Looking west from Flowers Barrow
Reflections
We had previously done next to no walking along the coast, just one memorable walk in Crosby and others on holiday in Cap Ferrat and the Costa Brava (Llafranc to Cap Roig and to Golfet).
At first there was the novelty of a few miles along the beach to
Studland and then the already-familiar area around Old Harry Rocks and
Ballard Down. After the interesting town of Swanage comes Durleston and
what feels like the beginning of the Coast Path proper. Certainly one of
the striking things is that there is very little development actually
on the coast - Weymouth and Lyme are the only major settlements. So one
of our abiding impressions is how quiet and rural it is.
From
about Dancing Ledge onwards the coast becomes much more dramatic with
the spectacular chalk cliffs that extend as far as White Nothe - where
there is a dramatic change to red sandstone to Weymouth and then
Portland Stone around the gigantic quarry that is Portland. Towards the
end you climb Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast,
although not by much. The climbs and descents of the chalk cliffs will
live in the memory. And there is no doubt that we are fitter as a result
and more confident of our ability to tackle anything else that the
Coast Path may have in store.
We
were pleasantly surprised that for the most part the Coast Path is not
crowded. The section between the car park at Lulworth Cove and Durdle
Door is the only real exception, but even here as soon as you pass
Durdle Door things quieten down straight away.
Wildlife
sightings were relatively limited, but quite interesting. Fulmars, a
Short Toed lark, a Serrin, a Clouded Yellow butterfly and a common seal
were the highlights.
There
was a noticeable theme of war: from the castles built by Henry VIII
when he feared attack by the Spanish, to the pillboxes, radar research
and preparations for D-Day 500 hundred years later.
There was also constant evidence of erosion of the coastline and several places where the path had been temporarily or permanently moved inland. The most dramatic example was the Clavell Tower which had been moved 80ft inland in 2005. I suppose walking the Coast Path must increase the rate of erosion, but as both erosion and walking are fundamentally natural processes, I think this is acceptable.
There was also constant evidence of erosion of the coastline and several places where the path had been temporarily or permanently moved inland. The most dramatic example was the Clavell Tower which had been moved 80ft inland in 2005. I suppose walking the Coast Path must increase the rate of erosion, but as both erosion and walking are fundamentally natural processes, I think this is acceptable.
The
stages in which we did the walk are listed below. Flowers Barrow to
Lulworth Cove was the most demanding and Lulworth Cove to White Nothe
probably the most pleasing.
The total distance we have walked so far - which is of course also the official length of the coast path in Dorset - is 86 miles.
1 South Haven Point to Studland Bay
2 Studland Bay to New Swanage
3 Swanage to Anvil Point
4 Anvil Point to Dancing Ledge
5 Dancing Ledge to Winspit
6 Winspit to Chapman's Pool
7 Chapman's Pool to Rope Lake Head
8 Rope Lake Head to Kimmeridge Bay
9 Kimmeridge Bay to Flower's Barrow
10 Flower's Barrow to Lulworth Cove
11 Lulworth Cove to White Nothe
12 White Nothe to Osmington Mills
13 Osmington Mills to Ferry Bridge
14 Ferry Bridge to Portland Bill
15 Portland Bill to Ferry Bridge
16 Ferry Bridge to Langton Herring
17 Langton Herring to West Bexington
18 West Bexington to Eype Mouth
19 Eype Mouth - Golden Cap - Charmouth
20 Charmouth to Lyme Regis
No comments:
Post a Comment