Castles in the sand

Alone on the beach, no other sand hewn monuments anywhere, this splendid creation stuck out. Beautifully crafted, with a really cool and imaginative design; someone had gone to lot of trouble, taken time and consideration in this build.  It's a funny human trait, that we can spend endless time, and derive such innocent joy, absorbed in creating temporary structures; building sand castles or sculptures, digging a hole, building a damn across a brook and endless other activities.  The spoils of which are all transient, gone on the next tide or raise flow or under the boot, materials to be reused in another creation, another day. The memories through endure, maybe not always as individual events, but just in the knowing that such activities were, and still are, time well spent, good times which when thought about elicit a warm feeling and a smile.  It's the simple things. 

Common spotted Orchid

I'm no expert, but i think this is a Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) or it could be a Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata) as the soils in the forest are acid and heathy. No matter, beautiful either way. The ride along the edge of South Oakley Enclosure towards Berry Wood, where the land hollows and retains a dampness, is covered in these Orchids. I say 'these Orchids', the range of colour, from the lightest of pinks, through the whole spectrum of purple hues and the forms were endless too, from small clusters of flowers atop the a stem, to stems festooned with flowers. A gathering of individuals rather than a homogenized group, though they all appear to share some or other feature or features. Possibly the result of cross breeding? Local Orchids, for local damp hollows! Whatever, Orchids are always a pleasure to see and in such numbers the pleasure is multiplied.
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Sweet rains

I like the dry weather, it facilitates comfortable activity. Though I welcomed todays rains. Cool and refreshing, but not cold, the rains washed away some of the heavy air, thick and dirty, hard to breath air. What a relief to breath in this cool fresh air, the scents had changed too, clean and fresh, just like the air. Nice. I know the plants and wildlife will have enjoyed it too. Although, as I said, I like the dry weather, and hope for its swift return, What would be best was if it could rain, say, from 0100 to 0500 every night and stay dry for the rest of the time. Still, not really grumbling, weather's weather and you should embrace its many splendours.

Hengistbury Head

Looking east, sundown over Hengistbury Head.

Meadowsweet

This time of year the water meadows are covered in summer plants, one of my favourites is Meadowsweet. Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), common on damp ground is a slender, can grow up to 2m tall, perennial herb, with dark green serrated leaves and beautifully delicate cream white clusters of strong sweet smelling flowers. Meadowsweet smells divine and was once prized as a strewing herb. Though this plant is not merely a pretty fragrant plant. Meadowsweet is a powerful nature medicine; the roots contains salicylic acid, a compound used to make aspirin; a piece of peeled root, chewed, will help relieve headaches. The flowers too have been used medicinally as well as flavouring for beverages and preserves. 

* As Meadowsweet contains salicylic acid care should taken in using if you asthmatic; as like aspirin it may induce asthma symptoms.

Fort?

For the second time recently I've visited an archaeological site, which is marked on OS maps as a 'fort', only to find the label on the map didn't really fit what I saw on the ground. I wonder if the sites recorded by the RCHM in the early part of the last century might benefit from reevaluation in light of developments in archaeological techniques and theory. I didn't see a fort. I saw an oblong come oval enclosure delineated by a ditch and rampart, other than one end of the oval which was open with no visible defences. The 'defences' are represented by a relatively shallow ditch with quite a flat bottomed in places, backed by a rampart maybe 2m or so high and topped by a very slight bank. With such slight defences and the open end, I just don't see it as a fort. Something else was happening here. What ever uses it might have served, it's in a lovely setting. Overgrown Hazel coppice with a scattering of deciduous Oak and Ash, until recently the floor would have been carpeted in swathes of Bluebells and Ramsons, their remnants are all about. There's an active Badger set just within the enclosure, near the phallic Oak, evidence of other inhabitants and the sound of bird song fills the canopy. It's a very alive place. It's a place that calls you to sit and chill awhile.

Phallic Oak

Yes, that's right, over there within the enclosure, I saw a tree what looked like a knob. No, but really, there are no side branches for maybe 6m up the trunk, so add the two ball shaped protuberances to the front of the base and this tree does look incredibly phallic. 

Chalky white

I've mentioned before, how many of the local prehistoric monuments, when freshly constructed or kept cleaned, would have shone in the Sun, making them visible for miles. This was brought in to sharp focus when coming across a fresh pile of chalk amongst the long grass and open trees. The pile wasn't very high, 1m to a 1.5m, but oh how it shone. I imagined how a large Bronze Age barrow, the high ramparts of a hillfort or any of the linear or circular ritual monuments  which cover the land here abouts must have looked in the bright Sun when new and in use; striking. My photo really doesn't do the brightness of the chalk mound justice.

Coppice

Whilst away at the weekend, inebriated youth, amongst many other misadventures facilitated by an excess and a mixing of alcohol, broke my cloths pole.  So, the mission for today was to visit Resource Wood and harvest myself another. Resource Wood, I'm not sure of its real name, is known as such for its abundance of a variety of bushcraft, food and wild plant resources. Under a powerful Sun the six mile or so return walk, mainly through farmland, was open and exposed. On reaching Resource Wood we were afforded a respite from the heat; amongst its stands, a mixture of neglected Hazel coppice and mature deciduous trees, the air was cooler. It took some searching to find the right pole, but eventually one showed itself; I thanked the tree and made sure that the cut was clean and close to the stool. I thought on the walk home of the lunacy of modernity, that you'd consider buying a pole to hold your washing line up or when you see bundles pea sticks on sale at the garden centre; it wouldn't have been that long ago that, instinctively, we'd have looked to nature to provide such things. Even if you didn't harvest it yourself, you'd have only paid a nominal fee to woodsman or such.  It's clear from out and about that many woods were once well managed and most likely very productive, supporting a thriving sustainable economy. Now, we happily pay for over priced synthetic poles and use plastic netting to support peas, wasteful and environmentally damaging. I can't help thinking we've gone wrong.    

Common Spotted Orchid

Yet another orchid, this time the Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii). The Common Spotted Orchid is Britains most common orchid and can be found growing in all sorts of habitats. Being common doesn't make it any less beautiful or any less of a treat to see. There were about a dozen in this hazel coppiced woodland, all looking healthy. It's still early into their flowering season, June to August, so keep your eyes open as there's plenty of time to catch a glimpse of them.

Winspit

Walking the Jurassic Coast it's easy to understand see why it's designated a World Heritage Site. In fact the first natural World Heritage Site in England.

Sun rise

Sun a rise.....too early in the morning. Just before 5am I became aware of them, sheep calling and crying, then the sound of birdsong became apparent, no I thought. It couldn't be morning already, but it was and on opening my eyes, and by way of confirmation, I just glimpsed the orange Sun peeking over the eastern horizon. The sleep hadn't been too bad, though longer grass would have made for a better bed, we'd crashed out on the hill between Seacombe and Winspit, under a fantastically starry sky. Although sleep hadn't been too bad, it had been far too short. Still, all things considered, felt quite spritely and the day looked like it was going to turn out nice again.

Chilled Cider

Set just inland off the Purbeck coast, on a high hillside, the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers is a quaint little pub, and I mean little, with a strange museum filled with archaeological artifacts, natural history pieces and some, what could only be described as weird stuff. It has a rambling outside of grass strewn with limestone blocks and wooden tables; it holds commanding views over the Jurassic coast and is not too bad a place to spend an afternoon. Chilled Cider at the Square and Compass is a yearly event of interesting ciders and beers, tasty homemade food and eclectic music, all in a fantastic setting with loads of lovely people. Sitting in the Sun, with a pint of chilled cider, groovy music drifting about, whilst having a laugh with chums, timeless joy.  What a day, if you've not been before, I can't recommend it highly enough. Put it in your diary for next year. And don't just visit the Square and Compass for Chilled Cider, it's a nice pub when ever.

Solstice

The Sun shone brightly on the Dorset Groves Summer Solstice open ritual at Knowlton henge. A good turn out, again as with last nights ritual, of lovely people of good heart. The Dorset Grove always put on a full and beautiful ritual, shamanic aspects, meditation, appropriately focused play containing water pistols and, of course, rubber chickens, healing and cake; there's always cake. Glenn the Shaman wore the headdress of his close friend Nick who has passed not so long, in his honour and memory, powerful stuff. Another great grove ritual.

Solstice Ritual

It's the Summer Solstice tomorrow and this evening the Pagans of Ytene had their Solstice ritual out in the forest.  A nice ritual with good people, plenty of humour and good energy, a fitting way to see in the Solstice.

Pyramid Orchids

More orchids. This time they're Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis), one of the orchids I more commonly see, though still a welcome sight to behold.  It really has been a good year for orchid spotting.

Fire starting practice

I thought I'd do fire starting practice. So whilst out walking I collected the components; papery and resinous Birch bark, dried matter, in this case Fern and small Birch kindling sticks. Laid them out, hit the stop watch, 2 minutes 10 seconds later I had fire. Easy to do when the weathers good, materials are well dried and you've a reliable strike; not so easy in winter or the rain or wind. I practice then too, but I don't practice this and other skill regularly enough. I think everybody should be schooled in basic bushcraft/survival skills and everybody should practice those skills regularly. When I think how removed we've become from our natural environment and how many fundamental skills we either never learnt or have forgotten, how many everyday practices are lost, it's quite scary. Even going back fifty or a hundred years, the majority of people would have had at least some knowledge, if not much more, of basic, what we'd maybe call survival skills and they'd have known as everyday skills. What have we become? Weaker for one, less robust or hardy, less adaptable and more reliant than independent. We've, on mass, forgotten who and what we are.

Bee Orchid

I've been blessed this year to have come across several Orchids on my wanderings this year, rare or unusual ones too.   Today it was the Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera, which takes its name from the bees who pollinate it; over the years the plant has evolved bee-like flowers to ensure it's visited by pollinators.  What a beautiful plant, with such lovely form and colours. I thought I'd write a description of it for identification purposes, but no need, you could misidentify it; it's so striking.

Nine Barrow Down

Nine Barrow Down prehistoric barrow cemetery. A linear barrow cemetery of Bronze Age round barrows and a neolithic long barrow. The Bronze Age barrows range in size, with the two largest (above) at the eastern end; the Neolithic long barrow is harder to identify and lays just to the east in front of the two large barrows (the above photo is taken from its bank). Nicely placed for best effect, these barrows, especially when first constructed and brilliant chalk white, would have been visible for miles around and have created a imposing symbol of power or maybe devotion to a loved one/ones, the ancestors or spiritual path. It's always a pleasure to sit, relax and ponder a while; no matter what the weather spectacular views can usually be had and I think the ancestors would like it.

This is England

This is England. A free St Georges flag, given away in the odious Sun newspaper, flies limply from a mauled conifer, below it, the detritus which increasingly marks are open spaces. The lager cans, fast food containers and myriad of crap which has come to represent all that is Britain in the consumer age. Makes you proud.

Toad

On his way back to Toad Hall, this warty fellow makes his way slowly through the rough grass. I thought Toads lived in water, but I was wrong. Common Toads, as this one is, favour woodland and damp areas and can tolerant quite dry habitats.  Though they can be found in ponds around February and March when breeding. They usually spend their days hidden away in damp hollows, coming out later in the day to hunt for slugs and worms. So what this one was about today, I don't know. The Sun was high and hot, and it was exposed in the relative open beyond the woodland fringe, it looked arduous moving through the rough. and can't have been comfortable for him or her. Always nice to see nature though.

Rhinefeild Sandy's

I couldn't resist a wander through Rhinefield Sandy's enclosure 1809, an enclosure through which we used to walk frequently, although about 10 years ago it was fenced off, high deer prove fencing and deer proof gates made it inaccessible and off limits. Ten years of no deer or ponies grazing and no people, or at least infrequent interlopers, have allowed the enclosure to regenerate substantially and in some places the woodland under-story is now so dense as to be impenetrable. The main tracks through the woods remain reasonably for the most, stilled used sometimes by the forestry, though most of the secondary tracks and smaller paths have now all but disappeared. I don't know why the enclosure was deer fenced, it's usually done after an area has been clear felled and new saplings planted, although there's no evidence of this in Rhinefield Sandy'. It was nice to be alone in the woods, dappled Sun, the best kind of Sun, coming through the canopy brought the woodland alive. That said, I wasn't the only one who was looking for seclusion, as I was heading out I noticed a couple had just come over another gate. 

Telegraph

Abandoned in the early 1960's when the line closed, it's amazing that this telegraph pole, with many of its original fittings still in place, remains in such good condition.

Old Ashley rail line

Occasional structures dotted along the the Castleman trail remind you that once we had an integrated public transport system which connected all the regions and even the smallest of town. Now though, over grown and wooded, the old line is popular with walkers and cyclists, a handy way to get about and avoid the traffic. Here a small railways building, which gives no hint of its previous use, has become shelter to fag smoking youth, rain dodging dog walkers and even, as the graffiti reads, a composer R Burke who in October 1993 'composed a major part of his symphony no1 in e minor'.  Funny place to write a symphony, but then when creativity strikes.

Rempstone Stone circle

They've cleared the ground around the Rempstone Stone Circle exposing the stones and allowing for a better look at what remains of this unusually sited stone circle. Ten stone remain in situ, believed to be about half of them, the rest were removed and piled when the circle was truncated by clay workings; once in open rough grass and heathland the stones now lay in deciduous woodland adjacent to a more modern coniferous plantation. Early field notes record a stone setting of eight stones off to the east and a later discovery two parallel lines of stones numbering twenty three in all to the northwest which may have represented a ceremonial avenue leading to or from the circle suggest that Rempstone may have been an important religious complex during the Bronze Age.  I've always found the site an atmospheric one, with an air of mystery and on a misty day even an eerie feel. A powerful site without a doubt.  I will return soon and spend some time here.

Brenscombe Hill

The view westwards towards Flowers Barrow, the western terminus of the fold of hill which, like a mighty rampart, create and protect the isle of Purbeck. A spectacular view on any day, but bathed in Sun, a view that's hard to beat.

Green Wood Work Shop

It's Purbeck arts week this week, with lots of arts and craft events. Walking up the track past Brenscombe Wood up towards Brenscombe Hill I spied a gate which was usually closed was open and accompanied by a sign which read 'open studio'. An opportunity not to be missed I thought and so detoured into the woods. I'd noticed a few years back, from higher up the track, that the wood had been managed and worked. Tucked in a gentle fold in the hillside, two large tarp covered working areas; The Green Wood Work Shop. The Green Wood Work Shop manages the wood using mostly traditional methods, such as using horses to move felled timber and produces logs, charcoal, bespoke furniture and coppiced products amongst others. It was good to a woodland being productively managed and worked; nice people who run it too.I was glad I passed this way today.

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are cool. This golden ringed Dragonfly, resting at the edge of a cereal crop field on the edge of the forest, let me get quiet close before it sped away; I got great look at it.