9 miles walked today
840 miles walked in total (10.76 average)
The alarm went off at seven this morning and we were up and out by seven thirty ish. We called at the hostel office to collect our packed lunches and the warden asked what we were up to today. We told her about our walk and she went off to find a couple of leaflets about the coast path. Apparently, anyone walking the whole 630 miles will have climbed twenty-seven thousand metres, three times the height of Mount Everest. Can't wait.
Wondering why we were doing this, we drove to our start point of Worth Matravers and were walking just after eight. After a not particularly good day yesterday, we'd decided to start earlier and get the main mileage done before the hottest part of the day. We strode out through a farm and took a path past a quarry out to St Aldhelms Head and the Chapel of St Aldhem, which is eight hundred years old. We were intrigued by some of the carved names inside the chapel, some going back to 1663.
After a quick breakfast break on the cliffs, we moved off to drop down two hundred feet before climbing another two hundred feet the other side of the cove up Emmetts Hill. It was hard work, but absolutely brilliant and reaffirmed my belief that I could manage anything if I put my mind to it. Once we were on the level again, we spotted a memorial just to the right of the path which features a table and benches carved from Purbeck stone by the Royal Marines Association Dorset branch. The inscription reads "rest awhile and reflect that we who are living can enjoy the beauty of the sea and countryside". Uplifting words.
The path took a detour inland avoiding Chapmans Pool and our guide book mentioned that the path "wandered". It certainly did! Downhill to some houses, along a level track through a cow field, down some more to a footbridge, up through a sheep field and level for a bit up to the steps up Hounstout Cliff, another huge climb. I'm obviously getting used to these hills now as I really enjoyed that hike! In fact, on reaching the top and spotting a bench (carved out of cool Purbeck stone, of which there are a number strategically placed along the clifftops), I jogged the last hundred yards and did a hop, skip and a jump and gave a cheer when I got there! Sam was so amazed at this burst of energy that I even managed to beat her up the hill! (Sam's strengths are the "ups" and mine are definitely the "downs"!)
The path along the top went up, down, around a bit, some more up, a bit of down and then some more up to the Clavell Folly which overlooks Kimmeridge Bay. The Reverend John Clavell built this in 1820 and we noted that Clavell was a very popular local name when we visited St Nicholas' Church later on at Kimmeridge.
As we dropped down to the bay and the car park, we checked the firing times for the Lulworth Ranges and, on finding that they were firing next weekend, devised another route for me to take which involves quite a lengthy detour - think I'll need another early start.
We took the road from here into the village for the tea rooms and obligatory postcards and cream tea - our third in three days! We had a mooch around the church yard while waiting for our lift back to the car and were pleased to see the same taxi driver we had yesterday. He even commented that we looked much happier today than we did previously!
It's been a great weekend - very hard yesterday, but today more than made up for it. I've really enjoyed it and I shall be very sorry to be walking on my own again for a little while.
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