short walk

Deb has a new book, Dorset teashop walks. She's picked an interesting one from West Bay to birton Bradstock.

Somehow, the walk starts at Bridport...

We're not quite sure what happened. Best guess is that Bridport is a village on West Bay. Probably :-)

We start walking.

Up a  solid clay track, up a 45 degree hill.

I struggle. I watch where I place my feet, so I can't look up to see where I'm heading. Still, it's not far, I join Deb at the top.

The track continues along the top of the cliffs.

I'm never comfortable near cliffs. We're nowhere near the edge but...

Best I can understand of my own feeling is:

I don't see to my left. Yes I look side to side and know what's there. But. My "feeling" is that there is nothing, a gap, to my left If I wobble, put afoot crooked... I feel that I am on the edge of nothing. A gap, a drop.

Only a very mild feeling. But when it's not dead level, if it's up or down steps or slopes -- I'm just scared. I don't want to move. We're maybe half way.

Deb looks after me. Guides me directly away from the cliff edge. Across a wire fence. Onto a golf course.

We get a bit of abuse from a golf player. Yes, we know we should not be there. It upsets me but it's nothing to my relief at being away from the cliffs.

There's a public footpath through the golf course. Once we reach it, it's a short walk back to where we started. Bridport.

It's an interesting place.

Some old buildings, one is now a sort of shopping arcade with some old thick stone walls. There are some new places, looking like blocks of flats, probably holiday units.

The main feature of the village is that it seems to be wall to wall fish and chip shops. All round the stone-walled harbour. The smell is overwhelming and... delicious.

It's too early for lunch. We have iced coffee, walking and weather are very drying. We walk over a sandhill of small pebbles, to the beach. Then back to the car.

We drive... to the Hive  Beach Cafe. This should have been the half way point of the walk.

Our table is almost outside, we have a great view over beach and sea. We enjoy fish and chips.

It' a nice meal, a great location, but... it's a very commercial feel. Waiters, no, they are all waitresses, wear tee shirts with Crew in big letters. An employment sign is looking for workers to join the Team. The waitress asks, is everything okay -- and it's obviously part of her job description.

If we had walked in after a peaceful walk in the country it would have been a horrible contrast. As it is, it's quite nice.

We walk up a grassy hill. Deb goes a bit further to look at a brick structure. A local tells us that it is a lookout from WWII.

We like to spread our custom... try lots of different places, so we start to drive home -- keeping an eye open for a teashop.

We find the Packhorse cafe, garden shop, bar and knick knack shop. Where we have coffee and incredibly ... muddy... chocolate mud cake. Gluten free, possibly vegan, still delicious :-)

And so to home. Where we have our standard  bread and cheese dinner.

Poor Deb. Walked only two instead of six km. Next walks, we'll have to avoid hills and cliffs.

Last day in Jolly Lodge. It's been good :-)

Missed these: Today we see a wild rabbit, cute. A few days ago we watched a grey squirrel trot along a fence then up a tree.

The floor in Croft was parquet. Real blocks of pine. A handspan long, half tat wide, two inches deep. Old, slightly warped, some could be lifted out. Original style parquet.

There are lots of thatch roofs. With the more modern extra, chicken wire to hold it down.

And that's all. I think :-)

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
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If everyone is thinking the same way, then someone is not thinking.