It was destination Purbeck this morning; to be specific Chapmans Pool and St Aldhelm's Head. An age old track leads down through Hill Bottom to the rocky cove of Chapmans Pool; where you'll find a couple of fisherman's huts clustered around a small slipway and sea wall. Like many of the spots along this section of the Jurassic Coast it's a picturesque pearl set in a rugged forbidding landscape. My route this morning was going to be along the coastline out to St Aldhelm's Head, and along the cliff top back. As long as I can remember there's been a winding path which wound through the rough grass and tenacious shrub of the under cliff just above the rocky shore (the term 'path' is used loosely); in recent years erosion appears to have done for a lot of the path, making for a difficult traverse; it's surprising how much this apparently timeless landscape can change in just a couple or so years. One aspect that hadn't changed was the towering cliff capped escarpment that dominates Chapmans Pool, it still looked magnificent; I've roamed this Jurassic island for decades, and over those years my wonder at the majesty of the place has not dulled. I'm sure in time a new route along the under cliff will develop; in the meantime the broken and uneven rocky terrain is more full body workout than walk. One observation I made was that I didn't see a single piece of rubbish on this portion of my walk; of course it could've been that all my senses were engaged it keeping myself upright, though I think not, there was just no shit on the shore...which was nice.
No comments:
Post a Comment