Previous
Next
August 7, 2022
After a late arrival last night, we are getting settled in Anne’s flat in Weymouth. Details of our journey from Paris to Cherbourgh to take the ferry across the channel are in the previous post.
Unpacking, washing, grocery shopping, etc. We try to walk each day and also find taking a nap in the afternoon is a nice option now that our schedule isn’t so governed by travel.
Previous
Next
August 10, 2022
We headed out to Bridport to see the weekday market day which wasn’t quite so impressive as 4 years ago. We hop in and out of a few shops and then drive the short distance to West Bay. We’d hoped to get some fresh seafood at a shop there but it was undergoing construction so that was a bit of a disappointment. We wandered around and found several of the cafés too busy for us to have lunch at. We ended up at a kiosk with fried crab cakes, calamari and shrimp. It was hot and good, but a full meal of batter fried food was a bit much. We decided an ice cream at Baboos was needed to help wash it all down. A really nice, salted caramel gelato was just the thing.
The drive to and from was beautiful – rolling hills and occasional glimpses of the English Channel in the distance. The landscape has some green but it’s mostly brown given the severe lack of rain. It’s been clear and dry for days and not terribly hot which is a nice change.
Previous
Next
August 11-12, 2022
Nice long walks every day. Visited the Weymouth Beach with all its families stretched out under sun tents. The water was filled with people wading and lots a pedal boats, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards.
Previous
Next
August 13, 2022
We’ve been back nearly a week and it’s been sunny, hot, and very dry. There’s a glimmer of a hope for rain on Monday.
Today we walked about 3 miles across the causeway to Portland. Chesil Beach looms up to our right as a very high embankment of rocks. It’s called a shingle beach and the stones are naturally graded with the large stones, 3”+/- each, to the smaller gravel to the west. Eventually in West Bay it’s mostly a sandy beach. It’s 18 miles long and is as high as 50 feet and 660 feet wide. It is so porous where the stones are large that there’s an elaborate drainage system on the landward side of the embankment to collect the water generated by high waves from storms that cause enough water to seep through and cause flooding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesil_Beach
We get to the end, near Chesil Cove, and stop at a small café for a beverage. We consult our feet and decide it’s best to catch the local bus back to Weymouth where the stop is at the top of our street.
Previous
Next
August 16, 2022
While Anne is off for the afternoon, I walk down to the nearby car park where we spotted a large collection of wild blackberries the other day. It’s surprising the no one else, including the birds, are picking any. There are hundreds of ripe berries, many already rotting away, and many more red berries to ripen. I pick about 2 cups and walk back along the hillside overlooking Portland harbor.
I’m wondering about picking more and getting some pectin and sugar and making blackberry jam. We’ll see.
Previous
Next