January bridleways

[puddleshark]

A bright cold morning, the fields silvered with frost, and the paths an entertaining mix of ice and mud.



Set off early from Corfe, taking the path that runs westward along the foot of the Purbeck Hills. No photographers up on the hill photographing the winter sunrise over the castle ruins today. The north side of the castle is currently covered in very non-photogenic scaffolding.


The first stretch of the path passes through a narrow tunnel of Ivy and Old Man's Beard, with Blackbirds chinking and Great-tits scolding.


A Sika Stag crossing the path.


Further along the hill, the way opens out. Not as many birds here, unfortunately, as the farmer here has trimmed his hedges, leaving no berries for the birds to feed on. I don't know why so many farmers have this obsession with neat hedges.


Walked as far as the old lime kiln. The stonework near-lost beneath ivy, and at this time of year the ivy covered in ripening berries. Inside the kiln, it's very damp, and water drips steadily from the vaulted ceiling. But it's pleasant to sit in the arched window, to rest a while in the sunshine. And in winter you're not disturbing the wrens who nest in crannies in the stonework.

Seen, but not photographed: on the hillside above the lime kiln, a couple of Redwings high in the branches of a tree. Such beautiful birds!


Redwing (image courtesy of Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, & Wikimedia Commons).




Hazy views across the valley. Smoke rising from chimneys.


Ice or mud. Why settle for one, when you can have both?


The bridleway to Bucknowle shining silver in the sunshine. It's one of those paths with ambitions to become a stream in winter.




Frozen tractor ruts and flowing water, but it's fine if you stay in the middle of the track.

Crossing the lane at Bucknowle was a little chancy, the tarmac covered in sheet ice, but once I was back in the fields again, the going wasn't bad at all. One or two sheltered places were a little soggy, but mostly the ground was frozen hard, the grass crunching under foot.


Fell in with a family of Long-tailed Tits, and we made our way back along the hedge towards Corfe, them mostly dangling upside-down from twigs, and me preferring to remain right-way-up, admiring the way the low winter sun burnished their pretty blush-pink plumage.


Contrails above Rookery Wood.


Over the packhorse bridge. There's a steep clay slope to climb on the other side of the bridge before you can reach Corfe village, and sometimes in winter it's a scramble. But today it was frozen hard, an easy climb.

Comments

[summersgate]

Great pictures! I love the look of misty morning light.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

I can't believe how lucky we have been with the light since the New Year, when a typical January here is usually dark and gloomy and a hundred years long. :-)

[soemand]

I took inspiration from your walks this morning. 🤣

https://soemand.dreamwidth.org/50248.html

[puddleshark]

That is one very chilly looking beach. Brrr.

I thought the Dorset landscape looked cold, but at least there's shelter along the bridleways.

[heleninwales]

A great set of photos. That's an impressively complete lime kiln. The ones round here are more broken down.

I glad you made it safely through the mud/ice. Our walk today on forestry tracks was pretty much ice free and no mud. However, there wasn't really anything to photograph.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

Judging by the amount of disused chalk pits, there must have been lime kilns all along the chalk downs of Dorset once, I suppose, but only a handful seem to have survived.

I'm glad I braved the ice, because it was a lovely walk. But I'm also glad it was only a short walk, because I was getting a bit anxious about the slippery footing by the end.

[low_delta]

Beautiful!

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

January has been unexpectedly generous with the light this year. But I think yesterday was the last of the bright days. Looks like we're back to our usual rain and gales next week.

[mallorys_camera]

Lovely walk. Beautiful shot of that stag!

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

It was a really enjoyable walk, if a little icy in places. And I'm glad I got out & saw some sunlight yesterday, since the weather for the rest of the week looks grim.

[loganberrybunny]

Those are lovely; thank you for sharing them! I thoroughly agree about hedges; we have the same problem here in Worcestershire.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

It's one of the great joys of winter - seeing a flock of Fieldfares feeding in a hedge full of haws and ivy berries. I don't understand why so many farmers no longer feel any connection with the nature around them. Maybe the hedging is all done by contractors these days.