Day 20

August 30, 2015

Depart Portalnd | Arrive Lulworth Cove, Accommodation: Chiltern Lodge, Worth Matravers

Distance: 23.2KM | Cumulative Distance: 484.9KM | Grade - Easy/Moderate/Strenuous

Ascent: 2,385 ft | Cumulative Ascent: 48,454 ft.

Cumulative Distance (both walks): 948.9 KM | Cumulative Ascent (both walks): 110,159 ft.

Get me out of this ZOO!!

Today's Blog title was going to be Only 2 days to go - Boo-Hoo! but after today's events you will understand why I changed it. It really all started last night, as I was going to get the bus into Weymouth as I had really enjoyed the previous night with Steve and Helen, but it was drizzling rain and so I decided to stay close at home instead, just in case the rain changed into something more serious. About 15 minutes from the hotel is The Cove, which is right on the beach and which the Gallery Cafes owner had recommended. Well I'm sitting there and in the corner were 3 women who got louder and louder as the minutes ticked by. It was like being in one of those movies were sound seems amplified, and the only thing I can put it down to is being so used to hiking in the peace and quiet and not having your senses overloaded by the day to day cacophony of sound that we are so used to in our modern society.

I woke relatively early as I was anxious to get out of Portland as it isn't the prettiest of places and by 7-30 I was ready to leave, however I got delayed by yet another incredible act of kindness when the breakfast waitress stopped me and gave me Five Pounds for the charity. It never ceases to amaze me the kindness of some people and I asked her for an email address as Doris likes to send a thank you note on behalf of Opportunity International. So, Susanne Broughton thank you for your generous donation.

I stepped out of the door at about 7-40 and quickly found the trail which took me through the Castletown district of Portland where I took several interesting photographs. This part of Portland hosted the sailing events at the London Olympics and money had been spent to try and spruce up the area but I'm not convinced the money was well spent. Before long I was on the Causeway with took me to Ferry Bridge, and once I had crossed over I was diverted right onto a tarmac path that was used by people out walking, some with dogs, runners and cyclists, oh and long distance walkers like moi! It was a pretty enough path but it wasn't until I reached Weymouth that it got interesting, as I ended up in the inner harbour area that I had been in on Friday evening with Steve and Helen, and this time I had my camera! The harbour was a very people friendly place with lots of restaurants and bars, as is evidenced by the odd drinking glass here and there, and I inadvertently kicked one into the harbour when taking a picture. If it ever gets "rescued" I'm sure it will have mud from my boot attached to it!

After walking through the inner harbour I crossed the bridge where I found a bank machine, and got myself some money to pay my hosts this evening, and more on that later. I thin turned up a side street that brought me out to the Esplanade and this is everything I dislike about the English seaside resorts. It's cheap, tacky and unlike the inner harbour has no redeeming qualities. I did stop at a place called the Coffee House, where I had a coffee and a treat and twenty minutes I was off again to walk the balance of the Esplanade. On my way I passed one of the last Punch and Judy shows in the UK, which is a show put on for the entertainment of kids and adults alike. It's quite violent really and involves Punch beating on his wife Judy, which is totally against the rules of society today, so it's hardly surprising that it's dying out. I finally came to the end of the beach and finally, after 3 hours and 40 minutes I faced my first climb of the day, albeit a shortish climb up a grassy hill and then along a gentle glassy slope. I then dropped to the Riviera Hotel before rounding it and being diverted through the bushes on a muddy track.

Before long I was back on top and came across a rather ugly site, as there were several hundred tents scattered across several fields, as well as numerous cars, and it was an eyesore and a blight on the landscape. As you will have seen from a number of photos that I've posted the countryside is spectacular, but it soon turns ugly with scenes that I saw today and which I have photographed for you. The path through the bushes was extremely heavy with mud, which was also very slick and slippery, and I nearly went down a couple of times which would not have been pretty. Another thing to worry about, in tight circumstances like going through these muddy tight spaces, is avoiding the Nettles which can provide a nasty sting and rash, and thankfully the antidote, in the form of the Dock leaf, is always close by, and if you rub it on your sting it takes it away very quickly.

The cliffs have been eroding at an alarming rate and for the next 2 miles or so the route to Osmington Mills has been assigned to the top of the fields. The path came out onto a road where I was routed down and behind the Smugglers Inn and back up to the cliffs I entertained the thought of stopping for coffee but decided against it because of the vast amount of people.

I now had a choice to make, the first being to stay close to the sea, or I could take the inland route which follows the South Dorset Ridgeway and rejoins the coastal route at Osmington Mills. This inland route takes you away from the sea and involves steep climbs and descents, but I wanted to stay true to the origins of the path and so followed the more traditional route.

I'm so thankful for my choice because shortly after getting back up to the cliff tops I managed to take several pictures of the famous White Horse and Rider carved into the chalk stone. When Liz and I took the train up to London at the end of the first leg of the walk we enjoyed a much closer look at the carving.

I was now only 5 miles from Lulworth Cove and had to endure several more encounters with the slick mud and tight spaces through the hedgerows, and by now the walking was extremely technical, as the last thing you want is to slip in the muddy morass!

From a fair distance away I had noticed what looked like a massive building up on the cliff tops, and now I was finally upon them, and it turned out it was a row of properties which were the Coastguard cottages. Shortly after rounding a corner I could almost see journey's end. There was a man with two ladies, and I remarked about a sign next to a path leading down, and which warned about the dangers of taking it as it is tight and goes along under the cliffs. The man told me if I was to take it I would end up back at where I'd come from 2-3 miles previously! I thanked him for the great advice but told him I never had any intention of leaving what I thought was the safer path option. The man then told me that 4-500 yards on I would have a decision to make. That would be to stay high, or take the path down and which would then involve several climbs down and up before reaching the famous Durdle Dor. I know I may have procrastinated on several previous blogs about all the climbing, but I've never yet met a hill that I've not fancied having a crack at, and these were no different, so down, down I went. On the very first climb up I came across a very green beetle, and I'll post a picture so you can see why. It was very unusual. After 3 good climbs I was now at Durdle Dor's door. (Sorry Bruce I couldn't resist), and you can see what all the fuss is about when I post the pictures. For the most part the day was done and all I had now was a short stroll to Lulworth Cove, however I was shocked by the number of people both going my way and coming from that direction. It was crazy, and I'm not sure I'm ready to return to society.

Lulworth Cove is the only place on the entire SW Coast Path where I was unable to secure accommodation, and so last year after trying every establishment in the area I asked my hosts at my B&B in Worth Matravers could provide any solutions. David and Ann immediately advised they could accommodate me and there would be a small charge for picking me up and delivering me back to Lulworth and so that was what was agreed to. After arriving at Lulworth I had a coffee and took the opportunity to call Liz to finalize my arrival details back to Calgary on Thursday and to get caught up on the news, and then I called David who was about a 40 minute drive away.

David and Ann are charming hosts and David is an amateur photograph of some repute and I would urge you to type David Ensor Photography into your search engine where you will see some excellent pictures. Ann also greeted me with a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits which was very well received.

As Worth Matravers only has one pub, and it's menu is somewhat limited I was faced with a dilemma of what to do about dinner. This I knew when booking my accommodation, and so Ann very kindly agreed to cook dinner for me, and I enjoyed a fabulous bowl of pasta cooked in Olive Oil which was very good, and only surpassed by an amazing dessert, Apple and Blackberry Crumble and Custard which was simply delicious. Thank you Ann and David for your amazing hospitality.

Now for some pictures. Enjoy!

Tom!

Unfortunately this sign was to big to get on camera, but I'm sure you get the gist of the message.

Weymouth's inner harbour.

And again!

Neat stone seat inlaid with fossils.

The three pictures above show you where I started my walk and where I arrived at. All relatively flat until I ended at the top of the hill for this picture.