Spring Bank Holiday

Guess what - it's raining. No surprise then for a Bank Holiday. Since returning from Charmouth the weather has been very iffy so the painting I had lined up is well on the way to being finished. The banister and balusters which are quite fiddley are now finished and look good. Unfortuately my painting is rather enthusiastic and some of the paint travelled as far as the new emulsion on the wall. I managed to cover this up easily.
I was just about to go outside and do a couple of windows when the rain came down so you are getting this note instead.
I lead a ramble on Saturday for the New Forest Ramblers. All went well despite having to change the walk, considerably, after one of the rivers became impassible. I shall be leading the same walk for the Verwood Ramblers on Wednesday. When I am rambling Sue usually goes into Ringwood for a bit of shopping therapy.
On Friday I heard a BBC radio programme about a Welsh dancing troupe. I found it interesting and emailed the link to friends (Pete and Jan) who I thought would be interested. It turns out that they listened to it in Austria and Peter had lived in one of the villages mentioned. Small world. I mentioned this because I know they read this blog - one of the few.
Sunshine comes so must go with paint brush in hand.
Byeeeeeeeeeeee!

Charmouth

On the 5th May we took the caravan to Charmouth, only 65 miles from here. We stayed at a Camping and Caravanning site which was in a good position for visiting the local sights. The site was very well kept and the facilities were of an exceptionally high standard. They even had the daily papers delivered to the site.

Saturday was overcast so we took a trip into Axminster about 5 miles away. It's not a pretty place and not a place to rush back to. It does, however, have one of the best tool shops in the UK. I wasn't tempted.

Sunday was very sunny so we stayed on site to do some jobs on the caravan and to check the springs on the sunbed.

Monday took us to Colyton which is a pretty place with an interesting church tower.



After Colyton we went south to Seaton. Parts of the town are seedy and others picturesque. It has a long prom with plenty of seating and it is not overrun by visitors - a quite relaxing place. This is the harbour at Seaton.



I had wanted to go on the electric tram from Seaton to Colyton. Unfortunately the weather was not too good so we gave it a miss.



Needless to say we were geocaching as we went along and one of the ones I wanted to do was the Earthcache at Charmouth beach. This entails finding a fossil, of which there are millions, and have your photo taken with the fossil and GPSr. Well - millions I don't think so. It took us about 2 hours with hammer in hand to find one!!! Bashing up the foreshore is legal - bashing up the cliffs isn't, they fall down and kill you. I was lucky to find a fossil. It doesn't look too good, but it's our best effort. I am told the best time to go is in the winter, two days after a storm on a falling tide.



We are still members of the National Trust so went to Shute Barton a manor house which dominates the tiny Devon village of the same name. It is one of the most important surviving non-fortified manor houses of the Middle Ages.
An imposing gatehouse stands at the entrance to the property. The earliest part of the house dates from around 1380. During the 15th century the building was extended by the Grey family, Marquesses of Dorset. The Greys remained at Shute Barton until 1554, when the entire family fell from favour following their failed attempt to install Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England. Shute Barton Manor was then leased to the Pole family. They later bought the property and made great changes to the manor house.






On a visit to Sidmouth we enjoyed the Connaught Gardens and then moved in to Sidmouth centre. This place is best left off your itinerary in the high season as it is not the largest of places. The photo is of Connaught Gardens.



For something more adventurous than my efforts click here

Below is a photo of Chesil Bank with the Fleet Lagoon behind. It is a striking shingle beach stretching 8 miles from Portland to Abbotsbury, Chesil Bank protects a shallow lagoon called The Fleet from the ravages of the sea. The Bank and Fleet provide habitat for a variety of bird and plant life, as well as a large colony of mute swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery. It is the only place in the world where you can walk amongst the swans safely.



We had a visit to Lyme Regis, but it is not the easiest (or cheapest) place to park your car. While I was feeding the meter one womean was about to put £17 in for a weeks parking, I thought my £2.50 was bad enough. At the moment the whole of the beach is being dug up so better sea fortifications can be built, so I thought the photo of the harbour would be better.



We had a few sunny periods during our 10 days at the caravan site and we managed a couple of 'al fresco' meals. For those of you who know Sue she hasn't started drinking red wine.

Saturday Ramble

This is a chocolate box thatched cottage in the grounds of Breamore House.


This barn is at Upper Street, Breamore. Does anyone know the name of the stone supports? Put the answer in the comments section, thanks.


The fields close to the Miz-Maze.


The Wednesday ramble started at Breamore House and took us past the Miz-Maze. There are about 8 of these turf mazes in the country. Click Here for more info.