2006 Winfrith Newburgh

Fri 2006-09-08 {19142}

\theta took cats to cattery, then off 12h to cottage in Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset. Sunny nearly all day. \theta drove all the way, diverting from the obvious A34, M3, A31 route 'cos of advertised long delays at M3J11, via Salisbury and Blandford Forum, tho' there were long delays in Salisbury and we arr 15h45 with 15 min stop at Chieveley. Cottage is terraced with 2 others but reasonably secluded with parking at rear. Built 1620 with the low doorframes & narrow precipitious staircase typical of the genre. Spacious downstairs tho'. No need to meet, the keys are in a safe in the log store, just take and go in. Entry from back to utility room with wash m/c, microwave and boiler, then kitchen with bathroom off, lounge, dining area. Upstairs 2 bedrooms with restricted headroom. Short walk to pub (Red Lion) to check route, then eat in and listen to penultimate Prom while following 1-d v Pak on Ceefax. O2 just at windows, no sign of Orange. No DAB inside or out. Very quiet, but not isolated; there is money in this village, many large houses, many new. Log fire, at 3L50 per basket (beyond what was provided inside). Gas CH set to just HW, but disobeying the instructions and touching the boiler controls brings the rads on as well. Cooker is gas, inc some sort of oven with no visible flame. Dist ~246km by GPS.

Sat 2006-09-09 {19143}

To Lulworth Cove (2L50 for 2h). The tide was in, but walked on the cliffs, very windy but sunshine as well intermittently. Later, after the tide had ebbed a little, walk along the seashore. Some fruit wine bought here. Lunch at the Ship Inn in Wool, then out in Swanage direction to car park at SY964775. Walking along cliff path, mostly S, can see the cottage where \theta and father used to stay (~SY955779). Sun was just right for photos from here, so lots taken. Back to cottage for a rest, light supper & last night of the Proms. Saw several well-preserved old cars, inc an Austin A40, a Triumph TR6 and a Hillman Avenger.

Sun 2006-09-10 {19144}

Sunny, hot, almost cloudless all day, breezy AM, still PM. \phi a walk 1st thing, W from cottage along paths. From here Orange worked, called Dad. Then to the Bovington tank museum, N of Wool. 10L ea to get in, but lots of tanks to look at. Best bit was probably the start, with a walk-thro' mock-up of the stalemate that gave birth to the tank, the trenches of the first world war. From there to the Spar in Wool for materials for a picnic, then to eat it at the viewpoint SY887812, Povington Hill. Pleasant spot, right on top of a ridge with views over the shooting ranges, inc down to the village of Tyneham which was evacuated when the army took over the land. A bit of sunbathing here before onward to Kimmeridge Bay, at the end of a private toll road (3L) but a good car park & bogs. 'Beach' here is mostly stone & seaweed, with eroded cliffs behind with sloping strata. Many people here, bathing, catching crabs, boating, sunbathing. Stayed for a while, watching the tide go out & having a little paddle. More old cars: the same yellow Triumph GT6 was at Povington & Kimmeridge, plus an old Rover, an Austin 1100 and another Austin A40. Eve to Red Lion in village for excellent deep fried blue cheese & crab salad. Also local beer Stinger, which includes nettles.

Mon 2006-09-11 {19145}

Clear and sunny to start. \phi walk along path to the Five Marys tumuli, SY791842. Then looking for a supermarket, aimed the GPS at Sainsbury in Poole, but found Asda instead. To the beach in Poole, parking at SZ021905 in car park & walking along sea front into shopping area. Bought some pottery & got bored by the woman minding the old lifeboat station, now a mini museum. Wetherspoons for a quick drink. Lunch was picnic bought from Asda. Sun diminishing and sky darkening, so on to Dorchester, where park at SY695906, again pay and display. Walk around the shops, buy a few books, before coming home to eat. Thuderstorm just starting as we got there & rain for a few hours in the evening. DAB good in Poole & in Dorchester, breaking up in between, so although zero at the cottage it's about here in general. BBC & Digital1 only.

Tue 2006-09-12 {19146}

Brief walk to post cards in village. Dull, tho' later some warm sunshine around the middle of the day. To Studland, park in N car park SZ034835. NT, 4L but can move between the NT car parks all day on the one ticket. Walk along the beach N to Shell Bay & back. A few naturists around in the middle section of beach, & took advantage of this to have a nude swim in the sea & a little sunbathe in the dunes. Gets sand everywhere. Mostly \mars moving around, some \venus in dunes and along back of beach. \theta paddled in shorts but stayed resolutely dressed. Then for lunch at the Bankes Arms in Studland village, curry & a pint of mild. This from the S car park at SZ038827. Walk from here to Old Harry Rocks, some good views & loads of schoolchildren on an outing. Q of girls being supervised one at a time to have a pee in the woods. Then onto the S beach, not many there, cooling by this time, just watching the boats. One cruiser seemed to have got caught on a buoy, a rescue boat came out with divers to free it. This beach short, and at highish tide it seemed not possible to walk to the middle and north beaches along the sand. Back to cottage for a shower to get the sand out of the crevices. Dinner from the Chinese take-away in Wool. DAB at Old Harry Rocks was error free on 3 MUXes, inc NOWBournemouth.

Wed 2006-09-13 {19147}

Dull to start, intermittent sunshine & warm (out of the wind) all day. \phi short early walk. Then to Weymouth & Portland. 1st to SY669756 car park for Chesil beach. This is a long (~30km) bank of stones that has built up naturally, with an area of calm sea behind it. Just a little walk about here. Then right to the bottom of Portland, by the Portland Bill lighthouse & Pulpit rock (park SY677684). A very craggy coastline & quite popular. Walk up a little way on the E side of the peninsula, then lunch at the cafe. Back via various viewpoints at Opie Cove and at SY689751 giving excellent view of the isthmus joining Portland to Weymouth. Then into Weymouth, parking in a 1h free space somewhere around SY680798, by the band stand amusements. Walk along the beach, \theta paddled. A few in the water, mainly with children; the wrinklies staying huddled on the front in their wind shelters. One man in swimming gear sunbathing, everyone else covered up. Home via back lanes. Eve to Red Lion. Food was excellent (\theta pate & paella, lots of whole seafood, \phi mushrooms & Caribbean pork) but it was a long time coming. A little rain walking there & more on the way back. A good holiday so far, lots of outside activity & \theta has enjoyed seeing the places she visited with her father ~20 years ago.

Thu 2006-09-14 {19148}

Last full day and it's raining steadily as we get up. Can just get Orange at a certain angle at one of the upstairs windows, so can check e-mail. The Tesco will work at some spots upstairs as well. To Monkey World, 18L for the 2. Dull but dry there. Not sure about this place. It exists to save monkeys recovered from the illegal pet trade & also breeds a few itself, and pres the monkeys have a better life here than before, but the enclosures are not large & the climate is not what they expect. Place is laid out with little imagination & is poorly signed. It started to rain again, on to Lulworth Cove. Lunch at the hotel bar, re-stock with fruit wine, then to Swanage. Spitting but warm. Had a look at the front & watched the heavy surf shifting the sand around the groynes. Then back for packing and cleaning. \phi for a walk when brightness promised, but got damp and savaged by brambles on what was signed as a footpath. Eat in, with fizz. More rain. More old cars, a Triumph Herald.

Fri 2006-09-15 {19149}

It's still raining. Up, breakfast, pack, away 09h15. Started well on A31, A34 route, but lots of Qs from Oxford and along A40, so nearly 4h again.