puddleshark

The paths across the Army Ranges are open for the half term holidays, so I walked up to Flower's Barrow Iron Age hillfort on a fresh blustery morning.

In the car park on Whiteways Hill, a lorry was cooing to itself:

Lorry bearing the legend "Gloucester Federation of Southroad Flying Clubs". A pigeon race was about to start.

It was grey, and raining a little as I set off, but the clouds were moving fast on the west wind, and did not linger.

The path up to Flower's Barrow, with the gorse flowers blazing away in the sunshine. It's quite a slow gentle climb, and sheltered. The gorse makes an excellent windbreak.

But once up on the ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort, it was very blowy indeed, and I had to lie down to take photos to avoid being gusted off my feet.

Looking down on Worbarrow Bay.

And, tucked away behind Worbarrow Bay, little Pondfield Cove where I often sit to watch the waves wash in.

The southern ramparts of the hillfort continue to slowly crumble into the sea.

Ramparts, Flower's Barrow Iron Age Hillfort

Lying on the grassy ramparts, looking west.

The little bay of Arish Mell, and, in the distance, Mupe Rocks and the Isle of Portland. I did think about walking to Mupe Rocks today, but that would mean setting off from Lulworth, which is tourist trap central, and the car parking there costs an absolute fortune.

I always wonder about the apostrophe in Flower's Barrow... The barrow belonging to a single flower? Perhaps this is the one.

I did not carry on down the path to Arish Mell. I've walked it before, and swore never again. It is a very, very long steep climb on the way back up.

Looking north, Lulworth Castle, and cloudshadow passing over the farms and fields.

Sat for a while in the lee of one of the ramparts, and drank coffee, trying to decipher meaning in the flight of the gulls, watching the clouds approach.

Then it was time to retrace my steps, back across the ranges.

Foxgloves already in flower.

Insects seen on the walk back: Red-tailed Bumblebees and Thick-legged Flower Beetles on the first bramble blossoms. Speckled Wood butterflies. Lots of tiny bright yellow moths - Speckled Yellows, whose caterpillars feed on the Wood Sage which grows alongside the track.