along this section that there was a sad sight – animal tracks in the snow with drops of blood at regular intervals ! I wondered what had made the tracks and whether they had survived……..I hope so!

Tractor tracks

We are nearing the end of the walk now but there is yet another valley to drop into and a view made all the better by the foreground stubble that has managed to poke through the layer of snow on this more sheltered side of the hill. With the patchwork quilt of snowy fields on the opposite hillside, it made a delightful view as the light faded into evening.

In the fading light

And so my route brought me full circle as I dropped into the designer village again to pass the now redundant old school with its streetlamp shining brightly out into the gathering gloom. And the rows of cottages in the distance seem to welcome me back.

The old school

As I look back at this walk, it brings back such great memories, memories of post card perfect views across not only a designer village but also a designer landscape with its natural beauty enhanced by a heavy fall of snow. It was a 12 mile walk that felt more like 20, but it was 20 miles of heaven on earth ! But aren’t all walks in this amazing creation like that?

I have put up more pictures than I normally would but I hope you have enjoyed walking with me!

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, country life, Dorset, farming, nature, photography, rambling, snow, village life, walking, weather, wildlife

Comments 11 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking

Of, um, a slight breeze ;), a ‘drunken’ rambler, and hat that takes off!

10 Jan

So what do you do when there are heavy storm clouds outside and a howling gale gusting them threateningly across the sky? Stay in the warm with a nice cup of tea? Hibernate? No, you head for the coast of course ! And that is just what I did on this day towards the end of last year!

The walk started quite straightforwardly with a gentle downhill stroll from a small village towards the coast. In fact, it wasn’t really straight forward at all because, as has been usual in Dorset over recent months, there was thick and slippery mud everywhere, not conducive to safe downhill walking. So it was out with the walking pole just to try to avoid the ‘wet, muddy bottom’ syndrome ! Now if I had had a pair of skis with me……..!

I came out onto the coast at one of the many disused quarries that litter this stretch of Dorset and for a time the sun actually made an appearance.

Rolling waves

The wind was working itself up into a frenzy and the waves were powering their way to the shore, only to come to an abrupt halt on the rocks at the foot of the ledge. They almost seemed to display their annoyance at being stopped by launching themselves as high as they could into the air.

Angry waves

Conditions for photography were dire because the spray coming up from the rocks below was enormous - in fact it may as well have been raining! Cameras and salt sea spray do not make a good mix so the only way to get pictures was to hold the camera landward of my body to protect it, and then very quickly bring it up, grab the picture and then tuck it away again. There was no time to properly compose the shots.

Very soon, the sun disappeared as the clouds continued to build ominously. Normally this would be disappointing but in fact it was perfect because it really brought out the ferocity of the stormy weather and the real ‘personality’ of this rugged coast. It is a very changeable area, seemingly incongruently tame and innocent in the sunshine but taking on a whole new sinister character as the storm rolled in.

The storm clouds roll in

Along this part of the coast, there are many old quarry caves so I decided to take refuge in one of those and to see if I could at least find some way of getting out of the constant spray so that I could try to get some better pictures. I was carrying my tripod so I set this up in the entrance to one of the caves and stood between it and the sea so that I could protect it from the spray. I was then able to get some long exposure shots in an attempt to convey the true power of the sea.

On the quarry ledge

The quarry cave entrance

Stormy seas

My intention was to climb from here up over St Aldhelm’s Head so I repacked my rucksack and left the safe confines of the cave and walked out again into the teeth of the storm. The route initially took me along the rocky ledge but all too soon I had to leave that solid ground and venture onto the very muddy footpath that climbs steadily upwards towards the top of the headland some 350 feet above the sea. Any of my local readers will know that this mud is SLIPPERY and CLINGY so that your feet become heavier and heavier as you walk. With the combination of the ever steepening path, the slippery mud, the sea spray, and the howling gale that was gusting powerfully off the sea, this was one challenging walk………and it was GREAT !! The expression ‘blow the cobwebs away’ comes to mind. It was only later that I learned just how strong the wind was!

There was one particular incident that was funny…….and you will need to use your imagination here. As I was slip sliding up the hill, my hat blew off over a barbed wire fence and started bowling its way at a rate of knots across the field. Now this was a hat that was bought for me by my daughter so I was rather attached to it (although thinking about it, maybe it would have been better if I had been literally attached to it ! ) and I wasn’t about to let it go. So I climbed the barbed wire fence, tearing my waterproofs in the process, and complete with heavy backpack ran after it – hopefully you can picture the scene . I managed to catch up with it eventually and stowed it safely away before climbing back over the fence onto the coast path to continue my upward journey.

The St Aldhelm’s Quarry ledge

I must have made a strange sight as it was impossible to walk in a straight line as I was buffeted and slipped all over the place. In addition, to try to stay upright, I had to lean into the wind which then made a fool of me by momentarily dropping so that I nearly fell over. It was a miracle that I kept my feet but to anyone looking on it must have looked like I was a drunken man! At times, it was even difficult to move at all! Eventually the path levelled out as I reached the quarry ledge just below the top of the headland.

This ledge has a lot of history with the remains of a once thriving quarrying industry, and also the remains of a Second World War Radar Research Post but I think that will need a separate blog entry to detail.

The chimney

The remains include what I call ‘The Chimney’, a stack of stones left by the quarrymen when the work ceased – oh how I wish the picture could convey to you the strength of the wind gusting across that ledge. Sadly, this is where a picture fails. One of the quirky things about St Aldhelm’s Head is the effect on the sea and the many white horses that are seen here. These are apparently caused by the fact that there is a ledge some 30 feet below the surface that stretches several miles out to sea. It makes these waters quite dangerous and because of that, there is a National Coastwatch Lookout Post on the headland.

White horses and storm clouds

From the quarry ledge, it is only a short hop up to the top of the headland……..but I think I gave the National Coastwatch Volunteers a bit of a shock when I climbed up the cliff beside their lookout post, they hadn’t expected to see anyone on a day like this! I went into the lookout post for a few minutes to chat to the ‘Coastguards’ and the calmness and peace inside was tangible…..and a welcome respite! Being wet and muddy, I dared not venture too far in though! The volunteers had just been carrying out a reading of the wind speed and they told me that it was a Force 9 gale – OK, so a slight breeze , no wonder my hair was blowing about!! The light was fading so I couldn’t stay long before I headed out into the wind again to take a last look west along the coast.

Inclement weather and fading light

As I turned away from the coast to start my walk inland, I passed the row of old coastguard cottages that stand proud on the headland. These once housed the officer and men with their families but are now in private ownership, mostly as holiday accommodation – and what a great place to stay! With the heavy storm clouds above, I couldn’t resist taking one more picture. It was an interesting experiment in how to hold a camera steady in the failing light with a Force 9 gale blowing!! I could have used the tripod but that wouldn’t have stood a chance – well just ‘wouldn’t have stood’!! As it was, I just crouched as low as possible and anchored myself as best I could.

The old coastguard cottages at St Aldhelm’s Head

And so, finally I made my way along the rough track that would take me back to my starting point. As I walked, the Coastwatch volunteers passed me by in their 4X4 and stopped to offer me a lift to get me out of the wind – I thanked them but refused. Well the wind may have been battering me all day and I might have been soaked with all the spray but I was enjoying my ‘walk’ far too much and I didn’t want it to end.

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: Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, gales, photography, rain, rambling, storm, walking, waves, weather, wind, winter

Comments 8 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking

On White Nothe.

27 Nov

I am sitting in my office this afternoon looking out of my window at the most amazing sunset……and I am frustrated! You see, this week I have been unwell so have not been able to get out walking and one of Yarrow’s Laws states that, ‘When not walking, there shall be a blazing sunset, and when walking, there shall be grey skies only’ ! Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

Since I am at home, I thought I would catch up with another blog, and this one was sparked by a television programme that I watched earlier. But more of that later!

The subject of this blog is White Nothe which is a fabulous headland on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. Also known as White Nose because of its distinctive shape, it is an area that I love to walk as it seems to be filled with interest and intrigue, not to mention wild, windy weather at times.

The distinctive shape of White Nothe, AKA White Nose, at sunset

The chalk headland with its flat top juts out to sea and has amazing views all along the coast to the east and the west. To the east, the views take in Bat’s Head, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove.

The view to the east

To the west, the views spread out across the beautiful Ringstead Bay and through to Weymouth.

The Dorset Cost Path and the view to the west

And looking directly South, the view takes in The Isle of Portland, which in reality is not an island as it is connected to the mainland by a causeway.

The view south to Portland

With the Dorset Coast Path running along this whole area, I am sure you can appreciate why I love walking it so much – well, who wouldn’t. I mentioned that this area is intriguing, well it is to me, and one of the quirky things is the famous Smuggler’s Path which zig zags steeply down the end of the headland to the shore. This path was made famous by J Meade Falkner in his book, ‘Moonfleet’ which is a tale of smuggling in Dorset. In part of the book he wrote:

‘Forgive me, lad,’ he said, ‘if I have spoke too roughly. There is yet another way that we may try; and if thou hadst but two whole legs, I would have tried it, but now ’tis little short of madness. And yet, if thou fear’st not, I will still try it. Just at the end of this flat ledge, farthest from where the bridle-path leads down, but not a hundred yards from where we stand, there is a sheep-track leading up the cliff. It starts where the under-cliff dies back again into the chalk face, and climbs by slants and elbow-turns up to the top. The shepherds call it the Zigzag, and even sheep lose their footing on it; and of men I never heard but one had climbed it, and that was lander Jordan, when the Excise was on his heels, half a century back. But he that tries it stakes all on head and foot, and a wounded bird like thee may not dare that flight. Yet, if thou art content to hang thy life upon a hair, I will carry thee some way; and where there is no room to carry, thou must down on hands and knees and trail thy foot.’

(From Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner – as young John Trenchard and Elzevir Block flee from the Excise Men)

The Smuggler’s Path

Actually, the path itself, whilst steep, is not that scary although when you reach the bottom there is a somewhat shaky and exposed ‘ladder’ that takes you the last 30 feet to the shore. This is a path I always enjoy walking, especially down……well its tough going up it !

One of the other quirky things is the ‘pill box’ which stands at the top of the zig zag. It was in fact a communication post during the war, and I once scrambled up to the top to take some pictures. These places always intrigue me because as I stand there, I find myself wondering about all the men that served there, and the legacy they left. What also amuses me is that as I stand beside this communication post, I have no signal on my mobile phone!!

The communication post

The most intriguing thing about the headland is the row of cottages behind in the picture above. These puzzled me for years until I got talking to a very pleasant lady who lives in one of them and she told me all about them. This is another very quirky part of this wonderful county!

White Nothe Cottages

The cottages were built to house coastguards, with the nearest three story house being that of the captain and the other six cottages housing his men. At one time, with wives and children, there were 44 people living in this short row of cottages. They are well placed for the coastguards, simply because of the all round views.

The coastguards’ view

These days, the cottages are in private ownership, although they are nonetheless quirky for that. These are the facts:

1. They have no road access. The only way to reach then is along a muddy farm track.
2. They have no mains electricity. Power comes from a number of sources, a) an LPG powered generator, b) a car battery charged by solar panels, or c) for lighting, gas mantles, oil lamps or candles.
3. They have no mains gas. Gas is by LPG bottle and since there are no deliveries, the residents have to go and collect them.
4. There is no running water. Water provision is simply rain water captured off the roofs and stored in underground tanks. This then needs to be pumped up to the header tank as needed.
5. Heating is by log burners which feed a small number of radiators.
6. There is no telephone or Internet.
7. There is no mains drainage, just a septic tank.

Quirky? I think so, but fantastic too, and I would love to live in one ! In the middle of nowhere, with those views and being able to walk straight out of you front door onto the coast path…..bliss!

Just down from the top of the headland stands another interesting feature of this amazing coast. It is a tiny hamlet of Holworth with its beautiful wooden chapel. I had thought that this was unused but in fact it has recently been extended. It stands in the perfect position right on the cliff edge.

Holworth Church with its perfect view

I think it is fair to say that yet another quirky thing about this place is its weather! Often windy, as you would expect, it also has frequent mists which blow across the headland and role down to the sea like water pouring off a hillside. It is an awesome sight to stand and watch this phenomenon which frequently occurs when the lower coast is clear.

The mist covers White Nothe whilst Ringstead Bay stays clear

The mist roles across the headland

Ah yes, one more feature about White Nothe – it seems to have a lot of old, broken fence posts which I seem to photograph with monotonous regularity ! The picture below, I called ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair down’ – I wonder if you can see why?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair down

So that is White Nothe, with its amazing views and intrigue, a place I love. Oh yes, and the programme that sparked this blog? The cottages were featured on a property programme from which I discovered that three of them are on the market………now, where’s my cheque book?

Actually, according to the programme, the three story cottage is on at £575K. Ah well, I’ll just dream on!

The sun fades over White Nothe

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, churches, country life, Dorset, Dorset Coast Path, J Meade Falkner, mist, Moonfleet, photography, rambling, reading, weather, White Nothe

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking

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

Comments 8 Comments
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

Comments 6 Comments
Categories Dorset, 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.

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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

Clouds

3 Sep

Have you ever considered clouds? They are truly amazing and beautiful, almost a landscape in themselves with their ever changing shapes and shades. They are so mysterious and transient. You can really let your imagination run wild and free, seeing all kinds of things – I once saw one that looked just like a crocodile.

Whilst I was walking, and taking photographs of course, it occurred to me how they are never still – in fact I waited for them to get into just the right position in my photograph below so that they echoed the shape of the hills. Then, without stopping, they continued on their merry way. Its amazing to think that someone else might have taken a picture with this same cloud formation, maybe someone from another county or even country.

Well it inspired me to wax lyrical and compose another poem as I walked so I thought I would post it today. Hope you like it !

Clouds

Little cotton wool balls, way up high,
The fluffy white clouds scud across the sky,
Leaving no trace, just the blue,
Of where they have been or where they go to.

Where do they go when they are gone
From my view, having moved along,
To another place, another scene,
To other eyes and lands so green.

They have no time for standing still,
But they go nowhere of their own free will,
Carried aloft on warmth and wind,
With never a thought, never mind.

Like ships afloat the changing tide,
They have no engines, they just glide,
Where do they come from? I cannot say,
Where do they go at the end of the day?

You and I can sit on a stile
To take in the view and rest awhile,
Clouds do not have that luxury,
They just move on, constantly.

To hidden places a secret from me,
Perhaps not England, another country?
Those clouds that have enhanced my view
May feature in others’ pictures too.

And when their journey is finally done,
Do they die or just fade with the sun?

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: clouds, farming, photography, poem, poetry, rambling, reading, sky, sunbeams, walking, weather

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Categories Dorset, Photography, Poetry, Rambling, Walking

Of wet and mud; of birds, butterflies, bulls and bullocks; and of tuneful church bells!

1 Aug

Well summer came at last to this ‘green and pleasant land’…….well for a time at least! And as is always the case with these changeable times and changeable weather, you have to make the most of it – and make the most of it I have! So much so, that there has been little time to sit in my office and write. In fact, over the last two weeks I have completed 7 full day walks (work gets in the way on other days), a total of around 100 miles on foot. And it has been great !

But today is drab outside my window so I can happily sit in my dry office and at least commit one walk to my blog. It is a walk I did a couple of weeks ago just as the wet weather was changing to sunnier climes for us. It was a varied walk in every sense of the word as you will see!

It started in a surprising way! Having parked up, I got out of my car and was just putting my walking shoes on when the church clock started to chime the hour. I thought nothing about it until something vaguely registered in my head……the church bells were playing a tune! In fact it was the National Anthem – very strange to hear it played on church bells. I thought maybe the bell ringers were practicing but it seemed unlikely. I thought maybe it was something to do with Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, but I was wrong on that too. I stopped a passing villager who told me that it happened every three hours and that it had done so since the jubilee of Queen Victoria. Very unusual, and a lovely start to the day. I determined that I would be back in time for the evening ringing so that I could record it!

‘God save our gracious queen’ say the bells of St Andrews

One of the things I love about walking is the fact that people are usually so friendly wherever I go – the same can’t always be said about the animals I meet but more of that later. Maybe it is because I am of the ‘older generation’, but most will say a cheery ‘hello’ and some will stop to chat for a few minutes or often longer. As I walked through this village and out into the countryside, three groups of villagers stopped to pass the time of day with me. Clearly this is a village where the natives are friendly !

Once out into the countryside I had company of a different sort with buzzards hunting overhead, making their distinctive pee-yaah sound as they soared. Later they were accompanied by the ever graceful swallows wheeling around catching insects. There were wrens too – I just love wrens! They are so diminutive and yet they have such a clear, crisp and loud song, so easily recognisable.

It wasn’t long before I reached another beautiful village with its own church standing proud in the centre. The first view I had of this was as I passed the end of the tiny lane that led off the road. With cottages on either side and lined with flowers, this was a delightful way to get to the church yard. As always, this was a place of peace and a place with some amazing stained glass too! Every window tells a story and none better than the one below.

The way to the church

The village church with its stained glass

As you can see from the photographs, the day that had started so promisingly had now clouded over, and worse was to come! Underfoot, the ground was difficult and crossing every field was like walking across a lake as there was so much surface water around after all the rain of recent months. Despite the waterproof walking shoes, my feet were wet! But hey, we are used to that! Also, it was rather like an obstacle course as every stile was swamped by overgrown shrubbery – wet shrubbery! I wondered why everything was so overgrown and I came to the conclusion that there are two reasons – one is the rain, and the other is the rain! Well not quite. The first ‘rain’ simply makes everything grow more; the second ‘rain’ keeps everyone indoors meaning that the paths haven’t been walked so much (and that after all is what keeps the paths clear usually) – well apart from The Dorset Rambler who of course is crazy enough to walk in all weathers!

Just as I left the village, I came across the remains of the ancient pound. These were a common sight in days gone by when animals were grazed on the common lands. If they strayed into areas where they weren’t meant to be, causing damage, they were impounded and only released to their owners on payment of a fine.

The Pound

Nearby, there is one of those typical village farmhouses, perhaps predictably called……Pound Farm!

The old farmhouse

So it was out into the countryside again, for a time along a very quiet country lane. Now although I usually keep away from roads, I have to say that I really enjoy walking along these quiet lanes. Because the walking is so easy, it means that I can focus on what is around me rather than where I am walking – especially on this walk! The hedgerows and verges on either side of the road were beautiful with all manner of wildlife, including the cabbage white butterfly that I posted about last time, and lots of Meadowsweet.

The Cabbage White

Meadowsweet

It wasn’t too long before I turned off the road and crossed another of those beautiful meadows. Not so many flowers in this one but the grasses were gorgeous. I am always amazed at the infinite variety of different grasses there are, and how beautiful they are when you take the time to look at them.

Meadow grasses

Along this section of the walk, I passed a number of remote cottages and I confess to a tiny bit of envy – they get all this beauty straight from their own doorstep. Still, I guess there is beauty visible from every doorstep if you look at it the right way.

A beautiful country cottage

Having walked across ‘lakes’ and scrambled through overgrown stiles, my way was about to get worse! My route took me down one of those very old sunken lanes that I have referred to before in my blog. They always intrigue me and I often wonder what they were originally ‘built’ for. Was it to drive the livestock to the local market? Was it for farm workers to walk to work along? Did people use them to get to church on a sunday morning? Were they for the various landed gentry to drive their horse and carriage along as they visited their various properties? I guess they had various purposes and it is a shame that so many of them are being lost to the undergrowth because there is no budget to maintain them. This one started off beautifully as it was a clearly delineated lane with clear banks on either side and fairly easy to walk down. However, it soon deteriorated and I found myself hacking my way through brambles and nettles that were above my head. I could have found an alternative route but TDR is not to be beaten!

The sunken lane

And win through I did, to come out onto clearer ground. As I walked across the meadows and crossed the railway line that marked the final phase of the walk, the rain started to fall….and the track started to get muddier! The long meadow grass is beautiful, and the trees and shrubs are beautiful, but not so much when they are wet and when all they want to do is transfer their wetness to me ! They did that in abundance!

Crossing the railway line

There were still two more hamlets and two more churches to pass before the end of the walk. The first had the distinction of having an upside down font. If you look carefully at the picture below, you will see that the animals carved on the font have their legs in the air. In fact it is almost certain that the font was originally the base of an anglo-saxon cross which at some point was turned over and hollowed out to form the font of the current church. The church sits next to the 17th century manor house as is often the case.

The church with its upside down font!

At this point, things were getting difficult. I was walking in an area which was new to me and there using an OS map……which was getting increasingly wet and unreadable! Ah, the challenges of walking in England! Well no rain had been forecasted that day! Anyway, I continued on instinct more than anything else and very soon came across the final church, the smallest church in Dorset and apparently the second smallest in England. It was right next to a farmhouse and to get to it I had to cross the loveliest small hump back footbridge – and in doing so felt as if I was walking into someones private garden. The church is now redundant and maintained by The Historic Churches Preservation Trust who do a great work in maintaining these very old buildings that are so much a part of the heritage of this country. Their motto is ‘Creative spaces, sacred places’.

The way to the church

The smallest church in Dorset

Inside, apart from being dry , the church was light, airy and had a lovely sense of peace about it. As always, I wondered at the amazing legacy that it has and the thousands of lives that have been impacted by its witness. It was time to move on so I headed back out into the even heavier rain to cross a number of boggy arable fields….although these were nothing to what was to come! Amazingly, there were still lots of butterflies accompanying me despite the wet conditions. It surprised and delighted me that these flimsy creatures still seem to be able to fly even though they were wet. And they still looked happy – well have you ever seen a depressed butterfly??

A very gloomy evening!

The final stretch was probably the worst because it crossed a dairy farm, and where there is cattle, there is MUD! And boy was there MUD, literally knee deep in places. It made the going very hard. And on top of that I had to cross a field with a bull who eyed me up as I walked, but did no more than that. Well they are usually fairly docile. The next field was full of young bullocks, and they didn’t give me such an easy time – they chased me and charged at me incessantly as I crossed their field! They are harmless too, just nosy and with a bit of an attitude !

“You are probably wondering why I’ve called you here. I’ve had complaints from walkers that you have been charging at them and chasing them. You know your mothers wouldn’t allow that! And besides, it’s making a terrible mess, just look at this place! Now go and clean it up!”

Finally I got back to the car and the relative dryness – I was somewhat wet!! I had walked through waterlogged fields, scrambled across overgrown stiles, been stung and torn by brambles, hacked my way through impassable undergrowth, fallen numerous times, got soaked, glared at by a bull, chased and charged by bullocks……what a fabulous day! I was happy!

Oh, and the church bells? I was too late and missed them!

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: church, churches, country life, Dorset, farming, flowers, meadow, nature, new life, photography, rain, rambling, village life, walking, weather, wildlife

Comments 19 Comments
Categories Dorset, Photography, Rambling, Walking, Wildlife

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Clouds

Of wet and mud; of birds, butterflies, bulls and bullocks; and of tuneful church bells!

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