A Dorset Adventure in Five parts – Day five

My last full day in Dorset.

I had decided that after my day of walking to Hardy’s Cottage and back it would be wise to plan a less energetic day in case I was feeling tired.

I decided that I would go to the coast and had been trying to choose between Bridport and Lyme Regis but in the end I decided to go to Charmouth as it looked to be a smaller quieter place.

I caught the bus and had a pleasant ride through the Dorset countryside.

Then a gentle walk down to the beach. I went and had a look round the study centre and them ambled out onto the beach itself.

I felt obliged to hunt for fossils though I didn’t really expect to find any as there seemed to be regular organised fossil hunts.

However I already have a couple of fossilised shells that I collected sometime in my late teens. Not sure from where.

But I took a photograph of the grey crumbling cliffs. It looked as if a little stream ran down here.

I also took some photographs of interesting rocks. (I often do this when I go to a beach). and and this pile someone had made.

Having clambered over the rocks at the far end of the beach I walked back to look for something to eat.  There was a cafe that sold some savoury items and I settled on a pasty which I ate sitting on the other side of the beach on the stones in front of the beach huts.

As you can see from the photographs is was a very hot sunny day and I longed for a bit of shade but having decided that there wasn’t any I decided to buy an ice cream and catch the bus back to Dorchester.

Last week on what was the hottest June day for forty years I went to another beach that I must say I enjoyed a lot more. It is also a ‘Dorset’ beach though when I moved into the area it was in Hampshire.

It is my favourite ‘day trip’ beach.

To me it is quite ideal. There is a café

Photograph taken on an earlier visit

(though not a restaurant so I generally take some cheese and biscuits and a piece of fruit,) up on the cliffs set in the grounds of Highcliffe castle.

Another earlier photograph

The trees and bushes create a pleasant backdrop to the beach which has sand, if you want to make castles, but also pebbles that you can sit on not to get your towel too sandy. The beach is ever so clean and so is the water.

 

And when you have had enough sun you can go up and find some shade and sit and look at the sea. It is the addition of this shade that makes it so ideal.

I get there by catching the train to Hinton Admiral and I was pleased to find that about two thirds of the walk to the beach was also shady. I can’t stand too much sun now I am older.

 

A Dorset Adventure in Five parts – Day four

Stinsford church, Thorncombe Woods and Hardy’s Cottage.

Having had a bad migraine the evening before (maybe I was overdoing it after all!) I was pleased to find my head feeling much better as I set off.

I had a leaflet that I had printed off the internet and I followed their walk to Hardy’s Cottage and back.

The walk started at Grey’s Bridge. The instructions were then to take the second footpath on the right which was a bridal path. I did this, went under a busy road and eventually turned left as a little detour to see Stinsford church. On the wall outside the church near the door was this plaque containing a quotation form one of Thomas Hardy’s poems – The Darkling Thrush. I especially like the font they had used!

There were a few features of note ins1de the church that I photographed.

The font. (Another meaning of the word!!)This side chapel evoked a sense of peace and harmony.The stained glass windows were not exceptional except for this one that seemed more modern. (I am less keen on Victorian style stained windows.)It was clear that this was Elijah and a closer look confirmed it. There was a dedication to Thomas Hardy underneath but the ivy which you can see in the above photograph rather obscured it.

There was a Madonna and Child: The niche may well be older than the statue.

I also liked the carving on the pillars.This photograph will help tie it all together as you can see the Elijah window, the statue, the pillars and the side chapel was to the left beyond the statue.

Of course I had to have a look for the graves of Thomas Hardy’s heart, Cecil Day Lewis and his wife. I enjoyed the poetry of C Day Lewis and Thomas Hardy but I have never read Hardy’s books as they seemed from reports to be rather depressing!

I then retraced my steps back to the original path and continued on my way. I came across this when the path went through a farmyard. I thought it looked like something of an antique.

About 1130 I passed the Pine Lodge Tea Room which was noted on the map and instructions. It was an extremely hot and sunny day and I was feeling rather drained.

It appeared the they were shut but I went up to read what it said on the door. It appeared that they were open at midday for lunches but that seemed a long time to wait.

As I stood there the door was opened and a women asked me if she could get me a drink. I chose a sparkling elderflower which came with ice and she also filled up my water bottle. I suppose she saw the opportunity for a sale but it was still very kind of her.

Much refreshed I continued on my way until I reached Thorncombe Woods. Here I found Rushy Pond and these attractive and unusual seats. So I sat for a while in the shade.

I then walked on, following the signs, until I could see Hardy’s Cottage. I wandered around and found this memorial put up by fans from the USA. Here is a closer look at what it says. I also walked round to where I could see the back of the cottage that was surprisingly plain and almost windowless.

I was getting hungry by now and there was a sign to the Visitor’s Centre and Car Park so I followed it down what turned out to be a very long and sometimes quite steep path.

After a bowl of soup. I trudged back to the cottage to rejoin the route in the leaflet. I didn’t pay to go into the cottage as I tend to prefer grounds to interiors and I knew I would feel awkward in my walking boots.

The rest of the route was less picturesque and included electric fences and an Animal Care Centre. Luckily a couple of the girls there happened to know how to open the gate because I was struggling. It is surprising how many different sorts of gate you meet on a country walk.

I saw this house which I now think is Kingston Maurward House and shortly afterward a rabbit!

On the whole the instructions were very clear and the sign-posting was excellent. However I was about to meet a problem on getting to section 13 (unlucky for some!). The signposting for The Old Manor was not at all clear and I ended up asking two different people if they knew of a nearby cattle grid: as the next significant point to find. Once there I had no more problems and when I saw these signposts I knew I had completed the circular part of my walk.

Have you noticed this holiday is all about circles: walking all round Maiden Hill, walking the almost all way round bank of Maumbury Rings, Walking round the Giant’s Hill and now a circular walk that took in Hardy’s Cottage!

The way back was now straight forward and I went and collapsed gratefully back in my room at the guest house.

A Dorset Adventure in Five parts – Day three

Cerne Abbas

Tuesday was cloudy and not as hot as Monday but when you are going walking that is no bad thing.

I had been to Cerne Abbas Giant viewpoint on the way back from Weymouth last summer and shared a couple of pictures. The rather hard to see Giant. However this time I was aiming to visit the village and walk round the Giant’s Hill.

I left the Bay Tree shortly before nine to go to the bus stop. The bus was due at 0925 and since the English Senior bus passes are not valid before 0930, I hoped to pay for a short distance and then go for free but the bus driver was very kind and just let me use the pass.

When we got to Cerne Abbas I got my bearings then walked up Abbey Street to look at the church. The church was not outstandingly beautiful but it had a few features of interest, I especially liked this carved Madonna and Child and this amazing pulpit. There were also some interesting texts on the wall (This photograph is full size so if you are interested you can click on it and enlarge it till you can read the three texts between the arches.)and since this is a craft blog I had to photograph these kneelers made by local women. There were four kneelers but this composite picture allows you to see all the designs.

After this I moved on to look at the Abbey Guest House. Abbot’s porch and St Augustine’s well. Apparently it is iron rich (Chalybeate) water like at Glastonbury but unfortunately, unlike Glastonbury (at least many, many years ago when I was there), it is not drinkable. However it was a pleasant spot to sit for a few moments and contemplate.

Now it was time to walk up Giant’s Hill.

There is a fence round the Giant itself to preserve it. I wonder if once you could walk right up to it, like once you could clamber at will over Caerphilly castle, walk right up to the stones at Stonehenge, that stood in lonely splendour off the side of the road, or sit of an evening by Chalice Well in Glastonbury to drink the Chalybeate water, which is quite delicious! I have done all these things in my lifetime. The second time at Glastonbury, just two years after the previous time, the well was fenced in and you had to pay to go in during ‘opening hours’! I suppose it all makes sense and yet I find it sad.

Anyway back to Cerne Abbas.

This photograph shows what may be all that is visible of the giant from the path.

I had not started walking up the hill till about 11 o’clock but in spite of talking it gently I was making good time and I decided to follow a route to take me all around the hill. Not the full figure of eight walk shown on the Village Map but enough to still get me back to the village for lunch. It was so pleasant up there in the sunshine that I wondered if I should have bought something in the shop and had a picnic but it was too late to go back and start again.

Luckily, unlike the walk my granddaughter and I had done to Hardy’s Monument the way was well sign-posted and I even found myself walking along a bridal path through the middle of a field of rape. (You know: those fields of yellow flowers you see so often these days!). The path was well trodden earth but very narrow and the plants flopped over from both sides in many places.

At the other side of the field the path, though narrow and steep, went through a wooded area and allowed me a view over Cerne Abbas from the other side of the hill. Because it was so narrow, I wondered if the path was really used for riding but thought this could be evidence that it was. Further on I found even more proof. Luckily I didn’t miss the sign that directed me to turn left back towards the village. I walked back through the cemetery and took this picture before I went through the gate.

There was a village café so I went in to get some lunch. I had intended to have soup for lunch but as I wasn’t especially keen on the soup on offer I ended up being seduced by the thought of pie, though I suppose it was the fact that it included ‘veg’ that really sold it to me. Vegetables often seem in short supply in restaurant meals. Here a generous helping of carrots.

The buses were very infrequent and I had a choice of a bus at 1410 or waiting for another couple of hours. I decided that I was already quite tired so it might be wiser to take the earlier bus. I got to the bus stop in good time and was amused by wheeling swallows while I waited. No photographs I am afraid they were moving much too quickly.

 

 

A Dorset Adventure in Five parts – Day two

Last summer when I went to Weymouth with my granddaughter, Sandra of Wild Daffodil and I had arranged to meet, however circumstance intervened, but now I was coming back to Dorset we had another try and this time succeeded.

Sandra very kindly offered to pick me up in her car and take me to somewhere that would be harder to get to by bus (I do not have a car myself) and I suggested Ringstead Beach. I realised afterwards that I should have taken more photographs, including one of us together but we were so busy getting to know each other and swopping stories of our creative journeys that there wasn’t much time for photographs.

I thought that it would be a good idea to bring a gift in return for her transporting me and I made two of my Celtic Coasters specially for her  and also offered her a choice of two of my new design. As well as the photograph of the beach I also took a picture of this surprisingly large pipe that channels the water of a stream onto the beach. and on the way back Sandra stopped the car so I could get a good view of the figure of King George III cut into the chalk on the hillside.

She kindly took me back to Dorchester where I stopped off for some lunch before deciding what to do for the rest of the day. It was really great to meet a fellow blogger and it is a shame we don’t live nearer each other as we seemed to get on well.

I did a little reconnoitering and acquired a couple of bus timetables when I finally found the Tourist Information Centre which had moved and was now in the Library! I also discovered the best place to catch said buses.

I had noticed a sign for Maumbury Rings which were actually within Dorchester itself; so seeking them out seemed a good way to spend the end of the afternoon.

Maumbury Rings goes back to Neolithic times when farmers often build Henges, probably for ceremonial purposes. The Romans turned it into an amphitheatre and it was also used as a camp during the Civil War.

It is even in use for social events today.

Again, like Maiden Castle I wanted to walk all the way round. (Not as far this time!) (The above photograph was taken when I was half-way round.)

I climbed up on these steps to start to walk around the top of the bank. There is a very wide gap at the entrance and when I reached the other end of the bank I realised that I could see no easy way down, so I decided that the best thing to do was to retrace my steps and come down where I had gone up.

Here you can see that end seen from below. It looks as if there may have been a second set of steps at one time and the sloping bit looks as if I might be okay to slide down! However it looked a lot steeper from above.

After this I found a seat in the shade and sat for a while. I couldn’t resist taking some photographs of a beautiful perfect daisy I could see beside the seat.

 

A Dorset Adventure in Five parts – Day one

Having had such a good time exploring Dorset from Weymouth with my granddaughter last summer, I felt there was more to see and so decided to spend a few days in Dorchester which would enable me more easily to visit places I had missed before.

So on Sunday 21st May I set off to catch the 1103 train from Southampton.

Having allowed plenty of extra time to catch the bus, which allowed plenty of time to catch the train, I ended up just managing to catch the earlier (by one hour) train which was a few minutes late! No photographs at this stage as with a heavy rucksack and suitcase, I was feeling rather tired. The suitcase was heavy because with the weather the way it was I had taken enough jumpers and T-shirts to cover my stay.

It is always pleasant taking the train through the New Forest and I was also enchanted to find myself, from Bournemouth onwards, passing through all the stations whose names had always sounded like a sort of litany when announced in a monotone over the station tannoy system.

Bournemouth, Branksome,           Parkstone, Poole,           Hamworthy, Holton Heath,           Wareham, Wool – I love the alliteration.

When I arrived in Dorchester having plenty of time before I could collect the key to my room in The Bay Tree guest House, I set about exploring the Brewery Square area of Dorchester: a new, mainly restaurant filled, section which reminded me of the new extended area of West Quay in Southampton. I sat and admired the fountain, had a cup of Coffee in Costa Coffee, then set off for the guest house.
After settling into my room, I went back to Brewery Square to get some lunch, then set off for Maiden Castle which is a large Iron Age hill fort about a mile and a half outside Dorchester. I set off up the path towards it from the Car Park but it is really not an easy thing to photograph being so large (the upper area being the size of 50 football pitches) and covered in grass. As my younger daughter put it:  “It’s where the people lived before the Romans moved them to Dorchester.”

It is managed by English Heritage and you can read more about it HERE
They have the benefit of aerial photography!

As I said it was hard to photograph but here is some idea of the banks and ditches that protected the entrance.And something of a wider view. The banks were made of chalk and would have been white and shinning when first erected. In some places you could see the chalk where people’s feet had worn through the grass. Near the other end is the remains of a Romano-British temple. These are the remains of the walls of an  associated building thought to be the priest’s house.

And here is the outline of the temple:An inner room surrounded by a covered passage. Now mainly frequented by sheep.

Lots of people seemed to get as far as here and then retrace their steps but of course that was not good enough for me and I had to walk all the way round the edge.

Here are a couple of photographs I took as I walked back along the other side to give you an idea of how Maiden Castle sat in the land. and nearer where I started. After this I retraced my steps back to Dorchester and my room in the guest house and collapsed for a while before going out to find a snack.

I had taken some colouring and crochet to do in the evenings but I have to admit that during my time in Dorset, after being out on my feet for six or seven hours a day, in the evening I didn’t have the energy to do much other than read a book or watch TV.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning here that with Chronic Fatigue always in the background, I was very anxious not to allow myself to overdo it one day and end up totally prostrated the next and unable to do what I had planned.

So in all my outings, I took things at a gentle pace, walking at a speed that my body told me was okay, rather than that of which the government would approve! and whenever I started to feel more than a little tired, I would stop for a few minutes rest. This meant that I was able to visit all the places I had planned and had a wonderful time!

Beer and Buses

I have a few more posts ready to be created that I could have shared with you but I decided to share what I was doing last Saturday as I was pleasantly surprised that the photographs I had taken, mostly in a hurry, weren’t too bad.

I went with my daughter and family to the Isle of Wight for the first day of the “Isle of Wight Classic Buses, Beer (& Walks) Weekend”.

My son-in-law is a member of CAMRA’s National Executive and my daughter loves all sorts of buses and trams so it was an event to please everyone.

When we took the Red-Jet from Southampton the weather looked dark and cloudy but it had cheered up by the time we got to Newport.

There were several bus routes which (if you know the Isle of Wight) were all as one might expect centred around Newport. I took a photograph of this red Routemaster bus that is the classic London bus and a row of buses. I also took some green ones. The one on the left being the Green Line Routemaster bus I remember from my childhood.

I also photographed an open top bus. We rode on two open top buses. This was taken while sitting on the first one. It rained while we were on the second one but luckily the seats were dry when we got on!

When we had arrived in Ryde we had had our first beer. And later bought some fish and chips and sat to eat them looking at the sea and the great long pier. Later after our trip on the open top bus we had another beer. This pub had music in the marquee (very loud!).

Unfortunately by the time we reached out third pub in Shanklin it was raining quite heavily.

Though I did take my camera out as we waited for our last bus to photograph a rainbow. Where is a cornfield when you need one!

A rainbow isn’t quite as romantic over houses.

A week in Weymouth – part 2

On Wednesday I had planned a trip to the Hardy monument as it is not open earlier in the week. Open means a cafe and the chance to go to the top. Otherwise it stands there out in the open.

Recent experience in walking in the countryside to well known locations or popular routes led me to believe that the off-road walking route would be well signposted. I did however have an ordinance survey map (borrowed from the library – Yay!) and a Silva compass (lent by James because I had forgotten to think of bringing my own) as backup.

When we got off the bus the road route was signposted – 2 miles and there was a sign to the right as we walked through the village of Portesham pointing to a walking route. That was the last we saw of specific signs however.

Faced with a choice of two paths I was glad I had both map and compass. However life is tough if you are thirteen and Louisa informed me that she couldn’t stand still while I worked out the right direction as her legs would seize up and then plowed ahead on the lower path which had been my first choice.

Suffice it to say that it was the wrong path and from then on I muddled along, trying to follow the map while walking, jollying Louisa along as it was very hot (hotter than I had expected), reversing direction when it was obvious we had made the wrong choice, rejoicing when we caught a glimpse of the monument, so in the end the expected two miles was nearer three and the hour I estimated it would take became ninety minutes.

So the first thing we did on arrival (apart from a photograph) was an ice cream for Louisa and some coffee for me. The cafe was a sort of caravan style similar to an ice cream van with a window at the side

I wish I had taken a photograph here but I was too intent on reviving myself.

I was offered not a mug but a cafetiere of coffee, served on a tray with a cup and saucer and jug of milk. The cafetiere had a crochet cosy in bright colours that had been made by the lady serving the coffee. (We discussed the making of cosies when I gave back the tray.) There were two chairs and a table beside the ‘cafe’ and I sat there and drank my coffee.

Then Louisa and I found a picnic table and ate our lunch (again no photograph) after which we went and sat in the shade of the monument and Louisa picked up her crochet again. I got up after a while and took some views. Better views were to be had from the top however.

The cost of climbing the one hundred and twenty steps to the top of the monument was very reasonable so Louisa and I, when we felt sufficiently revived, opted to go up.

I was pleased to find that Louisa after her earlier moaning was now very happy that we had come and enjoyed the view.

Here is a view over towards the Chesil bank which seemed to follow us wherever we went. And further round the road that wound further inland. We opted to be safe rather than sorry for the return trip and followed the road back towards Portesham: very much a country route but no footpath so frequent recourse to climbing the verge.

I had been expecting to meet up with a blogging friend on Thursday but personal circumstance meant that that was not possible so a re-think was necessary.

The weather forecast suggested rain so a return trip to Abbotsbury to visit St Catherine’s Chapel seemed a good option. And as it turned out we were glad of the shelter the chapel offered. Louisa was charmed by the large number of doves and pigeons inside the chapel. You can see two either side of the window both on nests. One seemed to have chicks and the other was obviously incubating hers.

I took a photograph of the roof from inside and then later of the turrets on the roof outside. And some views of the surrounding coutryside from the front of the chapel.

Here is one of the road snaking up the hill. And here is the village of Abbotsbury. You can see it was a misty moisty day!

I am loving Dorset, it is all very pretty.

Friday being the last day, a gentler pace seemed appropriate and so the main events were an afternoon boat trip and a meal out in the evening.

No photographs of the meal though it was very good but the boat we travelled on is in the front of this photograph and here is one taken of the other side of the harbour the side where our appartment was, just one street behind.

Here is the Nothe Fort at the end of the harbour. We then travelled along the Jurassic coast. I took a few photographs, as much as one can in a rocking boat, but although they are interesting as a record not many are worth showing.

Here is one where you can see something of the jurassic layersand here near the half way point where the dipping jurassic gives way to the creataceous. Saturday we were picked up and I had expected a quick trip home and a collapse but my daughter had decided to come too and we were offered the chance to go wherever we wished.

Having missed out on the Cerne Giant we made for the viewing point and took some photographs.

Here is the best I could do of the giant himself. I was a little disappointed that he did not stand out more clearly.

Here we are myself, daughter and grandaughter with the giant in the background.

The weather looked a bit threatening but we decided we would go and take a look at Maiden Castle. We were still dithering as to whether to get out of the car and walk round the ramparts when the heavens opened and the thunder and lightening put paid to any such idea.

So we spent the rest of the day at the Dorset County museum and very interesting it was too.

Before I end I thought I would share our crochet with you. Yes I did do some crochet though not while out as I was trying to design a scarf pattern.

I had some yarn I had won in a giveaway. And I decided to use the little extra ball to experiment to see if it was enough for a scarf.

I was thinking pineapple bookmark, and angel bookmark as inspiration and I even found a picture of a scarf on the internet that seemed to combine these ideas and so, with much undoing and redoing I produced this. Louisa on the other hand worked away doggedly at her scarf. I started her off with a couple of rows and then she did the rest. Almost two feet and I was pleased to see that her confidence has grown to the point where if she found she had the wrong number of stitches at the end of a row she would undo and redo till it was correct.

A week in Weymouth – part 1

First I have to say that I have discovered that it is so much harder to think about taking photographs when you are responsible for a granddaughter. So the following will not be my normal steady progression of photographs, more an ‘as and when’ record.

I took a couple of photographs of the apartment we stayed in but decided that the best way to share that with you was to give a link to the page on the web where you can find the details. There is even a virtual tour of the rooms if anyone is interested.

There was a bus strike going on at the time which wasn’t ideal and when we turned up to catch a bus to Abbotsbury on the Sunday we found that it was not running. I therefore decided to take the bus to Portland to see the study centre and the Chesil Bank.

We missed the best bus stop and were surprised to find the bus heading down, way past the study centre to the main part of Portland. When we got off we were maybe as much as a mile from where we wanted to be.

It was an overcast windy day and Louisa soon complained of being cold so I gave her my ‘keep you cool when it is hot and warm when it is cold shirt’. Here you can see her wearing it. I found the wind quite strong but warm.

She moaned and moaned all the way, until we found what I took to be a more sheltered spot from the quantity of grass growing there and stopped for our picnic. Pictures of her eating a tomato were unfortunately not too good!

I was sitting with a view over Portland harbour and watched the various activities on the water. We had climbed to the top of the Chesil Bank, though not for long as the going was tough on the pebbles and it was much too windy for Louisa. So much for my idea of exploring and looking for fossils. (I must go back sometime and explore the Chesil Bank for myself!)

Louisa’s aversion to the thought of the Chesil Bank was quite a joke between us for the rest of the week!

Here is a photograph I took, before we finished our picnic, of other people walking along the top. After our picnic we proceeded to the study centre and indulged ourselves with a hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows (Louisa also had a toasted teacake) before looking at the exhibits.

No more photographs on my part as trying to jolly along a moaning granddaughter had rather exhausted me.

The next day we tried again for the bus to Abbotsbury and were in luck.

This is probably the day where I managed to take the most photographs.

The prime reason for going to Abbotsbury was to visit the Swannery but there was also St. Catherines chapel nearby and I thought we might visit it before we returned to Weymouth.

Unfortunately a thirteen year old’s body clock is different to mine and about three o’clock when I was just recovering from a post lunch slump Louisa was finally tired and wanted to go and catch the bus.

We did go back on Thursday and that will be in part two.

We had a pleasant walk to the swannery and of course I had to take my usual path photograph And a swan one I would have liked to take a swan with a long arched neck but it seemed to be preening time.

However we did pass a lake with quite a number of swans. Not all preening.

There were enclosures where families of swans had some space to themselves. Of course all the cyngnets were at least a few months old by now. They feed the swans at 1200 and 1600 and anyone who wants can help. So of course Louisa was keen to do so. Though not all the swans were there, there was quite a crush. Some clever ones had made their way to where to food had been brought in wheel barrows before being dispensed. Unfortunately I was intent on watching Louisa and didn’t take a photograph of them.

After this we had our picnic near the entrance to the maze. Carrot and lettuce added to the tomato/cucumber and fruit today!

Then we tried the maze.

For maze afficionados there are several closed paths within the maze so neither the left-hand or right-hand rule work. (Louisa and I took one each.) However we found our way to the centre of the maze eventually, but no photographs, and then wandered further afield around what is quite a large site discovering how to trap ducks!

On our way back we passed a tent advertising “Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue” but none of my photographs of the rather subdued birds were worth sharing.

We then stopped at the cafe near the entrance and had a delicious ice cream. I had ‘lemon delight’ and Louisa ‘salted caramel’. Not sure I fancy the idea of salted caramel but it was Louisa’s flavour of choice this holiday.

Before we left I just had to take a quick photograph of a red admiral on a nearby buddleia. I underestimated the time to get back to the bus stop so we just missed the bus and had an hour to wait. Louisa busied herself with her crochet while I just sat and relaxed.

I did see some geese however that came really close.I’m sure that one is looking at us and maybe the one on the right out of the corner of it’s eye.

Just before the bus came I decided to take a view down the street as the cottages were so attractive.

Tuesday looked to be the hottest day of the week, though Wednesday was almost as hot, so it seemed a good day to try the beach.

Although the beach was very crowded it seemed more spacious and less oppressive than the one at Muddeford that I showed you before.

I took my camera but anxiety about getting sand in it and anxiety about Louisa away in the water meant that I took very few photographs.

Just a couple of the sea. and and neither is Louisa. There were a lot of people between me and the sea so it was hard to see her when I was looking after our stuff and she was in the water.

(And I did get in a couple of swims!)

There was a point when the seagulls were continually whirling overhead and I tried to get a few photographs.

This one is just to give you the idea. They were too far away and too fast to get a decent photograph.

The rest of our holiday, maybe next week.

I had another adventure!

Well I suppose calling my outing adventures may seem over the top but when I was a child and I read the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton and other books by an author called Malcom Saville I longed to have adventures of my own. Then one day I realised that any outing could be an adventure if you approached it in the right spirit and this trip to Christchurch and Mudeford was something of a journey into the unknown! More unknown than expected!

I had planned to have had far more outings by this point in the summer but the uncertain weather and a certain sense of holding my breath until the garden was completed has militated against it.

But last week reading that the following day was going to be the hottest so far and knowing that the work on the garden was likely to begin the day after, I decided that it was the ideal time for a trip to the beach.

I went to the station to catch the 1024 to Christchurch but maybe all the heat was messing up the signal boxes because the train was about fifteen minutes late. A fifteen minutes standing up watching a steady increment to the expected time. So I was very glad when the train eventually arrived. A quiet journey knitting a bit more of my temperature scarf then a happy arrival at Christchurch Station. As I left the station one of the first things I noticed were these poppies by the side of the road. I love field poppies, so of course I had to photograph them.

I hadn’t taken a paper map but was relying on the map on my phone; however I began to realise that with the extremely bright sunlight not only was reading the map on the screen phone extremely difficult but also, without a viewfinder on my camera, knowing if the photographs were any good was going to be an issue. (I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the photographs turned out okay, though the bright contrast of a sunny day is not ideal for photography.)

I had seen from the map that Mudeford, which was my ultimate destination, was about three or four miles from Christchurch but I thought that was a distance I could manage without difficulty.

On the way I saw many things.

There was this wool shop but I resisted the temptation to visit it as I have plenty of yarn in my stash and a long list of future projects for using it up.

There was also a sewing shop but again I resisted the temptation.

(These shops were both on the other side of the road and, with a steady stream of traffic, getting a vehicle free photograph was quite tricky.)

This display did get my attention however as I had noticed an influx of ants, some of them with wings, in my sitting room at the corner of the patio doors and I was out of ant powder! So I went in and bought some.

Reading the map, as I said before was difficult but I had remembered that the road I needed to take was a little bit north of Christhurch Priory and I had thought to visit for a quick look. It was only a quick look as time was getting on.

I had to photograph this more old fashioned sweet shop in spite of the reflections.and these ruins. So many reasons to come back another day.

I had to cross the river along Castle St and Bridge St, stopping to take a quick photograph as I did so. This was such a soothing and tranquil sight, I could have stayed there all day.

I took a quick view towards the harbour the other side but decided that crossing the road was unwise!

After this the road seemed endless as it curved gently round towards Mudeford.

I saw a few more items of interest though.

Stanpit Recreation Ground. Something to explore one day maybe.

And this sign

This will enlarge if you want to read it

Just a tribute to the original not the real thing but it looked a peaceful place to rest if I had had the time.

My first view of the sea but the end was not yet.

Eventually I reached the beach and I saw there were people having fun with their dinghies but I was hungry and thirsty by now and lunch was my first priority. So I found a place in the shade. Half a home made scone based pizza and a banana. There should have been more olives but I had run out!

After lunch I looked at the steady stream of boats hurrying towards the harbour.

There were motor boats and sail boats and some that clearly had both. Although it was very hot, unlike the previous day which had been very humid, there was a cool breeze and the sea was quite lively as I watched it splashing up against the sea wall. and I walked along past a row of beach huts in muted, pastel colours then I ventured onto the beach and my eye was caught by this arrangement of sticks and stones as also by other detritus. I had been to Mudeford many, many years before and I didn’t recognise it. Then it had seemed a quiet beach where you could amble gently along to Highcliffe and beyond. Today it was heaving with people. I was told later that it had changed a lot in the past thirty years and it certainly seemed to have a lot more facilities (and people!)

It was very hot and I didn’t feel I could face all the crowds and the noise, and the sea seemed a bit rough for a paddle, so I decided to return to Christchurch and maybe visit the Priory. I had noticed a bus stop on the way there and didn’t feel up to the long walk back so I waited for the next bus. Maybe another time (if there ever was one) I should take the bus from Christchurch rather than walk.

I did indulge myself with a stem ginger ice cream (how can you have a summer outing without one and I am very fond of ginger!) before going and sitting in the Priory just taking in the silence and renewing my strength for the journey home. Aren’t these Norman arches beautiful?I took a couple of quick photographs, thinking that I may come back later for a proper visit.

Waiting for the next train there was a delay of about twenty minutes, as I had had in the morning, but there were a couple of trains in the other direction that were about an hour late: signalling issues again! So I suppose I should think myself lucky!

I was very pleased when it arrived.

I hope you enjoyed coming with me to Christchurch and Mudeford. As you can see, if you are ever in the area, there is lots to explore.

Danube Adventure – Budapest by day

As in many other places we were taken around the city by coach and really taking pictures from a moving coach is rarely successful. So most of the pictures I have for you were taken when we were dropped off by the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias church and left to our own devices for a while. This of course is 1n the Buda half of the city because Budapest, as you may know, was originally two towns on opposite sides of the Danube that only merged into one in 1873.

But first here is a photograph of the parliament building on the Pest side, not as enchanting perhaps in the day, but still beautiful. As I said, the area where we were deposited was near to a construction called the Fisherman’s Bastion. Although what you can see is relatively recent, apparently the name goes back to the time when this part of the city was defended, when necessary, by the guild of fishermen.

Now it is a restaurant but we were told that if we went in very quickly and took a photograph of the view no one would mind. So that is what I did. You can see the parliament building on the other side of the river among other things.

Near the Fisherman’s Bastion is a large statue of St Stephen, the first king of Hungary. As our time in Budapest was limited since we only arrived at 2.30pm, I do not have as  many photographs to share as other places, so I will include more detail than I would have done otherwise. Here is a closer view of the statue. This area also includes the Matthias church (church of Our Lady) which is really beautiful. Here is another view taken slightly to the left. And a closer view of the roof. As I mentioned in Vienna, I really liked these ornamental roofs. In this photograph you can see a raven on top of one of the towers. Not a real one of course!

The raven is part of a story concerning the king Matthias and he holds a golden ring in his beak. In this area there was also a plague monument. I remember reading about these in a book by Frank Tallis (a murder mystery set in Vienna.) But they obviously had them here in Budapest as well and this was the first time I was able to get a decent picture of one. They were erected as a thanksgiving to God for the ending of a plague.

Although my daughter and I went out the next morning for a quick bit of shopping (on the Pest side) before we were taken to the airport for our return flight, I didn’t take any more photographs. However I will leave you with a daytime photograph of the Freedom Statue (also on the Buda side) that I had taken from the ship when we arrived.My last lot of photographs next week and these will be about food!