March, along the coast

[puddleshark]

The Met Office promised us a dry Sunday morning, to air ourselves before the next band of rain arrived... And if they were overly optimistic about the sunshine, they didn't precisely lie. It was dry...ish. Mostly.



Met up with C. and her Manchester Terrier, and headed down to the coast. There we met with a friend of C.'s, and her labradoodle, and walked from the village of Acton, with its dry stone walls, and its stone quarryworkers' cottages, and its stone quarries, up towards the coast.

A strong wind blowing down by the coast, but it was coming in off the sea, and mild, not that bitter wind of last week.


Along the Priest's Way, used since Medieval times by the local priest as he travelled back and forth between the churches in his care at Swanage and Worth Matravers. A very windblown priest.


A lot of rain last week, and suddenly Dorset is all mud again. Especially the gateways.


Yellowhammers in the hedges.

Up onto the Wares, the rough pasture above the sea. The hazy sunshine we had set off in soon vanished, as the low cloud came blowing in. The sea grey, laced with white against the cliffs.







No matter how grey the day, the gorse remains cheerful.


Lichen on the thorn trees.




Negotiation of a muddy gateway.

Picked our way back through muddy cattle pastures, where the footpaths are a little more sheltered, in the lea of high dry stone walls. Skylarks singing, above the sound of the wind. No sign of any Early Spider Orchids flowering yet - I think they won't be out until April this year.

On the way back from the walk, detoured to the Tea Room at Worth Matravers, for a slightly unconventional Sunday lunch of chips and black coffee, eaten sitting in the car, as the rain began to fall.

Comments

[adafrog]

:D

[puddleshark]

The best bit was coming back with labradoodle pawprints on my trousers. The world felt right again.

[adafrog]

awww...

[heleninwales]

That looks like a lovely if somewhat windy walk. Having looked at the forecast, we're going to change our planned walk for tomorrow. The temperature is supposed to plummet again, so somewhere more sheltered than the estuary and coast seems wise.

[puddleshark]

It has been blowing a hoolie here all day - I haven't dared go out in it. Good job we got our walk in yesterday.

[bleodswean]

A very windblown priest. LOL! That's great!

[puddleshark]

:)

Those coastal quarry villages are not for the fainthearted in winter!

[larryhammer]

Pretty!

[puddleshark]

It's a lovely stretch of coast. And soon - soon! - there will be wild flowers. Another few weeks and the violets and Early Spider Orchids will be appearing.