Day 86 - Saturday 23 August 2003 - Lyme Regis to Seaton

 7.5 miles walked today

912.5 miles walked in total (10.61 average)

I left Colnbrook at 7.15 am today but didn't get to Lyme Regis until 11.45 am.  The railways are all being dug up this weekend so everyone's taken to the roads instead.  Nightmare journey.  I'm not sure whether coming down for just a weekend is now a viable option any more - will need to make a decision soon.

It didn't take long to get parked, booted up and ready for action so I was off immediately - uphill of course - from the Cobb, through the bowling green and up the steps to the Landslip National Nature Reserve.  Today's walk was described in my guide book as "a fair imitation of a corkscrew, very rewarding to some, but extremely frustrating to others".  It was all undercover for  a start - more a woodland walk than a coastal path.  And extremely muggy with no air or hint of a sea breeze.

Fifteen acres of land - eight million tonnes of waterlogged chalk - was dislodged in the great landslide of Christmas Day 1839.  This area had been left to regenerate and the trees are now enormous, letting no light in at all.  The trees have thrown out very inconvenient roots - huge great things to step over or crawl under.  Shannon rang me at quite a crucial moment to ask me questions about her homework - typical student doing her homework in the last week of the summer holidays instead of at the beginning.   Because of this, I followed a couple of walkers who were also heading to Seaton, but, unbeknown to me at the time, were lost.  Marvellous!   So we did a bit of scrambling up hill and down dale through the undergrowth until we found the path again.

I soon lost them though as there was an uphill climb and I was struggling in the heavy air.  There weren't too many places to sit down so I climbed a steep bank underneath some trees and perched there crosslegged to check the maps, eat some banana cake and gulp lots of water down.  A party of eight walked past and their spokesman told me that I looked like I was meditating!

After a while, I carried on and eventually the path opened up and I had superb views of the sea again.  Over to Beer and Beer Head - I couldn't see Seaton as it was tucked into the bay, but the signpost told me it was only a mile to go - hurrah!  I walked the last bit with another couple who were walking from Lyme Regis to Seaton in sandals - imagine!   She was suffering from blister problems though which serves her right!  (I'd had a bit of a stumble earlier and had twisted my right ankle, but, luckily, it righted itself almost immediately.  Good boots, these Brashers!)

The last stretch into Seaton went through a golf course and there were signs up warning walkers to watch out for balls "from the front and the right".  Blimey - dangerous work this!  I strode through completely unscathed and had another knee crunching descent on road to the River Axe where I did a sharp left into Seaton.

I found the bus stop quickly and only had five minutes before the bus came to take me back to Lyme Regis.  I got talking to another couple of walkers from Swindon at the bus stop who'd also walked from Lyme and I counted seven of us on the bus - all looking highly disreputable and sweaty!

I didn't stop long in Lyme (only long enough to buy some arty farty ear rings!) but drove to my B&B in Seaton, where I was greeted by the proprietors, Tom and Andy, and five of their friends/ guests sitting in the garden.  Tom immediately leapt up to make me a pot of tea and one of the "inmates" (as Andy referred to them) produced some lardy cake.  We sat there for half an hour before I said I ought to have a shower as I was probably quite antisocial.  "We didn't like to mention it" was the reply!

My room was fab with unrestricted views of Beer and Beer Head.  So, tea was taken at the Eyre Court pub followed by a walk around the town and an ice cream on the prom.  I'm really impressed by Seaton and could see myself living somewhere like this one day.

(Tom and Andy moved down here from Longford, about two miles from Colnbrook, and one of their visitors came down from Sutton for the weekend - small world.)

Day 85 - Saturday 26 July 2003 - Charmouth to Lyme Regis

 

3 miles walked today

905 miles walked in total (10.64 average)

I was working in Portsmouth for the day yesterday and stayed in Fareham last night.  I'd formed a cunning plan to persuade my friend Ed to walk with me, but this had been scuppered when he informed me he was going to Italy to see Ruth for the weekend.   Being the gentleman he is though, he let me have the keys to his house anyway, so I left at seven fifteen this morning and got to Charmouth two hours later.

It had rained for most of the drive down to Dorset and I'd had a mini flu bug which had knocked me out in the week, so I knew it would be hard going today.

I thought I could take shelter in the cafe at Charmouth, but it was closed, so I had a quick look around the Fossil Centre and was debating whether to hire a hammer (£10 deposit) to go fossil hunting, when the rain stopped.  Inspired by this dry spell and taking it as a sign, I started to walk.  It didn't last long of course and I was soon drenched.  On top of all this, the coast path had been washed away and it was all road walking.  So, as well as the rain falling vertically on me, I was getting it horizontally as well, whenever a car drove by!

I decided to call it a day in Lyme Regis, despite only having walked three miles, and visited the museum.  Lyme has quite a literary history to go with its geological and shipping background and the museum was fascinating, not only for the exhibits but for the building itself.  Resident writers include John Fowles, Jane Austen and G K Chesterton and the art world was represented by Whistler, who didn't paint his mother here, but did paint "The Blacksmith of Lyme" and "Little Rose of Lyme".

The main exhibit of course dealt with the geology and changing landscapes, mainly due to some quite spectacular landscapes, one of which in 1840 was described as an earthquake.  Lyme came into its own following the discovery, in 1811, of a complete skeleton of an ichthyosaurus, by eleven year old Mary Anning.  She acquired the hobby of fossil hunting from her father who was a carpenter, but who supplemented his income by polishing up ammonites he'd found in the cliffs and selling them to tourists.   Mary found a number of skeletons and sold them to museums around the world.

The thinking is that she was "in the right place at the right time".  If she'd been born a bit earlier or a bit later, she would never have been an expert in her chosen field of science.  Fossil hunting was just becoming fashionable and she got lucky!  I'm sure there's a bit more to it than that, but it's nice to think that fate played its part too.  (I didn't like to stay in any part of the museum for too long as little puddles were forming under wherever I stopped!)

I got outside and it was still raining so I mooched about a bit, went to the fossil shops, etc, but decided to call it a day at one o'clock and headed back to Charmouth by bus to get my car.

The beach at Charmouth was over run with people, despite the stinging rain, and I'm fairly sure the fossil centre had rented out all its hammers.  I decided to go home for the weekend and save my fossil hunting for the next time I'm down.

I really liked Lyme Regis and the museum was fab.  I don't usually bother with them, but carry on walking.  I'm glad it rained today because it meant I had a proper chance to explore the surroundings.

Three miles is rubbish though!

Day 84 - Sunday 20 July 2003 - West Bay to Charmouth

7 miles walked today

902 miles walked in total (10.73 average)

I was outside the Bridport Arms at 9.15 today.  Sadly, not for alcoholic purposes, but to embark on the day I'd been dreading for so long now.  Today was Golden Cap Day!

I climbed my first hill out of West Bay before descending to Eype's Mouth.  It's been very cloudy and breezy all day and I was expecting rain any minute.

From Eype, I had the first of three climbs today to Thorncombe Beacon.  I was overtaken by a couple with their young sons and we met up with each other all day.  The views were fantastic from the top and the climb inspired me to give the "big one" a go.  

I had a sit down looking over Seatown and I got chatting to a chap who was on holiday here from Leicester.  He was walking to West Bay and his wife was going to pick him up there.  He's been down every year for ten years now and loves the walking and the birdwatching.  He'd seen a green woodpecker this morning and told me that, if he didn't walk every weekend, he'd go stir crazy.

From Seatown, the path diverted inland due to a notice posted on 9 July 2003 warning of imminent rockfalls.  It was hard going, but so worth it to be at the top.  A group of people were already there and we all took each other's photos so we all had proof we'd climbed there!   The views back to West Bay and on to Lyme Regis were absolutely stunning.

I had one more hill left to climb before getting to Charmouth and toyed with the idea of carrying on to Lyme Regis.  However, due to a landslip, the path had been diverted onto a road instead of the springy turf I'd been used to all day and this last mile downhill played havoc with my tired feet and aching shins.

Sheila had already told me to go and look at the fossils on the beach, but, after checking the bus timetable, I knew I'd never have time to go to the beach, catch the bus to the car and drive home before Andy went to work.  I've got to start here next week anyway, so I'll go and have a proper exploration then.

Absolutely brilliant weekend - I've really enjoyed it and am looking forward to having another go next weekend.

Day 83 - Saturday 19 July 2003 - Portesham to West Bay

11 miles walked today

895 miles walked in total (10.78 average)

I left Southampton at 7.15 this morning where I'd stayed with Katie and Roy last night after having to work at Portsmouth for the day.   We'd had a fun evening with Katie's neighbours on the terrace with a few beers - how very civilised.

I parked at the Kings Arms in Portesham and, as I walked along the road into Abbotsbury at just after nine thirty, I heard thunder!   The sky was very black, but the sun was shining brightly too, which was a bit weird.  I mooched through the chocolate box gorgeous village past all the craft centres - mainly potteries, but with the odd woodcarving studio thrown in for good measure - and found a footpath signed to Chesil and the tropical gardens.  It was a good footpath running alongside fields and it wasn't long before I was battling with the pebbles on Chesil Beach.   They're really tiny here (pea sized) in contrast to the potato sized rocks down at Portland.   The tearooms had only just opened and apparently it would be twenty minutes before the tea was brewed so I got some lemonade instead and went to sit on the beach for a while.

From here, it was a hard two and a half miles along pebbles and shingle to West Bexington, where I finally got my cup of tea!  My stomach's been a bit dodgy all morning - I can't work out whether I'm hungry or full, but I've had a stitch-like pain to contend with.  It's also been very hot and not very comfortable to walk in.  Can't wait for a paddle at West Bay!

After my tea break, I was back to grass walking through fields.   I've been looking at Golden Cap as I strode along, the highest point on the south coast at 626 feet high.   There's no way I'm getting up that and I rang Sam to tell her I was going to leave that bit out!  She pointed out that it's only a 600 feet climb but, to me, it still looked like Kilimanjaro!  I've been going to the gym and using the treadmill, cranking the resistance to "hillwalking" to get some practice in for this.  It's still nothing like the real thing though.

I couldn't understand why my guide book described today's walk as "moderate" - it seemed quite easy to me.  However, when I got to Burton Bradstock, it all became clear - hills and lots of them!  More gently undulating than full on in your face hills, but climbs nonetheless.   At least it's a mini taster of what's to come tomorrow.

I spoke to a couple of retired folk who lived near Plymouth, but who regularly go walking and who are camping in West Bay tonight.   They'd been on holiday in Southsea but were on their way back home and decided to stop here.   They've done a lot of the coast path in Devon, but none in Dorset.  They took their grandson walking with them recently and he'd been so impressed because none of his friends had "grannies who could do this"!

A but further on, I met another couple who'd done some of the coast path, but also recommended the Camel Trail.  I think I'll save that one for after this walk, then the Coast to Coast, then the Thames Path.  Gosh, I'm going to be busy.

I was soon on the last stretch and had a steep descent into West Bay - murder on the knees.  I checked my watch to see whether I could push on to Seatown, but decided to save that.   Instead, I popped into the Bridport Arms for a shandy to celebrate.   The landlady even called a taxi for me - how helpful is that?!

My B&B was fantastic - between Bridport and Chideock and has its own fishing lake.  I bet I know someone who's going to be jealous!   I popped into Chideock to the George for tea, but it was heaving, so after a quick drink in the garden, I drove into Bridport for tea.  It's a pretty little town with a huge emphasis on culture - museums, exhibitions, arts centres, etc - and I spotted a fish restaurant called "Longs".  Couldn't pass up an opportunity like that, could I?!

Day 82 - Saturday 21 June 2003 - Weymouth to Chesil Visitors' Centre

 14.5 miles walked today

884 miles walked in total (10.78 average)

I got to Weymouth station today at nine fifteen and had just enough time to pad my feet up, put my boots on, go and find the facilities and get the number of some local taxi firms before Sue and Mark turned up.

Sue and I started walking just before ten and Mark went back to their caravan to make sure Lydon, their son, had done the washing up!  Our first stretch took us along the Esplanade and round to the harbour where we learned that the ferry hadn't turned up yet and wasn't expected until eleven.  So we strode down to the road bridge which was raised to let a number of boats through.  A large queue was forming and, when the bridge was lowered, we got swept along by the crowd and made our way to Nothe Fort.

From here, we followed the path round for a little while until we found ourselves back to where we started.  Must remember that right, right again, next right and first right equals a circle!  We had a stretch on roads then through Wyke Regis and Ferry Bridge onto Portland.  It wasn't long before we were heading uphill through residential streets to the cliff top paths, past a fort, a prison and a borstal.  The path was quite tough on the feet - no springy grass tracks this morning, just mile after mile of quarried Portland stone, which has been used in many buildings, including Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral.

At Church Ope Cove, we followed the path into the village and stumbled across the Mermaid pub where refreshments were taken.  Sue was about to collapse with hunger pains so we found the pub just in time.

After lunch, we walked back down to the path and visited the thirteenth century remains of Rufus Castle Church.  We thought we could make out where the walls had been, but were perplexed at a gravestone standing in the middle of the church.   A job for Time Team methinks.

We were on road for a little while then before heading back on to the path at Freshwater Bay towards Portland Bill.  We walked through yet more disused quarries and it wasn't long before we saw the lighthouse and the much anticipated cafe!  We had a sit down and had a drink and both removed our boots to give our feet a rest and a massage.  (Sue had previously taken her boots off in the pub when we had lunch!)

It was four o'clock at this time and we really needed to be getting a move on as we still had three or four miles to do.  This last bit was lovely - on cliff tops and on grass.  At least it was lovely until the path fell into the sea and we ended up on roads again.  At five o'clock we gave up and summoned a taxi to get us back to the car. 

We got back to the car and made our way to the B&B in Abbotsbury, which Sue was impressed to see was dead opposite the Swan Inn.  I don't just throw these things together ...

After a brief trip around the village, it turned out the only pub serving food was, in fact, our local, so we adjourned there for a pie and a pint.   Abbotsbury was in the middle of their annual music festival so, as we walked back over the road to our room, we were serenaded by open air opera, Carmen to be precise.  How terribly civilised!

Day 81 - Saturday 31 May 2003 - Chesil Visitors' Centre to Portesham

 11 miles walked today

869.5 miles walked in total (10.73 average)

The alarm went off at six and, after a mini snooze and breakfast, we were off for the day to Dorset.  It was Andy's suggestion to walk with me instead of going fishing and I must admit I've been trying to talk him out of it, right up until last night.

My "bible" said my next scheduled day was a fifteen mile "moderate" walk around Portland, but the day after that was an "easy" ten miles along the Fleet, the lagoon behind Chesil Beach to Abbotsbury.  This swung my decision to walk out of sequence for the first and, hopefully, only time.  So, today, we were off to the Swannery at Abbotsbury and I'll do Portland the next time I walk at the end of June.

We parked at Chesil Beach Visitor Centre at Ferry Bridge at nine o'clock and had a quick suntan application session before walking at 9.15 am.  The path stayed true to the Fleet all day, but, unfortunately, we didn't!  We saw lots of dog walkers this morning and one lady told us that a local farmer brandishes his shotgun if he sees dogs not on leads in his cow fields.

Just past the Rifle Range at Tidmoor, the mist came in very quickly and it was very eerie walking along, with the Fleet and Chesil Beach no longer visible!  We had a couple of mini sit downs and water stops on stiles and looked at the map to find a suitable lunch stop.  We chose a hotel at Gore Cove, which turned out to be the Moonfleet Hotel, which features in the J Meade Faulkner novel, Moonfleet, first published in 1898.   However, the service was so slow that we left there and walked up a steep track to Langton Herring to the Elm Tree pub.   And that was the last we saw of Chesil Beach!

We had a pint of cider each and cheese, tomato and pickle doorstop at the pub and I noticed a sign in the pub listing the suppliers of all the produce used there, all of which were local I'm pleased to say.  I've become quite a believer in buying locally and not ploughing all my grocery funds into Tescos or Sainsburys, although Andy pointed out that there's not much local produce grown around Heathrow!

After our break, we headed up the road towards Abbotsbury.  Or so I thought.  As it turned out, I was wrong, but, being totally stubborn, wouldn't admit it.  Andy told me I should go on a navigation course, to which I took great exception.  So, for the next four miles, the only words spoken were insults or expletives.  Very childish indeed.

The road was tough though, being very busy and it had got really hot again.  As we walked into Portesham, Andy was clutching his left arm and telling me he was having a heart attack.  Luckily, we soon stumbled across the bus stop for the bus back to Weymouth.  We were at least speaking again by this time, thank goodness.

We got back to the van and drove back to Abbotsbury to the Swannery.  Andy loves swans and I really wanted to see the newly hatched cygnets with him.  We spent ages chuckling at the antics of the babies hitching lifts on their parents' backs, and the male swans fighting and protecting their territories.  A lot of the females were still nesting and we couldn't believe the size of the eggs.  I took a photo of Andy and one of the male swans, having a bit of a stand off - Andy had got far too close to the nesting female for the protective father's liking.

Andy got chatting to one of the Wardens about a "pecking order" for the swans and we were informed that one male called "the Terminator" lives at the far west of the site and never loses a cygnet.   In fact, he's so elusive that it makes feeding him difficult, as they can never find him.  I don't really think they try that hard though as apparently he's quite a violent bird and belts them with his wings!

After watching the swans for ages, we got a lift back on the cart pulled by a shire horse called Maddock, although the kids have a lot of trouble with his name and he's frequently called "Maggot".  Poor thing!

Andy's on nights again, so we'd only planned to walk one day.  He has to have a nap on Sunday afternoons, in time for work on Sunday evenings.  So we headed back to Colnbrook and a hot bath.  Just as well really as Andy's legs were throbbing.  I did point out that my legs used to ache like that when I first started walking, but they don't hurt any more.  He told me that no way was he going to be that proficient at walking that his legs didn't ache any more!

We've both learned lots today.  As we walked beside the Fleet, we could see mini sheds on Chesil Beach surrounded by tents, fishing gear and people on benches.  I was puzzled how the occupants got all their gear over in a small boat, but Andy pointed out that most of the stuff was probably stored in the sheds anyway.  Doh!

And I've explained and demonstrated the principles behind "kissing gates" although Andy said he didn't think "real" walkers were allowed the odd snog as they walked.  Far too flippant for proper outdoor types.  I told him that holding hands was perfectly acceptable too, although I'm not sure he's convinced.

Andy's also learned that carrying a rucksack makes your back sweat.  He informed me that he'd carry the rucksack all day, but soon relinquished responsibility after three miles.

It's been a really good day - we've driven two hundred and fifty-six miles and walked eleven!  And we were both so tired by the time we got home that we abandoned our plan of a Chinese takeaway and had fishcakes and beans on toast!

Faux pas of the day goes to me - inevitably.  I made friends with a dog this morning who leaned against me for a fuss.  After he bounded off, what I meant to say was "did you see he had a leg missing?"  However, what I actually said was "he's only got one leg"!   I blame it on the sun.

Day 80 - Sunday 25 May 2003 - Lulworth Cove to Weymouth

 11 miles walked today

858.5 miles walked in total (10.73 average)

I started to walk at nine thirty today - I had another angst ridden few moments contemplating the hill out of Lulworth Cove, but, again, decided to give it a go, before giving up and driving back to Colnbrook.

It took me half an hour, but I did it and was soon striding downhill to Durdle Door, an arch formed by chalk being washed away to leave more durable Portland stone.  Keen to have a breather, I sat down and looked at what I'd done so far this weekend.  I've been able to see Weymouth and Portland in the distance for some time, so thought I'd look back for a change.  As I got ready to move on again though, Weymouth and Portland had completely disappeared and I could see the rain moving rapidly in my direction!  I got my coat on quickly and set off again - up another hill which afforded no shelter of any description.  The rain stopped by the time I got to the monument at the top of Swyre Head so I tied my coat to the rucksack to dry off.  It was much breezier today and I kept my fleece on all day.

At the top, the path levelled out towards White Nothe before dropping down into woods towards Ringstead.  It was quite tricky here - the path had become very slippery due to the combination of clay and rain - and it took quite a lot of concentration to stay upright.  At Ringstead, I stopped to use the facilities and to sample some Dorset apple cake and a cup of tea.  

It was only a mile walk from here to Osmington Mills through woodland and I was pleased to see the path went through the pub garden of the Smugglers Inn.

Because of a landslip, I followed the road for five minutes before heading up to the cliffs again and over ridges with fantastic views, both inland and seaward.  I could hear children screaming and, sure enough, there was the 3D Education Centre!  The signs for the coast path - with the acorn on them - ran out here so I asked the Education Centre Security Guard where I should be going.  He lamented that he should charge for directions as so many people stopped to ask.  He told me he'd never walked the coast path and never intended to.  "I don't mind walking downhill, but I draw the line at going up."   Tell me about it!  (As I walked, I spent some time pondering why an Education Centre needed a Security Guard?)

As I walked around the perimeter fence, the path was very overgrown and I was savaged by stinging nettles, with no dock leaves to be found.  Once past this obstruction, I needed to sit down and prepare mentally for the onslaught that is Weymouth!  I'm so used to walking quietly now that I'm finding a lot of people quite scary - it was bad enough yesterday getting to Lulworth and it was going to be a hundred times worse at Weymouth.

My guide book had mentioned a huge chalk figure of George III on horseback, 280 feet long and 323 feet high, which had been carved out of the hillside and which could be seen from the clifftop path.  I'd kept an eye out for ages and found myself muttering "where is this huge George the Third?"  This made me giggle for ages as I thought it was very rude.  It was only much later that I realised the proper saying was Richard the Third.  How blonde am I?!

The path came down into Overcombe and I was right to be nervous - far too many people and I had to fight my way along the prom.  Horrible.  I checked out the B&B situation as I walked along, but there were no vacancies anywhere and, indeed, the Tourist Information Centre didn't know of any either.  They did advise me how to get back to my car though - train to Wool and taxi from there.

The man at the station who made me a cup of tea lives on Portland and said he was pleased to meet someone who really appreciated the cliffs and views and not just the touristy bits, ie, Weymouth.

It turned out he knew where Colnbrook is too, because he used to own a pub in Slough!