Dorset Days - Part One

My birthday present to Dave this year was to take him away for a short weekend break. What with illnesses and being busy with one thing and another it wasn't until this last weekend gone that we had the chance to make our escape. We spent a fabulous weekend by the coast in Dorset. On Saturday we went for a lovely walk along the coast line. I love being by the sea in the winter months, some might say that it's freezing cold but I like to think of it as invigorating. Whose spirits would fail to be lifted by the sights, sounds and smells of the beautiful and rugged British coastline? Here I am messing around on the beach. As you can tell colour co-ordination wasn't on my mind when I picked out my walking gear that morning, I'm like a giant walking rainbow, though I don't make anywhere near as pretty a picture as a real rainbow :) Here are my good old walking feet taking a well earned rest from wandering the pebbled beach. Beach walking definitely provides a good work out for the legs and bum :) This is one of my favourite shots of the day, a little bit of beach litter that I spotted along the way. Just love how the bright bottle cap stands out against the soft colours of the sea-wet pebbles and glistening seaweed. After a long day out walking in the chilly sea-air, nothing nicer than the feeling of arriving at your cosy accommodation knowing that they'll be a good pint and a gorgeous meal waiting to be had. Perfect days like these make such precious memories.

Woolstone and Waylands Smithy

As promised this post is about the second half of the walk we did around Uffington last week. The pretty country lane that I showed at the very end of the last post led to the little village of Woolstone. There were some magnificent thatched buildings in the village but when I got back and downloaded my photos I realised I hadn't taken any pictures of them, doh!

Never mind that will give me something to do when I go back next time. I do have plenty of pictures to share of the village church though.

The church was open and we were the only visitors so we got to have a good look around. I picked up a really interesting information leaflet all about the history of the church and was going to share it with you, unfortunately I forgot to take the leaflet out of my trousers before they went in to the washing machine!! Anyway you can read a little about the villages history here and it has a couple of details on the church.

About the only thing I can remember from the leaflet I read is that this font is apparently very unusual because its made out of lead.

There were plenty of wonderful things to see in the church I really liked this carved stone statue, but my favourite thing was the church organ which was magnificently lit in the sunlight streaming through one of the church windows.

I love the rich colours in this close up shot

but I thought that all the shadowing might make a good black and white shot too, so I had a go at converting it and liked how it came out and then couldn't decide which one to share so I thought I'd just go with both.

After wandering round the village and church, we headed out to another lovely feature on the Ridgeway, Waylands Smithy a long barrow burial site. Waylands Smithy is one of my favourite places in the world, it's just so serene and nestled in a grove of magnificent trees it is a magical place to visit.

There was only one other visitor at the time we went and the beautiful weather made the visit all the more magical.

The perfect place to rest weary walking feet after a wonderful few hours romping through the countryside.

Uffington

In my last post I mentioned the walk in the sunshine that I took, so I figured I should share with you a few snaps I took along the way.

Visited the beautiful chalk down landscape around Uffington which forms part of the Ridgeway. It really is a fantastic landscape steeped in ancient history. There is a wonderful white horse carved in to the hill side. It's difficult to get a full view of it though. This is the best shot I managed, lol.

To see a proper view of the horse take a look here. Standing on top of the horse on a beautiful blue skies day the view is amazing. In this next shot, you can see the eye and ear of the horse looking down over dragon hill and out over the landscape beyond.

On top of the hill you can also explore the ramparts of Uffington castle an iron age hill fort. My picture of the ramparts doesn't really show them in their full grandeur but I had to get a shot of the bit that was covered in sheep :)

There were hundreds of cute sheep grazing the hill on the day we visited. It was fun to pretend I was a shepherdess tending her flock in the magnificent sunshine for a while :) Also reminded me that I must get on and work on my sheep sampler too.

This little expedition took place the other day on an afternoon off work. We did this walk which as well as exploring white horse hill took in some beautiful countryside, a wonderful village full of thatched roof cottages, and the magical Waylands Smithy long barrow (one of my favourite places). I'll tell you a bit more about that part of the walk another time. For now here is a quick peek at one of the beautiful country lanes that we strolled down.

These Boots Were Made For Walking

Long time followers of my blog would be forgiven for thinking that I have some sort of foot fetish, as pictures of my feet keep cropping up all over the place, lol. The reality is I really can't stand feet, but when I'm out walking it's easier to take pictures of my feet than me :)

As I don't have anything else to blog about at the moment, thought I'd share my new boots with you. My trusty old boots walked with me for many miles, in many different parts of this beautiful island than I am lucky to be able to call my home. I can't wait for the new adventures that these lovelies will carry me on.

Cheddar Gorge

Training for the Lakes continued last weekend with a lovely walk round Cheddar Gorge. The weather was beautiful and the paths were muddy so plenty of fun to be had :) It was a really nice route, and I managed to survive not one but three uphill climbs along the way.
First climb was up from Cheddar village through a wooded path, with lots to see along the way, beautiful moss covered woodland and hidden caves.The climb was well worth the effort, the views over the gorge were magnificent.
There were plenty of local characters to see along the way. Back down in the valley there was more woodland walking. Past gurgling streams .... ... and wonderful sunlit walls, with moss sparkling like emeralds in the sun. In the fading light there was time for one more climb, again the views were pretty spectacular. The day ended with sunlight through the trees.... ... and a beautiful sunset over the Cheddar Reservoir.

My parting shot today is something a bit different. Those of a sensitive nature may want to look away now :) If you have been reading for a while you know I have a habit of sharing my walking feet with you. Today I'm going to share the dangers of walking muddy pathways. I slipped over not once but twice for good measure.

The only thing missing is a tail and you would be forgiven for thinking that this is a shot of a hippo after a nice mud bath :)