Seacombe walk

[puddleshark]

Had planned to get up early and make a sunrise walk today, but one of my neighbours had other ideas, and started playing loud, relentless techno-beat music yesterday evening; a THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! that could be heard even with the windows closed. No chance of getting to sleep with that going on, so stayed up late reading until it finally ended.

I still needed to head out early to beat the holiday traffic, but it wasn't crack of dawn, it was 7am before I drove down to the tiny village of Acton near the coast. No-one stirring yet in the stone cottages, though many cars parked outside. House martins perching on the telephone wires. Sparrows taking dust baths on the chalk track through the village. A chilly north wind blowing, and the sun shining through a thin veil of cirrus cloud, producing a flat white light not beloved of landscape photographers.

Followed the ancient chalk track towards Worth Matravers for a short while, before cutting across the fields, and taking a path that winds down the combe to the old quarry at Seacombe.


A parched August landscape. Ragwort and dwarf thistles in flower. A pair of Green Woodpeckers flying up from the track, the first I've seen this year.





There were a few walkers and runners out on the coast path, but they were all busy going from A to B, and didn't take the grassy track that wanders down to the old quarry. So after I scrambled down the rocky gully, I found I had the ledges to myself.


Last time I came this way, the Thrift was in flower. But it has long gone over. Now beside the path there are spikes of purple Sea Aster flowering among a carpet of green Samphire.





Sat for a while drinking my coffee, and watching the gulls and the cormorants pass by. Out at sea, a lot of marine traffic on such a fine calm day. Mostly sailing boats, but also motor cruisers, jet skis, fishing charter boats motoring by.


On the ledges, patches of salt where pools of seawater have evaporated.


Low tide. Rocks pools on the lower ledges revealed.


A tiny, tiny Common Lizard.

I decided that I too would bask. Lay down for a while with the sun warm on my face, and the rock very hard and cold at my back. Listened to the regular slap of waves against the ledges, and waited for the world to end. It didn't, and my back started complaining about the hardness of limestone, so in the end I got up and headed back up the valley, retracing my steps.

Down in the shelter of the combe, the sun was winning the battle against the north wind, and there were clouds of butterflies. Meadow Browns tumbling through the long grass. Countless Gatekeepers on the brambles. The tiny stream that flows through the combe has vanished entirely this year, its bed baked dry, and its path not even marked by a ribbon of Water Mint.


Fluffy white cloud starting to bubble up. Saw a few Red-tailed Bumblebees on flowers beside the path, also the first I've seen this year. Their population seems to have collapsed on our local heath, so its good to see they are still present in other locations.


Back along the Priest's Way, where the elderberries are ripening above the dry stone walls.

#

Coming back through Acton village, a Southern Hawker dragonfly was patrolling the chalk track, and flew up to me and round me, conducting a detailed aerial survey before deciding I was inedible. Wasn't sure if that was a relief or not. If I had been carried off and eaten by a dragonfly, I wouldn't have to attend any more meetings at work.

No pictures of birds and bees and butterflies today. I still haven't got a working zoom lens. The secondhand 200mm zoom lens I bought a few months ago turned out to be a really good landscape lens, but not much use for nature close ups. I've sent it back, and hope to part exchange it for a 300mm zoom.

Comments

[heleninwales]

That looks like a beautiful walk. The weather is a bit weird here, much cooler but humid. It saps my energy.

[puddleshark]

It's a favourite walk, down to Seacombe. Even when the coast path gets busy, visitors usually overlook Seacombe, so it never gets as busy as neighbouring Winspit.

It is so humid here today, it's horrible. I managed a short walk this morning, but I'm not going to attempt a longer walk with the camera today.

[kotturinn]

7am is pretty crack of dawn by my standards!!! I'm glad the world didn't end, but if it had that's a pretty good place to be.

[puddleshark]

You have to be out and about early here in summer. By 10am the traffic on the coast road is solid, cars nose-to-tail and moving at at snail's pace. It's the price we pay for living in a tourist area.

Yes, it's a very peaceful place.

[kotturinn]

Our tourist issue is more with the people the transport contains. Throngs of people gawping at buildings, stepping backwards off pavements and generally getting underfoot. It's pretty well all year round now, although the summer is worse (augmented by groups of teenagers at summer language schools where they probably don't want to be). Unfortunately we also usually clock up at least one major accident a year involving visitors on bikes.

[puddleshark]

Eek.

I may complain about the summer crowds, but at least I have the option of avoiding places where tourists throng (beaches, carnivals etc.).

[kotturinn]

I mainly avoid them by simply not going into the centre. 😸Fortunately the vast majority of the shopping I need can be done on the outskirts and/or adjacent villages!