Summer Solstice

It’s 0430 in the morning. Geoff and I make our way up around the Encombe Bowl to Swyre Head in order to see in the sunrise. There's a cool breeze, though it's warm enough for me to be wearing a T-shirt. The air reverberates to the sound of the dawn chorus, heard though unseen residents move amongst the undergrowth. Above us a bird of prey glides silently careful searching for breakfast. It's beautiful out. Dawns don’t get better than this. The horizon to the east is slowly turning orange red, we've reached the head just in time as a few minutes later dawn breaks. Crowned by the Goddess, today the Sun is at his zenith, King of summer. Tomorrow though the Holly Kings' reign begins, and we slowly process towards the waning year; make time to enjoy, as the wheel never stops turning. Solstice blessings. /|\

Summer Solstice sunrise

We arrived in Purbeck just shy of 04.30, parking at the gate to Encombe we began the short walk up and around the edge of the Encombe bowl to the coastal high point of Swyre Head and its' crowning tumulus. From the summit of the tumulus we surveyed a landscape bathed in pre-dawn stillness and that eerie light, as in the east the warm hues of dawn began slowly flooding the horizon. A growing intensity of colour heralded the solstice sun, shortly a bright orange disc emerged above the horizon and the longest day of the year had begun. Blessings at Solstice time. /|\

Tyneham Valley

 

This morning was our first foray to the isle of Purbeck this year, and what a morning to choose. It was bloody lovely. Purbeck's a special isle, a magical isle, adjacent to an expansive urban sprawl, yet remaining worlds apart. A seemingly timeless place, and an area that mercifully has thus far through a mixture of factors escaped the ravages of development, in some parts remaining to all appearances unchanged for a hundred years. As you walk all around you the visible remnants of 5000 years of history and human activity are etched on the landscape, with every period well represented from prehistory to present day. The photo is across the Tynehan Valley to Tyneham Cap, with Swyre Head and then St Aldhelms' Head in the distance. Beautiful.

Kimmeridge

This morning I unexpectedly found myself on the Isle of Purbeck with a couple of hours to pass. I'm not complaining; being a term time Monday the Kimmeridge bowl was thin on walkers, and with most visitors congregating at the focal point of the beach I had the ridge walk to myself. Originally I'd thought to walk the under-cliff eastwards, though the tide wasn't out that far so I decided to walk out to Swyre Head; I'd forgotten how steep the rough track up towards the Head is.  Although a reasonable breeze blew, you only felt and benefited from it when in the shade, out in the sun it was proper roasting, and the entire walk out to the head and back is exposed. Lovely walk mind, with wonderful views too, though I was grateful for the opportunity at the end of the walk to sit awhile in the shade of a clump of ash trees on the ridge just above Kimmeridge village, where the cooling breeze took no time to revive me. Nice impromptu walk. 

Summer Solstice

Surely the year's wheel is turning too fast? Can it really be the midsummer already? Yes; Alban Hefin is upon us.  The Holly King maybe born and, mostly imperceivable until the equinox, the day's light will begin to decline; for now though the Sun King sits upon the thrown, surveying the flourishing landscape about him; he's at the pinnacle of his rule, his crown secure, his light shining strong; enjoy the halcyon days of summer. Solstice blessings. /|\

Houns Tout loop

Today we were back out to Purbeck, well, it would be rude not to on a morning as glorious as this. Today we took the ridge out to Houns Tout from Kingston, it was lovely. For me, the views from the ridge into the Encombe Valley and over towards Swyre Head never lose their shine, nor do those from Houns Tout, which was windswept. I'm not too fond of heights and the Tout is exposed with a narrow path across it, quite nerve wracking, although nothing compared with the steep descent towards Chapmans Pool with an excited Geoff, the angle of the slope and the length of Geoff's lead were at odds with each other. I calmed myself with a mantra of profanity, usually works. There are very steep steps down, a lot of steps, steps which feel too close together, and as so are hard to negotiate. It was not a comfortable descent, and I was grateful to reach the bottom of the steps without incident, then promptly fell on my arse...gave me a laugh. One last look across Chapmans Pool at Emmett's Hill and St Aldhelm's Head beautifully illuminated in the autumn sun, and it was back off towards Kingston.  A bracing, if not briefly terrifying, Sunday walk.

Kimmeridge

Although the sky was a clear blue and the young sun shone brightly over Kimmeridge Bay, still on the surrounding hillsides and in the valley and hollows beyond, snow clung on. It was a great day for walking, the air was crisp and clean, and there were few people about. I was expecting to walk out around the Kimmeridge bowl to Townley Shenton's seat, though I found the range gates locked when they shouldn't have been. I don't know what that was about. So, anyway, instead I took the cliff top east towards the base of Swyre Head. Man, the cliff top path along here feels sketchy walking at best, it's very narrow, and slightly slopes towards a high sheer drop, add mud and ice and it was terrifying at times.  Some way along the path, over the fence in a field, is an abandoned military observation post, which at one time clearly had other features associated with it, now long gone, with only mounts and rubble remaining. I stopped for a while, the views through the posts small embrasures along the coast in both directions were fantastic. It must have been a nice posting in the summer, though I'd imagine bleak and foreboding in bad weather, or the depths of winter. Back on the scary cliff top the path rose and fell, with several little foot bridges crossing narrow gullies through which water raced before cascading off the cliff. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, my route turned inland, away from the frightening cliff path and I could relax. I don't know why take routes that scare me so, maybe it's a to challenge my fears, or maybe I'm just a fool. I walked back through the valley below the snow capped ridge which makes up the eastern length of the Kimmeridge bowl, before climbing back up to quarry overlooking Kimmeridge. As you can imagine, if the snow endured on all the sunny southern faces of the Purbeck Hills, the predominantly north facing slopes of the Purbeck Ridge remained firmly under winters snowy embrace. The roads over the ridge at Grange Hill and Cocknowle were both glazed and treacherous driving, as I found out descending from Cocknowle, I thought I'd be through the fence at one point.  Another memorable day at the coast.

Swyre Head

I took Geoff for his first walk over the Purbeck coast today. In fact I took him for two Purbeck walks today. First out to Swyre Head, at 208m it's the highest point on the Purbeck coast and is blessed with magnificent views both east and west along the Jurassic Coast. Fast moving clouds allowed the intermittent sunlight to dance across the hill and cliffs, highlighting features as the passed. Absolutely stunning. Then we stopped at Rempstone Stone Circle, a truncated Bronze Age Stone circle at the base of the Purbeck Hills, and made our way up the steep wooded path to the exposed grassland of Nine Barrow Down. Again the views were stunning. A good walk(s) to start 2019. 

Swyre Head walk

Lime Kilm

Chapmans Pool and St Aldhelms Head from Swyre Head

West from Swyre Head

Encombe Bowl

Corfe Castle

Purbeck was stunning today, I say today, Purbeck is always stunning, no matter what season or weather it's a landscape that stirs the spirit. Purbeck is a landscape with millennia of human activity etched into it, though never really tamed, it remains in essence a wild place. Yeah, on a sunny day it looks the rural idyll, but walk it in bad weather and it can transform into a formidable and foreboding environment. Still, today was the former and beautiful walking it was.

St Aldhelms Head from Swyre

And looking east over Encombe towards St Albhelms Head from Swyre Head the views are none too shabby either.

Kimmeridge from Swyre Head

Clouds played across the stunning Purbeck landscape as we climbed Swyre Head, with its magnificent views looking west across Kimmeridge and beyond along the Jurassic Coast. Beautiful.