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Published: April 13th 2008
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Awoke in the sunken bed and found that the mist had come down over night, making it very picturesque in Wootton. Mary packed up the unseemly amount of mess that we had made in one evening while Martin took the dogs out in the mist, was very scenic. Had a delicious breakfast with fresh baked croissants and then bade farewell to Killingworth Castle with some still warm baguettes, squeezed our ever expanding possessions into the car and got back on the road.
Next stop was Stonehenge and as the mist began to clear it looked like it was going to be a nicer day than yesterday but the countryside was still not that impressive. We were a little confused by the lack of signs to Stonehenge but presumed that we couldn't miss it. Martin was, as ever, studying the roadmap in great detail and saw that just before we would arrive at Stonehenge there was a less famous henge - Woodhenge - on the map. We made a brief detour and arrived at Woodhenge car park, well some flattened grass and space for two vehicles, one of which was taken by a construction worker sitting in his van reading the
Mirror. However, this was clearly woodhenge, although sadly the wood had been replaced by concrete pillars but it was still reasonably interesting as there were diagrams showing you how it would have looked 4500 years ago. The dogs were less impressed, leaving their scent (and more) in various places on the henge, dutifully cleared away by Martin before people become indignant. Just half a mile down the road we came upon Stonehenge and, yes, it would have been hard to miss it. It is more imposing from afar than you might expect and we were suitably impressed. We parked up with the many cars, paid our fee and walked up to the henge. From up close it is equally impressive and the sheer age of the construction makes it an awe inspiring spectacle and we spent a long while wandering around it, taking photos and discussing what it must have been like coming to worship at the henge at midsummer. The position of the henge, on a slightly raised part of Salisbury Plain, means that it is visible from most surrounding areas. It must have been the equivalent of immigrants arriving in New York city for the visiting druids/pagans/beaker people.
We left Stonehenge and headed off to the Dorset coast via some pretty countryside and traffic filled towns. Salisbury was particularly roundabout and bad driver filled, although its cathedral was very pretty (I suppose), one could argue that the town was about as pleasant as the
steak is appetising. We finally left the main road near to Poole and followed the winding road through increasingly quaint villages until we reached the marvellous ruin of Corfe Castle, from there the road narrowed to a single lane and we finally ended up in the beautiful village of Studland. We parked up and gave the very pleasant National Trust man a few pounds and then packed up our bright pink walking bag (it was on special offer and means that Martin can always refuse to carry it on dubious grounds of manliness) and headed along the South West Coast path up to Old Harry's Rocks.
The coastal countryside is remarkably lush and green and so it is a surprise to be walking through rolling hills and have the sea on one side. There were a few other walkers but the dogs were trusted off their leads, especially the "good child". About
half a mile into the trip we realised that Wicket had dropped back somewhat and that he had been entranced by some particularly pungent sheep dung and he was helpless to resist the allure of the foul smelling excrement. Our howls of dismay and Ziggy's curious whines fell on deaf ears until we retrieved the now largely brown dog from his rapturous rollings. So now, we ensured that he walked ahead of his and any sniffing of brown objects was strongly discouraged. We reached the end of the headland and the views were wonderful and we decided to stop and enjoy our baguettes. Sadly we hadn't factored in that we were no unprotected from the wind and that if the sun went in, as it promptly did, that it would be a very cold lunch. Regardless, we persisted adding more and more layers, eating faster and faster until we could sit no longer and finished our sandwiches walking.
We carried on around the headland and we had views of Swanage to the south and we walked round in a long loop and back into Studland village, where we admired the old stone farmhouses, the churchyard and some thatched roofs.
After a lot of wandering we finally ended up on Studland beach. The dogs by this stage had become a little fatigued but as soon as their feet touched the sand they became crazed beasts, racing this way and that, running into the sea, scaring small children, chasing other dogs, their own tails, me and having a whale of a time. Th beach itself is very nice by British standards and was remarkably quiet given how nice the weather was. We strolled along, Martin convinced Ziggy to swim by wading out in the chilly sea, the dogs explored caves and rockpools and we walked until we could walk no more. So back to the car, trying in vain to rub off some of the foulness on Wicket and undertaking the usual rigmarole of of packing up the car, then we drove back to Corfe Castle, we parked and then took a very pleasant stroll around the base of the castle, admiring the red sheep/goat things that wandered about the castle. We decided not to go into the castle as it was not cheap and it was near to closing time, instead we looked around the picturesque village surrounding the castle
- also called Corfe Castle.
Our route then took us north back up to Poole where we were staying that evening. On the second attempt we found the driveway to the guest house and got checked in and gave Wicket a very long bath, upon drying him we discovered that he had picked up more than a foul dung smell, a very friendly tick had buried itself in his poodle flesh. After consulting our Portland (OR not Dorset) based tick expert we managed to remove the foul creature although Wicket was very sorry for himself. We ordered Indian takeaway and then collapsed in bed ready for tomorrow's adventures.
To view the full set of photos from this day of our trip see our site on Flickr
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