Archives for posts with tag: travel

Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Frigate HMS Monmouth passes Portland Harbour Breakwater, Dorset. Frigate HMS Monmouth passes Portland Harbour Breakwater, Dorset.

Working boats in Weymouth contrast charmingly with the elegant Georgian architecture. Riverboats Organic Farms are delivering veg boxes from their branded van.

Birdwatcher & flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Chisel Beach, Dorset. Birdwatcher & flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Chesil Beach, Dorset.

“You a birder?” asks a local man by the shore
“No” I reply
“We’ve had some owls just down there”
“Supertankers come in here to have their bottoms scanned and fuel changed to meet EU regulations.”
“See that ship over there, the Sir Tristram, it was a landing ship from the Falklands war. It’s a training ship now. Every now and again they come with a chinook and thunder flashes and all sorts – impressive sight”
I thank the man and head on down the disused rail line where an elderly lady hands me a ‘Living Library’ pamphlet with a smile. It takes me a moment to realise that…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Wareham Quay, Dorset. Wareham Quay, Dorset.

Wareham has many fine historical buildings and a rare architectural unity that I’d last seen in Faversham. I’d like to linger but it’s still dark when I start. My admiring glances up and down the street are mistaken for bewilderment and a friendly local asks if I’m lost and tells me where I can buy tea at this early hour. There is just time for some tripod work by the quay before heavy rain encourages me to continue.

Slepe Copse I, Purbeck, Dorset. Slepe Copse I, Purbeck, Dorset.

Entering woodland the rain stops for a time but large drops continue to fall from the leaves into the peaty black pools below sending inky circles rippling outwards.

Slepe Copse II, Purbeck, Dorset. Slepe Copse II, Purbeck, Dorset.

Hartland Moor, Purbeck, Dorset. Hartland Moor, Purbeck, Dorset.

Undulating Middlebere Heath radiates saturated winter colours: golden grasses and deep red bracken very like the Southern Uplands in Scotland. I’m enjoying the hills and the…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Harry Ramsden’s, Bournemouth, Dorset. Harry Ramsden’s, Bournemouth, Dorset.

I can just about make out Old Harry Rocks this morning – the dramatic chalk stacks near Swanage that are geologically connected to the Needles on the Isle of Wight. The rocks mark the start of the Jurassic Coast and a much more rugged landscape heading West – I can’t wait!

But now in Bournemouth beach huts are arranged by hue like paint swatches. A tractor passes to and fro methodically scraping the sand flat. Branksome beach cafe brings back happy memories of walking through the pines with my parents many years before.

Bournemouth Pier, Dorset. Bournemouth Pier, Dorset.

Peering through the window of an Sandbanks Estate Agent reveals that most properties here are in the £1-7 Million price range. Surprised at the lack of architectural quality of these expensive houses, their main selling point seems to be bigness. Walking through the area is an underwhelming experience of high…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Sowley Brooms I, New Forest, Hampshire. Sowley Brooms I, New Forest, Hampshire.

Two dozen wild horses roam freely on the lanes. Most of the occasional vehicles passing are Land Rovers which have to wait as the horses saunter past. Flocks of pheasants rise squawking from the side of hedgerows as I walk past.

Pylewell House, Boldre, New Forest, Hampshire. Pylewell House, Boldre, New Forest, Hampshire.

Pylewell House grandly isolated with its private shore is still in aristocratic hands with a thatched cricket club house adjacent. Damp bonfire smoke wafts across the lane.

Sowley Brooms II, New Forest, Hampshire. Sowley Brooms II, New Forest, Hampshire.

Otters Crossing, Drive Slowly. In Lymington a lot of the men wear boating brands and wander about looking tanned and leisured even though it’s off season.

Kill Cord, Lymington Yacht Haven, Hampshire. Kill Cord, Lymington Yacht Haven, Hampshire.

At upmarket Lymington Yacht Haven a ‘Danger of Death’ sign replete with a skull and cross bones leaves me unsure as to what danger could possibly exist here different to any…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Fawley Power Station I, Hampshire. Fawley Power Station I, Hampshire.

The Hythe Pier train clatters empty at 6am preparing for the first passengers. My legs are having difficulty bending this morning after the previous days exertions. On leaving the street lights I attach a torch to my backpack chest strap so I can see the path as it’s inky black in this wooded area. The ancient track slopes up on both sides feeling like it would have been the perfect place for highwayman to pounce from.

It’s a beautiful thing to walk as dawn emerges, something I started on this walk out of necessity in order to cover the distance and now come to relish. The dark misty sky glows orange with the lights of the Fawley Oil Refinery. Emerging from the forest past a depot of fuel trucks a large crucifix glows outside of Hardley Methodist Church.

The dawn sky streaks with orange and violet…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Masts, Emsworth, Hampshire. Masts, Emsworth, Hampshire.

At Emsworth a gentle breeze is blowing and children are learning  to dingy sail. “Tiller away from you”, “No, tiller away from you”, “… and go about”,  “Yes that’s it, well done Henry”.

Warblington Cemetery, Hampshire. Warblington Cemetery, Hampshire.

At Warblington a heart wrenching collection of infant cemeteries, some with sun bleached children’s toys and windmills. Harrowing inscriptions like ‘Born asleep’ or ‘Our runaway bunny’. Perhaps to see so many others bearing the same tragedy is some small solace to the parents. I pass a man in an open field with cellophane wrapped red carnations heading to the graveyard.

Railway sleepers, Langstone, Hampshire. Railway sleepers, Langstone, Hampshire.

A dragonfly dances over freshly cut wheat fields, a single fluffy cloud hangs in the expanse of blue sky. The bridge to Hayling Island lies ahead.

Royal Oak and Mill, Langstone, Hampshire. Royal Oak and Mill, Langstone, Hampshire.

Two young mothers with toddlers siting by the shore in Prinstead, one balances a miniature…

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Quintin Lake's avatarThe Perimeter

Harbour Park, Littlehampton, Sussex. Harbour Park, Littlehampton, Sussex.

Rain falls so insistently the geese stand with their bills tucked under their wings. Moments later I’m startled by a lighting flash and immediate thunder clap that sounds overhead – the rain dial is upped to monsoon.

Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex. Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex.

Milky landscape – despite the weather feel happy to walk along along the strip of sand at the edge of the waves. Sky, land and sea – everything is water.

Beach Huts, Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex. Beach Huts, Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex.

Hours of rain walking later I pause in the Bait House cafe in Felpham and feel embarrassed that they had to mop after me to prevent other customers slipping after all the rain sloughed off me into the floor. The waiter in the cafe says sometimes the flood is so bad everyone’s fish ponds overflow – “There’s carp in our river and everyone tries to catch it”

Slipway, Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex. Slipway, Middleton-on-Sea, Sussex.

The storm clears momentarily which makes for…

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