Tired and weary, we now just need to find the wherewithall for one more final day's walking before our adventures end for this year (2017). After that, we are headed for Tuscany with about twenty other family members for my 65th Birthday celebrations. Who knows, maybe a wee walk in the Tuscan countryside.
Late start today after a night out and a reluctance to leave the breakfast table. The penultimate walk of this adventure, it will be a challenging day of steep climbs and descents, including the highest point on the South Coast, Golden Cap. The weather forecast is good and we expect to be walking in sunshine for at least part of the day. We spent last the night in Charmouth and a relative drove us back to Eype Mouth this morning so that we could start back where we left off yesterday. Starting at just above sea level, there was little time to walk ourselves in as the day started with a long climb to the summit of Thornecombe Beacon, from where we had stunning views to the east as far as Portland, to the west across Lyme Bay and, inland as far as Dartmouth. In the early morning light the colours were lovely, complimented by the silver glitter of the light on the wavetops. As a start to a day, it would be hard to beat. As you walk out of the town you quickly become aware of how much the towering and bright Golden Cap will dominate the day. This is a popular section of the SWCP and there were numerous walkers on the route, some like us coming from Eype Mouth, others using the access path coming down from Down Farm. The path here is part of the Monarch's Way, a six hundred and fifteen mile path that follows the route taken by King Charles after his defeat at Worcester by Cromwell in 1651. It shares the section of coast from West Bay to Charmouth, before heading off north at both end of the coastal path. From the summit of Thorncombe you are looking west over East Ebb Cove to the line of Lyme Regis as it runs round the far side of Lyme Bay. Looking inward, there are lovely views across the farm land of rural Dorset from where, particularly when we reach the summit of Golden Cap, you can see to Dartmoor on a good day. The rural nature of the landscape and the timeless quality that it seems to hold, was exemplified for us by a field full of old fashioned corn stooks, a feature that we found quite endearing. The weather remained good through this early part of the day with warm sunshine, but not too hot in the early morning. As the day progressed, however, it warmed up and with full packs the climbs in particular became a little more breath sapping. However, nothing could take away from the beauty of the day and the stunning views we enjoyed. The walking at this stage was good, on a clear, dry and solid grassy path whose visibility made the navigation easy. There was nice colour from the late summer flowers and a number of the shrubs bore berries or had interesting foliage. It was a hard slog going up Golden Cap and we were grateful for a wee seat about half-way up. At one hundred and ninety six metres (643 feet), it is the highest point on the South Coast. The name comes from the weathered yellow-coloured Upper Greensand Rock. The Greensand is a rock of the Cretaceous period, formed about one hundred million years ago. Historically, the golden colour in this location was more pronounced but with the growth of vegetation on the hill top and sides the glow has diminished. The descent from Golden Cap is down and across the arable land that runs up to the edges of Kitwell Cliffs, Broom Cliff, Ridge Cliff and on down to Cain's Folly. This stretch of cliffs is known as fairly unstable and a number of major landslips, of which Cain's Folly is one, have occurred. With a rock surface of chalk, there are usually swathes of wild flowers around and when the broom is in bloom the land is covered in yellow. From the cliff tops, the land route continues to descend to emerge on to the beach at the small village of Charmouth. Although we were not quite halfway on our journey, we decided to stop for lunch at Charmouth and sat at a small cafe by the beach watching the world go by. From Charmouth, the SWCP takes a huge loop out of the town to go round the back of Timber Hill. Fortunately, with the tide out we were able to take a walk along the beach, taking care to stay away from the cliff face of The Spittles to avoid falling debris. Closer to the cliff there is shingle, so we tried to walk mid-beach where there was some sand and larger stones which made the walking easier. It was an interesting walk, with lots of large rock pools, full of interesting sea creatures and plants. As well, there were areas where the flat rock was covered in sand and these and many of the individual rocks bore lovely, flowing tidal patterns, reminding us of the beauty of these recurring patterns in nature. The low level view, after the clifftop extravaganza, was interesting, the change in perspective and the angle of the light serving to highlight the natural patterns of sand, rock and cliff face. Charmouth Beach When we arrived at Lyme Regis it was absolutely heaving, with crowds of people everywhere. After the solitude of the last week or so, it was the last thing we were ready for and we quickly walked through the town. We stayed on the seafront until we were beyond the marina where we cut up through the district of Cobb to access our next challenge, The Undercliff. As noted previously, the geology of the area has a layer of Greensand on top of a layer of clay. When there have been heavy rains the water permeates the Greensand, but sits on top of the clay, creating a very slippy surface between the two layers and with it the circumstances for landslip as the top layer slides on the lower one. In the area generally, there can be seen most of the types of common landslide including landslip, rockfall and mud flow. The Undercliff, which stretches for about eight miles from Lyme Regis almost to the Mouth of the River Ax at Seaton, was created from a series of landslips over hundreds of years. In enviromental terms it is like sub-tropical jungle both in the hot and humid atmosphere and the density of the undergrowth beneath a canopy of trees. It is considered to be the closest you will come to experiencing a rain forest environment in the United Kingdom. The tall towering trees, thick undergrowth and varying light and environments are similar to the rainforest I walked through in New Zealand on the Milford Track. Over the years of isolation, the area has developed a wild tangle of trees, shrubs and wild flowers, a haven and refuge for many plants and animal species including the silver washed frittilary butterfly, ravens, reed buntings, the beautiful rock or guelder rose, orchids and many native and foreign tree species. The perspectvie and the light constantly change as you walk through the thick undergrowth, at times almost in darkness. Alternatively, where there are breaks in the trees,on the landward side you can be walking in the most brilliant white light as the sunlight is reflected off the white cliffs. Breaks in the undergrowth on the seaward side allow stunning views over the blue of sky and water. The Undercliff, Lyme Regis to Seaton But be warned, this is not an easy walk. Signs at both ends of this seven-mile section warn you it is an arduous walk for which you should allow four hours to walk. On this kind of terrain, we would generally expect to walk twelve miles in that time. Not today! The walking underfoot was terrible, with thick cloying mud in many places and with lots of standing water flooding the path that you had to walk through. While there are no really steep sections on the path, there is almost constant rise and fall and, in sections, there were bits where, because of the mud, it was a hard slog to make progress uphill. Throw in some fallen trees and undergrowth stretching over the path and which you have to pass underneath (with full pack) and it becomes a hard day's walking. While this section is only seven miles long, I can understand now why it is recommended that you split this section of the path. You live and learn! The constant miles of up and down and the difficult walking conditions do make it a challenge. For all that, it is a lovely section and a wonderful experience. In the nearly two thousand miles of my walk so far, this has to be one of the most fascinating. Approaching Haven Cliffs the path takes a sharp turn to the right, climbing back up again to over one hundred and ten metres, before exiting out on to an unnamed road at the side of the River Axe. A short walk down to a bridge and then a longer walk up through the town to our Air bnb accommodation and the day was done. And to be honest, so were we. It had been a long, hard day that stretched the physical resources after an extended day of walking. But it had also been a joyous day with some wonderful walking and stunning coastal views. If I had a regret about the day, it would be that we did not have the time to take longer over the Undercliff. I would have liked to have been able to linger and investigate this feature of the walk a bit more, but time was against us.
Tired and weary, we now just need to find the wherewithall for one more final day's walking before our adventures end for this year (2017). After that, we are headed for Tuscany with about twenty other family members for my 65th Birthday celebrations. Who knows, maybe a wee walk in the Tuscan countryside.
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