Day 140 1/6/95 Wareham to Hamworthy

Weather: Sunny

Distance: 17 km  (10.6 miles)    Total Distance:  miles

Margaret and the boys dropped me off at the river crossing in Wareham and then went onto the beach at Studland.  Sean made friends with a little girl and she made friends with his fishing net.  

The first part of my walk was almost a circular tour but I thought it was not in the spirit of the rules to miss it out and actually it looked a good bit on the map.  It was along the bank of the River Frome and then back up to Wareham.  The most frustrating part was trying to get down to the river bank in the first place.  One path marked on the map evidently was not there but I found the second path and a man walking his dog confirmed that it was a good walk.  The path was a real mixture ranging from fairly straightforward stuff to barely passable because of nettles and undergrowth - I am glad I made the decision to ware long trousers. 

There was plenty to look at from the riverbank since the boating fraternity were out in force and this estuary appeared to be a very popular place to more a boat.  The path back up into Wareham was through farmland and woodland.  I got a little lost trying to find my way through the backstreets of Wareham but eventually ended up on the main road to Poole and very busy it was too, though fortunately it had a pavement most of the way.

In the village of Standford I could cut off down through a housing estate and into a pleasant stretch of woodland to Black Hill.  It was not evident from the map but Black Hill is a military establishment - in fact a research establishment, the sort of research they do not want to share with outsiders judging by the height of the fences.  The grounds of the establishment were littered with small brick outhouses no doubt one man research labs!  I headed back up onto the main road and towards Poole again.

When I reached the A35 the road became a dual carriageway and banned pedestrians.  The alternative route was slightly inland through the village of Lychette Minster.  Part way through the village there was meant to be a path that cut back and crossed the A35 again and into the suburbs of Poole but this too was signposted as now being closed to the public - evidently due to too many squashed pedestrians on the road.  

Out the other side of the village, a road bridge took me over the A35 and then through an affluent suburb of Poole.  I had planned to meet Margaret at Hamworthy train station.  Hamworthy, we both discovered was a council house estate where the station was well hidden away, Margaret had had a little problem finding it.

We went into Poole and were lucky enough to find a car parking spot on the front. Margaret and Sean then went off to visit Poole pottery and buy some mugs. Gareth and I walked the promenade, visited the pottery shops and had a drink and he had his bottle.

Day:139 31/5/95 Studland to Wareham

Weather: Very good - sunny and breezy.

Distance: 21 km  (13 miles)    Total Distance:  miles

I got up fairly early again and was in the first car in the National Trust car park at Studland at just gone 9 o'clock. The sun was already out as I took the path down to the beach. The tide was out so I was fortunate in that there was fairly firm sand near the water's edge.  The guidebook states that walkers may like to skip this section as it is a bit of a trek but for me it was idyllic, the sun shining on the calm sea. 

About half way along the beach it turns into a nudist beach - since I was in a hurry I kept my clothes on but there were already sun worshippers taking advantage of the good weather and a very camp man draping himself over the sign saying nudist beach.  A couple of marine landing craft were out practicing beach landings. 

At Shell Beach the ferry leaves for Sandbanks and the end of the South West Way, but I headed inland again for the long way to Poole.  I followed the very flat road along Stuudland Heath and was relieved to get to the point where I could cut off and into the countryside. The next couple of hours were spent on forest trails and footpath and very pleasant it was too with hardly anyone around. After the first forest section I came to Over Farm and had to stop to wait for a herd of cows to come through a gate that I wanted to go through in the opposite direction. As ther ware daudling I shooed then along only to be confronted by a bull. I let him have the right of wat and quickly jumped over a naerby fence into an ajoining field to find an alternative route.

Through some more woodland and diverted footpaths and boggy ground - I was glad we were in a dry spell.  I came to Wytch Farm BP Oil field. I got slightly lost here but soon got back on the right path and around the oil field. I bumped into a very elderly farmer who asked me if I minded taking a certain path as the other I almost took went over his maize field and had only been designated a public footpath by his predecessor Mr Hopalong!  Although the way he told me was indeed the correct way I ended up in the corner of a field without much idea of where to go to cross the nearby Corfe River. I was fortunate that a farm laborer took pity on me and stopped his tractor to tell me he thought there was a bridge just a little further on and he was indeed correct.

I soon came out on a minor road on Slope Heath which I followed  for a couple of miles, eventually into the village of Ridge and then along the bank of the River Frome into Wareham. From the river bank I saw my bus leave to Swanage. I tried hitching and had three good lifts pretty soon after each other. The first was in a Land Rover from an agricultural plumber with a very friendly dog that had to be held down to stop eating me for lunch. The second was from a man who worked for the Nat West and drove a new white Astra - trying to sell mortgages that were not going too well. The third - also in a Land Rover - in the back this time was from a couple of birdwatchers who I had passed on the path the previous day.             

I arrived back at the car just as the bus from Swanage was pulling in proving that sometimes it is quicker to hitch even if you do need three lifts. Back at the flat it was a domestic afternoon. I popped up the shop and then looked after the boys whilst Margareet went shopping.

Day: 138 30/5/95 Worth Matravers to Studland

Weather: Sunny intervals, shower at end of day.

Distance: 19 km  (11.8 miles)    Total Distance:  miles

What a day - not so much with the actual walking but the getting there and back! I used public transport so that Margaret and the family could have a break from trekking round after me. I took the early train from Weymouth to Wareham and then a bus to Worth Matravers. It was then a walk down through the country lanes to the place where I had stopped walking the previous day.

There were good views back along the cliffs where I had walked the previous couple of days.  I was getting sad that this was the last day of cliff walking for a long time and determined to enjoy it.  There was one big climb down towards St Abans Head and then a very pleasant stroll to Durleston Head.  I passed one couple who would stop to give me a life when I was hitching the following day.  The path kept mainly to the cliff top but occasionally dropped down to the sea at old quarry workings. At the Swanage end of this section the path went through Durlston Park, busy with visitors and a mix of cliff path around lighthouses and woodland walks.

On the way into Swanage the path went across open ground and down to the headland and then back along a road, rather than the beach into Swanage. I thought Swanage was the end of the cliffs but the other side of the town there was indeed the last of the hills. I stopped for a batch and cup of tea and then headed for the last climb.  In the guidebook, the official path went inland around New Swanage and then up the hill to Ballard Down, but after taking this route for a while I read in the book that the path along the beach was usually OK so I backtracked and took that instead. 

The last hill of the week was a fair climb but the views from the headland were spectacular both backwards from where I had come and towards Poole.  On the way down into Studland it started to spot with rain, the only rain I saw all week.  There did not appear to be a path along the beach at Stutland so it was a stroll through a pleasant village dotted with National Trust places. I had walked fast all the way from Swanage but had missed the bus back to Swanage by some 15 minutes and had to wait another 45 minutes for the next one. I tried hitching but without any luck. 

Once I  reached Swanage it was another fair wait for a bus back to Wareham so I started walking out of the town and hitching. After about half an hour a car stopped driven by Hilderberg. I sat in the back with her baby daughter. Also in the car was Trevor who had only recently met Hilderberg the day before and was on his way to catch a bus home to Guilford. Both were Hilderberg and Trevor's brother were divorced and so the conversation revolved around acrimonious relationships. Trevor spent his time taking pictures of "the beautiful Devon scenery" and Corfe Castle out or actually through the car window - I hate to think what they turned out like.

As we approached Wareham the traffic came to a standstill and we only edged forward.  There turned out to be a major gas leak just outside Wareham station thus closing the station.  Trevor and I got dropped off and stood in the bus queue for a wile before realizing that we were not likely to go anywhere fast and we both strolled off in opposite directions.  I made the rash decision to try to hitch to Wool the next station towards Weymouth - rash because it was at least five miles away and if I had been patient a bus would have arrived to get me onto the same train I eventually caught anyway.  The main road was busy and dangerous and I had no luck hitching.  I eventually cut off the main road to take the slightly longer and safer back road only to find there was hardly any traffic at all.  I eventually got a lift from a fellow environmental scientist though I never got to find out who he worked for.

As the time was now passing and it was 6 o'clock I phoned Cardiff to ask mum to call the flat in Weymouth to tell Margaret that I was safe but would be late!  I got to the flat at 7.15pm after a good walk but frustrated by the travelling aspect.

Day: 137 29/5/95 Lulworth Cove to Worth Matravers

Weather: Sunny intervals.  Distance: 18 km

The family dropped me off at Lulworth Cove. The first part of today's walk was along the beach, not just because the tide was out but because the path over the cliffs was closed. At the end of the beach I climbed up onto the cliffs and from there to Kimmeridge it was strenuous walking with lots of climbs and with quite a lot of walkers around.  The path went through the army tank ranges, along a ridge which looked down onto the range littered with burnt out tanks. The geology and cliff formation along this stretch was spectacular.

I had a feeling that because of the very hilly nature of this section I had fallen behind schedule and this was confirmed when I rounded one headland and saw Kimmeridge Bay way off in the distance which I thought was only half way. Fortunately the paths got flatter towards Kimmeridge Bay which encouraged more people along this section. At Kimmeridge Bay there was an oil well owned by BP working away without any apparent supervision. The rock along this section was dark and unattractive. Through the car park above the beach and then briefly down onto the beach and then a climb up to the headland and what looked to be a folly.

For the next three miles or so the path was gentle on the cliff tops. I made up my time and was fairy optimistic about meeting my wife on time when I saw the giant Houns Tout cliff ahead.  Just prior to this the path went by a bit of the cliff that jutted out into the sea down which a wide waterfall deep with algae fell. A group of walkers of all ages were climbing the cliff at the same time - we all made slow progress.

Beyond that the path  fell again to Chapmans pool where cliff erosion made serious inroads into the path. I chanced the more direct path down and up instead of going too far inland. It became ill defined at the bottom and on the way up it became very steep - not what you want at the end of a hot day and in a hurry. I ended up walking up the valley and then going up the bank where there was no path. Fortunately I ended up almost exactly where I wanted to be and only a few hundred yards from the car park where I successfully met the family.

We drove the half mile up to the village of Worth Matravers and had our only afternoon tea of the holiday. We stayed until the kids had had enough, monopolized their toilets and headed home to the flat.

Day: 136 28/5/95 Weymouth to Lulworth Cove

Weather: very good.    Distance: 16 km 

 

What a lovely days walking this turned out to be. I set off early in the morning, straight from the flat. Weymouth as waking up slowly and there weren’t many people around as I walked along the sea wall to Overcombe apart from street cleaners and even beach cleaners,

To reach Bowleaze Cove I walked along the beach which was only just about possible since the tide was only slowly going out.  A holiday camp with its own Alsatian guard dog blocked the path at the cove so I was forced to make a slight detour inland. It was then a gentle walk to Osmington Mills where the path went down past the campsite and out the other side of the village. I walked through the grounds of what looked to be a decent pub.  Even though it was very early in the day a man was stopping people parking in the pub car park except if they had purchasing power.  

At Ringstead Bay I took to the beach wanting a change and thinking that I’d be able to get back up onto the cliffs at the far end. I found what I thought was a suitable path up past a beach hut around which a group of youngsters were gathered. It turned out to be theirs and there was no path but they were polite. The correct path turned out to be just around the corner.                                           

From there to Lulworth Cove was strenuous but spectacular, long steep climbs with great views of chalk cliffs. The path in the early part of the day had been poorly signed and deserted but on the way into Lulworth the bank holiday crowds appeared in sunshine with the last part was more like a high street than a country path. I went down the bay to find out about tomorrow's walk and then back up to the car park to meet the family.  The car park was an outrageous £3.  We fed the kids which took about an hour and then took them down to the beach.