Photos from the few days Garry had away exploring Hampshire and Dorset using the many little ferries that crisscross the rivers and waterways. Click on any picture to enlarge, or view them on Garry’s Flickr page.
Church at Alverstoke
The pink ferry that runs between Warsash and the Hamble
The old chapel at The Royal Victoria Country Park formally a milatary hospital
Netley Castle viewed from the Hythe ferry
Beach huts on the Spit at Mudeford
Passepartout on the ferry at Mudeford
The priory at Christchurch
Looking across Poole harbour at Brownsea castle on Brownsea Island
Poole Harbour viewed from The Isle of Purbeck
Poole and Bournmouth beaches viewed from the Isle of Purbeck
Corfe Castle
Swans and signets along the river at Wareham
Lulworth cove
The entrance to Lulworth cove
Passepartout on top of the cliff at Durdle Door
A quaint old farmhouse near Wool
Passepartout at the quay in Wareham
Corfe Castle with Poole harbour in the background
Little cat at the campsite in Langton Matravers
The Chain link ferry at Sandbanks
Waiting for the chain link ferry to dock at Shell Bay
The Hythe ferry
I didn’t go on this one! The Queen Mary 2 docked at Southampton
The Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack. An extremely lightweight daypack that compresses down into its own stuff sack and takes up about as much room as a pair of socks.
The day pack opened up
Because Garry’s main mode of transport is his bike, he rarely needs a backpack. But there is always the odd time when it comes in handy. Whether it’s playing the tourist, walking around the sites of some city. (not that that happens very often!) Or that trip to the consulate, to get a visa. Where you’re required to present a myriad of documents, everything can be easily carried, in the Sea To Summit Travel Day Pack.
Garry’s pack sits at the bottom of his pannier and get’s forgotten about until the next time!
Garry McGivern’s Dorset bicycle ride, Thursday 2nd-July-2015 Langton Matravers to Bognor Regis. 94 miles. I was up nice and early today and on the road by six-thirty. I needed to get past Bournemouth before ten o’clock. The cycle route along the prom is closed to cyclists between 10 am and 6 pm in July and August. And the alternative is along busy roads full of dithering old biddies.
Cat at Tom’s Field
My early start also worked out well with the weather. The forecast was for heavy rain coming in from the West, which I just about managed to stay ahead of. And it only just caught me when I reached Brockenhurst. I just stopped and went to a café for a fry-up until the rain passed.
I came home a different way to the one I’d usually take from Swanage. Normally I’d go home via the Isle of Wight as it’s a more direct route. But I’d bought return ferry tickets on my way out and wanted to use them. I also wanted to see the difference in mileage between the two routes. It turned out there are about fourteen miles in it, with the Isle of Wight route the shortest. Although some of those miles may be down to me getting lost in the New Forest.
Bloody Cycle Routes
If you remember, on my way down to Brockenhurst, I lost the cycle route once I’d reached the New Forest. Well, today I found it and now know how I lost it. The route went off-road and through the forest. Maybe I deliberately chose to lose it! But whatever the reason, I decided to follow it today. And wished I hadn’t!
I was following the signs through the woods when all of a sudden, the trail was blocked. A bridge that crossed the railway line was closed for repair, and there was no way around it. There was also no alternative route signed. I wasn’t the only one who was stuck. There was a group of teenagers on their Duke of Edinburgh award. But at least they had a good old Ordnance Survey map with some detail. My map was just a cycle map, showing a line through the woods, with nothing to reference it against. As I stood there talking with the teenagers, their teacher, Mr Cox, came along and directed me back about a mile to a different bridge. From where I could pick up the cycle route again.
It’s been a good few days away. I won’t call it a tour as I haven’t done that many miles. But I’ve found some nice little routes which I will probably cycle on in the future. I eventually walked indoors at about ten-thirty at night, it would have been a lot earlier, but I called in at my local and was there for three hours!
Total miles covered in the past four days 245.
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Garry McGivern’s Dorset bicycle ride, Wednesday 1st-July-2015 Wareham to Langton Matravers. 39 miles. After failing to reach Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door yesterday, I decided to set off in that direction this morning. And this morning, I made it despite having to go up one or two rather steep climbs.
My reason for going to Lulworth Cove was to swim through Durdle Door, a huge arch that the sea has carved out over thousands of years. A friend suggested that I should do it, so you know me, any excuse to go somewhere on my bike. Durdle Door is a couple of miles from Lulworth, so after taking photos of the cove, I set off for Durdle Door. It was a bit of a steep climb to get back out of Lulworth, and I nearly regretted going down there. But I eventually made it to Durdle Door, or rather the car park on the cliffs.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anywhere near the sea. Reaching the sea meant negotiating a steep gravel path, and even though I may have been okay going down. I don’t think I would have been able to get back up. My sciatica has started to play me up again, plus I didn’t fancy leaving my bike at the top of the cliffs. In hindsight, I should have come here last night and camped at the campsite you pass through to get to the cliff. Then I would have had plenty of time to walk down the cliff. Maybe I’ll return at some other time.
That Was A Wasted Journey
After not even being able to see Durdle Door let alone swim through it, I headed back towards Wareham, not knowing which way to head. After having lunch at the Quay in Wareham, I decided to head towards Toms Field in Langton Matravers. Unfortunately, before reaching the campsite, I stopped at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers, a lovely little pub that sells scrumpy. And that’s where I stayed until late afternoon, early evening. Luckily it’s downhill from the pub to the campsite.
Enjoying a pint of scrumpy at the Square and Compass
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