A Sunday Morning Bug Hunt

There are still plenty of creepy crawlies in the meadows if you look hard enough. This mornings bug hunt came up with Spiders, Crane Flies, Bees, Wasps, Hoverflies and Grasshoppers. Taking photographs of this little beasts is quite addictive.

Getting Closer to Dragons

We are coming to the end of Dragonfly season and, as the days get cooler, the chances of seeing one get worse and worse. And so, because I find these incredible creatures completely addictive, I thought I would post a few of my favourite close-ups.

No Crowds and No Pool!

Dancing Ledge is one of the most famous old quarries on the Isle of Purbeck and also one of the most visited. Rightly so too, it is a very special place with plenty of history and superb views along the coast and out to sea. One thing Dancing Ledge does not have however is firepower! Hedbury Quarry, a little further to the west than Dancing Ledge, is quieter, a little more rugged and, most importantly, it has a cannon!

Beards & Spoons

Bearded Tits and Spoonbills, both birds are new to me and both are not easy to get close to. The Bearded Tits were easier, especially the beautifully marked female, who insisted on checking me out and was never more than a couple of meters away. The male however, sporting a fine moustache, was far more difficult and decided to keep partially hidden a little further away. Quick little birds too, making them great fun to play with.
After this, the Spoonbills were a bonus. They spent their time quite a way away, but it was still a treat to see them.

Male Bearded Tit

Female Bearded Tit

Female Bearded Tit

Spoonbills

Povington Hill and the Whiteway

Today for The Swanage & Purbeck Walking Festival, I took a particularly nice group of people to Tyneham. Now there are many ways to walk to Tyneham, the deserted village that lies in a remote valley on the western edge of the Isle of Purbeck, but today we chose one of the best.
Starting at Povington Hill we walked westward along the Whiteway ridge heading for Flowers Barrow, an Iron Age hill fort that was built over two and a half thousand years ago and is now slowly falling into the sea. The views along the ridge to the north and south are wonderful enough but when you arrive at Flowers Barrow you are in for a real treat.
Once we managed to tear ourselves away from Flowers it was time for the decent into Warbarrow Bay and this takes a great deal of care. The path is steep and on a wetter day would be far too dangerous to use. For us today it was fine, but this is not a path to rush down.
Warbarrow Bay itself is worth the walk, it is very picturesque and, because of its remoteness, never seems to get too busy.
From here the walk to Tyneham is easy. A lane runs between the bay and the village and is only a mile long but it takes a while to see the first of the ruined building as you walk through the trees..
By Christmas Day 1943 Tyneham was deserted and it has stayed that way ever since, giving us an idea of what it may have been like to live in a small isolated village at that time.
 Don't rush your visit here, the village is small and is ready to be explored. Besides, the walk back up to Povington Hill is steep and hard work, with only the promise of those views to look forward to.

Lulworth Castle from the Whiteway Ridge

West from Flowers Barrow

The descent from Flowers Barrow

Warbarrow Bay

Tyneham

Tyneham

The Waverley

Once a year, in September, Swanage plays host to a rather beautiful Scottish paddle steamer called the P.S.Waverley. Built in 1946 by Inglis of Glasgow she has been fully restored and looks splendid as she steams into the bay. She also makes for a few lovely photo opportunities.

The Purbeck Dolphin

There have been several sightings of Dolphins along the Dorset coast today, with a pod seen of the coast of Bournemouth this morning. After getting word of a pod swimming west towards the cliffs at Durlston on the south eastern tip of the Isle of Purbeck there was really only one thing to do.
A swift walk to the cliffs later and we were greeted with the usual beautiful views but no Dolphins. This soon changed however when we saw a pod of between 15 and 20 animals swimming towards us and moving quite close to the cliffs. The only down side was watching two boats, a speed boat and a Poole registered fishing boat, run down the Dolphins, causing them to separate. There is never any excuse for this and it not good to see at all.

Kimmeridge or Bust

August's Purbeck Footprints Weekend Wander took us from the old quarry on the side of Smedmore Hill, passed Tyneham Cap and along Gad Cliff. From there the views are immense and really need to be seen. In the valley to the north nestles the remains of Tyneham village, the destiantion for our next Weekend Wander. To the West we have Portland, the Bill clearly seen at the southern edge of the Isle and behind you to the east we have the 'v' shaped ridges that gave the Isle of Purbeck its name.
Tear yourself from the views and retrace your steps back towards the Cap before you take the steep trail down from the ridge past Brandy Bay and the ledges of Long Ebb that separate it from Hobarrow Bay. More ledges can be seen with Broad Bench making up the foot of another headland before you can see Kimmeridge Bay itself. The Clavell Tower, high upon Hen Cliff at the eastern edge of the bay, doesn't dominate the view, it is far too small for that, but it does seem to compliment it. Built for no more than the amusement of the land owner it now serves as holiday home for those wanting something a little different.
From the bay we turned inland leaving the breathtaking views behind us, at least for a while. Passing the village of Kimmeridge easy whether you walk through it along the road or stay away the traffic and keep to the fields. To get back to the ridge though is a different matter, the path is steep and at the end of walk such as this you feel every footstep. Don't forget to turn around before you get to the top as, for a final treat, the view is yet again stunning. One of the finest walks taking in some of the finest scenery!