Gunwharf Quays - Christmas Lights

Sunday 7th December 2014

This post is not in any way nature related but it is an observation!  We had little choice but to visit Gunwharf Quays last Friday evening as we are running out of free evenings to be able to Christmas shop!    We were there  just after 5pm and left around 8 and I was very pleasantly surprised by how quiet and relaxed it was.  The Christmas lights were lovely so I took a few pics on my phone, they aren't great but you get the idea - nice!  

Very out of focus tree with the Spinnaker Tower sneaking in top right!

Old Harry Rocks

Monday 1st December 2014

It's been a while since we've been out walking so it was good to get out today and wow was it windy and cold! We walked from Studland to Old Harry Rocks, it was dull and grey but I'm sure on a clear blue day the views across to Sandbanks and Bournemouth are fantastic. 

Proof that it was windy!!!

Old Harry Rocks.

According to the information board in the car park, Old Harry rocks are chalk stacks made from compressed remains of tiny sea creatures.  The stacks may be names after Harry Paye, a Poole pirate.  He led raids along the coast of France and Spain in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, capturing ships loaded with wine, olive oil and jewels.  This headland marks the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and is the youngest in geological time. For info on the Jurassic coast see http://jurassiccoast.org/

And Old Harry Rocks from the other side!

Looking towards Durlston Head at The Pinnacles.

Studland, the South Beach.

Back in the car park is the Studland New Hygienic Bathing Machine!

, not something you see everyday!  Used by the National Trust for membership enquiries

Swanage War Memorial on Remembrance Day

Tuesday 11th November 2014

Swanage war memorial has been moved this summer because of the risk of landslips, for details click here  At the Swanage Remembrance Parade on Sunday it was re-dedicated but unfortunately as work still seems to be in progress it wasn't possible to get close to the memorial today as it's still fenced off.

The war memorial (taken through the fence).

Durlston Country Park - Wind and Choppy Sea

Monday 10th November 2014

We went out for a breath of fresh air this afternoon and boy did we get that!  There was a brisk wind coming in off of the sea, it's just as well it was that way if it had been blowing out to sea I think we'd have been blown out into it.  We walked from the car park down to Anvil Point Lighthouse and back along the coastal footpath, via the Tilly Whim caves, past the Globe and back up to Durlston Castle.  Durlston Country Park

Anvil Point Lighthouse, with a choppy sea for this part of the coast.

On the footpath to the lighthouse there was a mass of old man's beard.

The Tilly Whim Caves.

Durlston Castle.

We only saw a couple of other people, got well and truly wind blasted and it was lovely!

Autumn in the New Forest

Saturday 8th November 2014

We were in need of fresh country air today despite the rain, so we had a quick walk at Longcross near Fritham.  We were hoping to see fly agaric fungi in a spot where we had seen masses last year but I think we were too late as there was no sign of it anywhere, however we saw plenty of other types of fungi, here are a few,

The leaves seem to have fallen all of a sudden, I must have missed the colourful bit at some stage over the last couple of weeks.

There are plenty of holly berries around at the moment, doesn't that mean it's going to be a hard winter, but then we seem to say this every year and it never is!

The birds seemed to be out in force this morning, flocks of long tailed tits, chaffinches, wood pigeons and one of my favourites, the robin.

It was good to get into the Forest, it's nice to be at the coast, but you can't beat the earthy smell of the countryside at this time of year.

Sunset

Wednesday 4th November 2014

After a hectic day here there and everywhere in and around Swanage it was nice to take ten minutes to pause just as it was getting dusky to watch the sun set across the bay. Although the sky wasn't a dramatic dark pink the clouds were particularly epic.

The moon rising.

Around Peveril Point, Swanage

Saturday 1st November 2014

We've had a hard couple of days in Swanage so it was lovely to get out briefly for a short walk around Peveril Point in the warm sunshine.  

Which reminds me, yesterday it was 20C in Swanage, there were people swimming in the sea but driving there we passed a gritting lorry with a snowplough on the front of it - very odd!!!!

Prince Albert Gardens, with columns from the Grosvenor Hotel.

Swanage Pier

Looking into the sunshine at Peveril Point.

The Swanage Mersey Class lifeboat out in the bay,

and seen from further out.

The old Swanage lifeboat station, built in 1875, is about to be replaced by a new large modern building as the old one can't accommodate the new larger lifeboats, for details see here