November at the seaside

 Fancy an outing and a walk with me?  We met a couple of friends yesterday at Weymouth - this was the beach a bit different to how it looked in July here eh?

The route to Chesil along the old railway line.

Nearly there and lunch time at the Visitor  Centre just along here.

The walk back took us along part of the South West Coast path.  All in all we'd probably done something like 5 miles or so and the sea air, sunshine and good company made it a day for the mental photo album!

Only problem with November walks is that it gets dark so early! We got back to the town for the bus back to the Park and Ride car park at 4.00 and were home indoors at 5.00 but although the sky was stunningly beautiful on our return journey all backlit by the sun below the horizon and looking like a watercolour painting with the inky silhouettes of the trees and the sky background in shades of palest robin egg blue, lemon and apricot it was dark before we got home.

Olympic venue

Just in case you thought the Olympic Games were to be held only in London come with me on a walk we did yesterday round Portland Bay - the venue for the sailing events!  We haven't done any real walks since Easter for one reason or another and so as the weather forecast was set fair we decided to get back into things gently by doing the level walk we had planned when we went to Portland at the end of May see my post here and ran out of time.

We got the bus to Weymouth - parking is almost impossible just now and it is a pleasant ride and free to us oldies - and walked past the marina towards the start of the Rodwell Trail.  This level walk follows a disused railway track from Weymouth to Portland and seemed an ideal walk to get us gradually back to some sort of fitness. 

Our first stop was Westham Halt which as you can see is still in the built up area of Weymouth
.

 The route gradually became quite pretty as we progressed and once away from the first few yards which smelled of dogs(!) it became really pleasant walking and the air filled with the perfume of budleia, honeysuckle and privet (a scent which transports me back to childhood summers for some reason!) with plenty of sunshine and some shade too.

 The trail runs close to the sea and in places it is possible to catch a glimpse.

Half way along is Sandsfoot Castle where there is a ruined castle set in pretty gardens and most importantly a cafe for refreshements.  For more about the castle see the link.  As you can see it's been a while since any trains actually halted here!

 We wandered round the ruins and admired the scenery seen from the windows.

 Strolled round the gardens before visiting the cafe where we sat in the shade with our drinks for a while enjoying the views across the harbour to Portland and Chesil Beach.

 Refreshed by now we continued our walk - by now the sea was close to the path and visible all the time.

 Next week this bay will be busy with the sailing events of the Olympic Games.

 Having left Weymouth behind the coast becomes more rugged and natural - if you click on the photo you should be able to see a dog enjoying a swim ...

 ... and here a child happily playing on his own - Dad was just out of the shot and Mum sitting a few yards away enjoying five minutes peace!  We had now reached Ferrybridge and we got a bus back to Weymouth and walked along the front to the harbour.

 I was glad I didn't want to join the throng on the beach in the hot sunshine - there'll be a few sore backs and shoulders today I'm sure!

 Traditional Punch and Judy...

 Donkeys waiting in the shade for customers - these donkeys looked happy and well cared for and have won an award for best group given by the Donkey Sanctuary see here.

 This one preferred to leave the shade and get a bit of petting from the lad on the promenade!

We found a place to eat and sat with crab sandwiches and a cold drink overlooking the harbour which seemed extra busy with many boats going back and forth as we sat watching.

 So many of the boats moored along the harbour had flags (or do I mean pennants?) flying and it all looked very gay (can I say that now and mean what I mean?!) and jolly.

 Across Weymouth bay you can see a carving of a man on a horse said to be King George III who visited Weymouth often but nobody seems to know who did it!  See here: for more information.  We had enjoyed our walk although I am not sure as training it had had much effect since we'd mainly strolled but it was lovely to be out in the sunshine by the sea.  I hope the Olympians have the kind of weather they need for sailing and that it all goes off well - I think there are to be fireworks and lots of barbeques and the Opening Ceremony will be relayed on huge screens which were being erected on the beach - should be fun but I think we'll watch from our armchairs at home!!

My kind of seaside

Hasn't the weather here in the UK been fabulous recently?  On Friday we decided to go to Portland  - we went by car to Dorchester where we parked and got the bus to Weymouth where the beach was busy with people enjoying the sunshine.  We got the bus to Portland Bill from here.  Free bus travel is one of the benefits of getting older!

Last time I went to Portland was for a school visit when I was at college back in the 60s - it was wintertime and my abiding memory of it was of somewhere grey, dismal, bleak and cold.  Today was very different!  This is one of the 3 lighthouses on the southernmost tip of Portland and was unmanned back in the 1990s prior to that it must have been a bleak place to live during the winter months but lovely on days like this. This lighthouse is still functional although the other two are not now used for their original purpose apparently. Portland is famous for its stone  which has been used in building many famous buildings including St Paul's cathedral and Buckingham Palace in London and the United Nations Building in New York.

 The close cropped grass was covered with lovely pink sea thrift and above was the sound of skylarks in the clear blue skies - bliss.

Not the sort of seaside for youngsters who like bucket and spade beaches with ice creams and donkey rides (though that is just what is available at Weymouth) or for parents who don't want to be on the alert all the time in case their little dears take a tumble but I thought it all very beautiful and just look at the colour of the sea!

Here are the other 2 lighthouses.

No words needed here!

We had planned to get the bus back to Ferrybridge and walk along the disused railway track to Weymouth but having waited for 45 minutes for a bus which didn't arrive (good job it wasn't raining as there was no bus shelter!) when the bus did come it was an open top one, not a normal service one, which didn't accept our bus passes!  However the driver told us that if we walked along the coast path for a mile or so we would reach Southwell where buses ran every 10 minutes to Weymouth - what a shame we hadn't known this in the first place!

The coast path was lovely and we had sea views on both sides and across the water to Weymouth which you can see in the distance in this photo.When we reached Weymouth we just had time for a quick cuppa in M & S before they closed the cafe and then it was time to make the return trip to Dorchester.   We will have to go back another day to do the railway walk.

The wanderer leaves for pastures new at the weekend so I hope normal service will be resumed soon afterwards. It has been lovely having her and now that we all have an end date we seem to be getting on so much better together.  I will miss the stimulating conversations and having my way of life and my opinions challenged.