CSCC Reports: Dorset coast 27-29 August 2005
A fine bank holiday weekend with glorious weather, flat seas and good company - what more can you want! David P, Chris, Dan A, Dan J, Dave W, Alex, Luis, Peter and Hilary, and Dan H and Caroline, made the trek to Dorset after a week of strong winds and mixed forecasts. As before, we stayed at the Woodyhyde Farm camp site, just east of Corfe Castle.
Saturday 27th
Joined by Chris, Peter and Hilary for the day (Dan H not having arrived yet) 9 of us set off eastwards from Lulworth cove. The remaining swell made the first mile a little bouncy as usual - the vertical cliffs exaggerating the waves - until we got to Mupe rocks. The obligatory rock-hopping and cave-exploring along the bay brought us to Worbarrow Tout and a lunch stop at the little Pondfield beach. The weather was turning ever sunnier and we pressed on to Kimmeridge, buzzed by a little police helicopter as we arrived. After an uneventful return trip we indulged in a little rolling and rescue practice in Lulworth Cove to amuse the tourists... For dinner we drove round to the excellent New Inn in the nearby village of Church Knowle, a misnomer as it's many hundreds of years old.
[Thanks to Chris for the GPS track; in general, we went round the edges on the way there, and cut the corners on the way back!]
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Sunday 28th
After a chilly and misty start to the day, the sun got going with a vengeance. Dan H having joined us, but minus Chris, Peter and Hilary, we set off westwards from Lulworth Cove, through the geological masterpiece of Stair Hole, and on past Durdle Door, Bat Head and nearly to Ringstead Bay before adjourning to the beach for a long lunch. Fortunately text messaging enabled us to keep in touch with the exciting cricket scores - and we got back to the campsite just in time for an exciting finish to the Test Match. [Minor problems with the camera in the sunshine - we couldn't see that the memory card was full! - explains the paucity of pictures...]
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Monday 29th
Oh, what to do? Another day of sunshine forecast! Rather than indulge in the Kimmeridge to Swanage run (and the "car shuttle from hell") we started from Studland beach and pottered round Old Harry Rocks to Ballard Point. We were driven off our lunchtime beach by (a) the blazing heat reflecting back of everything, (b) the wake of a cross-channel ferry which threatened to wash everything away, and finally (c) all the insect life that crawled out of the seaweed on the beach after the ferry had passed. Studland Bay was amazing - seemingly every boat from the marinas in Poole Harbour had come out and parked up en masse!
Anyway, a lovely weekend - and just the slog back into London remained.
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PS1. last year's report is at www.civilservicecanoeclub.org.uk/reports/dorset0804/
PS2. pure ego trip I know, but I've got a little gallery of scenic S Dorset pix at www.davidp.org.uk/dorset - Ed.
All images © CSCC / Chris Stephens, Luis Trevino, Peter & Hilary Lawrence, David Pearson