Seeing is believing!

We passed this on the way to Kimmeridge. Don't know who it belongs to but must be a football fan to have goal posts on a lawn in front of a house like this!

We stood in awe, high up on the Purbecks, and gazed upon this as well. You will have to click on it to see a scene that called for Wally Emery's mum's standard comment: "I can't understand the price of mutton with all these sheep about Wally!"








Of course. you could turn and look the other way towards Wareham and the western end of Poole
Harbour.

We were off to Kimmeridge Bay but as Welsh Poet W.H.Davies wrote:
"A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."

And here it is. No sandy beach resort this.













Just a delight of rocks and cliffs and fossils and wading and snorkeling and canoeing and sitting for ages just looking and looking.










This is a clambering about beach for all ages, particularly if finding a fossil gives the same satisfaction to a ten-year old as discovering gold did to an old miner.

And what did you do then?











What we always do; found a pub. This one was National Cider Pub of the Year 2014.
The Castle Inn, West Lulworth.







The pub garden is up a hill above roof level.








The car park is in those trees in the distance.
Hottest day of the year and I left my hat in the car.

I was quite a sensible person once.


Was a time when I dressed for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot.










Seeing is believing!

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together - Van Gogh

A garden, a church, a few cottages and some exceptional sunflowers (you need to click on the picture to find them): typical Dorset countryside.












A view through the trees, with a stream running through.












A close-up of the white house with more stone-roofed houses and cottages in the background, all in a picturesque summer setting.














If you fancied a short stay here there is always the Kings Head Hotel









from whence you may cross the road for a little shopping. At least you could have done when Woolworths looked like this back in the fifties

 and when greengrocers still inhabited small shops











and hairdressers were places for social discourse and the latest news.


This is a model town - a real model of Wimborne to be exact - where there is even more to enjoy, including lots more shops and a railway where you can press buttons and make the trains run

   






and dolls' houses to enchant even big children like you and me!

For more information and a host of pictures go to


http://www.wimborne-modeltown.com/

Did she?

Sometimes you come across the most unusual sights in what, otherwise, would be normal surroundings.
We went to the seaside today - Swanage to be exact.




This is what you might expect to find; a sea view, boats, cliffs, a pier and what's standing aginst the rail on the right of the picture;




or,








people eating mussels and other seafood delicacies.












Somewhat of a surprise therefore when you look at the view on the other side of the approach to the pier, to see men-like creatures from under the sea, with a creepy looking tower in the background!










You could even come across a couple of divers seemingly perplexed at the disappearance of their companion?

Of course, you could go back to seeing the simple sights of a day at the seaside - such as these two artists.



But, if you look carefully you will see a number of small plaques on the decking to the right of where they sit. They are just a few of hundreds, with a great variety of messages, which stretch the length of the pier.



At the top of the few examples here,  a truly novel proposal for Tara Binsted to accept.




I shall forever wonder:

did she?

Where have you been then?

if you can't see one thing you'll see another!

North of Ringwood there are lakes and hamlets with lovely names like Blashford, Harbridge Green and Mookbeggar. The lakes stretch up towards Fordingbridge. On the map they appear to line the roadway; but try to find them!

We discovered one, only to find ourselves in a private sailing club. A very kind man  explained we would be better going up a short distance to Rockford Common and looking at the lakes from there: we would see much more of them.

This is the path to Rockford Common.

You would be forgiven for thinking that water doesn't often run uphill!

This is Rockford Common - or a very small bit of it - which you may share with ponies and cattle.

I managed to picture these few. Later, when we found ourselves in the middle of the New Forest - by accident - we saw many more but couldn't get near enough to photograph them for the grey haired tribes of off road make believe Land Rover drivers who rarely move over to the side of the road for fear of getting dusty whhels.

The views from our vantage point were worth the climb. You can see, just about, what the man meant when he said you could see much more of the lakes from up here.

It does help of course if you are intrepid explorers dressed for hiking like what we are

If you follow our travels, you should know by now that we are the kind of well travelled explorers who are able, always, to find an oasis.

This one is called The Alice Lisle.

There are no camels hereabouts - at least we didn't see any. But the nomads do park their donkeys in places that are a nuisance for those of us who do not like to be too far from the entrance to what would be a sheik's tent in other places.

How did we get into the New Forest? Well, this is a part of it. The problem is that once you are on a forest road going in the wrong direction, they seem not to have discovered road juctions until you are nearly in Romsey. Not that it matters because it is all so beautiful.

As a footnote I can tell you that Alice Lisle was the last woman to be beheaded in England.
The following site is of interest.
http://boormanfamily.weebly.com/blog/lady-alice-beconsaw-lisle-1617-1685-3-52-ancestors

pathway to heaven !

I was not exaggerating: this really is the pathway to heaven as defined by Swyre Head on the Purbeck Hills in Dorset.

Mind you, they say getting to heaven is never easy, and when you reach the crest of the hill you discover there's some way to go yet, particularly when you have had a short rest on this unusual memorial seat.

The way was sheltered from the unseasonal wind by the dry stone wall and trees to our right.

Sometimes you can look at things like the old stone wall and forget to think about the work that went into such an addition to the countryside.












We were fortunate in that we came across Mark and Andy(left) following a tradition going back thousands of years. Just look at the symmetry and craftsmanship.

As Andy remarked with an understatement:
"it's a time consuming job"





Walking on up to Swyre
Head was not something done quickly. Looking over to our left were views that demanded continual stop to stand and stare.

This is the view over Encombe to St Aldhelm's Head with its chapel, cottages and Coastguard lookout on the edge of the cliffs.
There is a very interesting website at:
http://www.isleofpurbeck.com/aldhelms.html

On the way back, face north and look at the view of Corfe Castle and Poole Harbour








but not before you stand and stare in awe at this:






which is so beautiful it needs a slight close-up looking westward towards Kimmeridge Bay and beyond.






Now you know you have reached heaven!

. . . nothing to do . . .

"What do you do on a Sunday when there's nothing to do and you can't go too far because great grandson Samuel is cooking dinner this evening.?

We thought we would go down to Poole Park for a quiet stroll round the lake;      

but we hadn't counted on the charity type marathon running whose dozens of competitors set off from the bouncy castle area seen on the left of the picture, to thunderous announcements from a very effective loudspeaker, and who passed by our park seat where we were having a couple of minutes quiet contemplation of the lake!





Flowers always add a nice touch to the blog, but who would have thought the best selection nearby was this border of dandelions.
You have to give credit to the local gardening department for a cost saving innovation! I am sure Ruth B. will enjoy them as her favourite so far has been the daisies at Longham.

We also had to find time to visit the small garden party in the garden of a private house near to where we live. The charity was in aid of childen of Chernobyl, some of whom come over each year for a month of respite from the conditions in which they live. Here are the children who came last year.





And this is where we went.

Guess the name of the lady in the red coat who is a genius for finding something to buy on a Sunday morning when there's nothing to do!










I must admit to to buying oddments to add to the basket.

Is this the sort of essential shopping you must do - unless it is on a morning when there's nothing to do?

We already had the sheep!

Below is a link to one of several websites about this charity.
www.dorsetsociety.co.uk/.../11878396

putting a gloss on it

This is the lane leading to the Church of All Saints in Charlbury set on another of those glorious hills you may discover all over Dorset.











And this is the small 13th century church, immaculately kept inside and out by people who care.













The old fashioned organ, in a gallery reached by a terrifyingly steep set of wooden steps, overlooks the church interior that may not be what you might expect in a small village. In fact, in the visitors' book there were a few comments by misguided folk who derided the gloss paint, immaculately applied to more easily enable the small community to keep their church as a bright and cared for place of worship, evidenced by the carefully arranged bouquet of wild flowers below the pulpit.

This is the view over Dorset from a point in the churchyard near to which a seat has been placed by her family to the memory of mother and grandmother 'Annie', all of whom may well have faith in their belief that heaven is a place kept in good order with a touch of white gloss.










I suppose I ought to take care with my preaching as we ended up where you would expect; at this delightful pub, Drusilla's Inn at nearby Wigbeth.