The walk today in terms of terrain, will be the most challenging of the adventure so far, hence the profile of the walks, detailing the many numerous climbs and descents that follow quickly one after the other.
The sky was light blue with a sprinkling of light cloud and it was a bright day, albeit the face of Emmet's Hill was dark in the shade. The sea was a beautiful aquamarine, the light shimmering on the wave tops, the wind just ruffling the top of the sea to create a 'silver darling' effect and carrying the salty tang to us up on the cliff. The early signs were that we would be walking in sunshine and with heavy packs to carry and some of the big climbs we had in front of us we couldn't make up our minds whether this was a good thing or not.
The stretch from Hans-toute to the Purbeck Marine Reserve was one of the most enjoyable bits of walking I think I have experienced. The sea and landscapes were marvellous, the colour scheme something you might expect to find in Greece but certainly not in dear old 'Blighty'. The geology of this section of coast was fascinating as well, all confused and chaotic where the land has folded as a result of two continents clashing together, resulting in a wonderful array of bays, headlands and rock formations including caves, arches and stacks, which we could see from our high vantage point. The landscape meandered and rolled up and down dale, but at this early stage was nothing too exerting. It was primarily for the later stretches that we had brought the walking poles, which would earn their keep many times over, particularly on the downhill sections and on the many hundreds of steps that you climb up and descend on the hillsides and gullies
Approaching the end of the Kimmeridge Ledges the views over the edge of Kimmeridge Bay to Broad Bench on the far shore and on in to the face of Tyneham Cap, the line of the hill running from the shore to the cliff top, were stunning. The white of the cliff face dazzled in the bright sunshine. Even just the changing colour of the rocks here, changing constantly from white to, to golden, to red, are a delight. Just before the descent to the bay, we passed the wonderfull little folly of Clavell's Tower. Built in 1830-31 as an observatory and folly by the Reverend John Clavell, it was later utilised as a coastguard lookout station before falling in to disrepair in the early 1900's. At risk as a consequence of coastal erosion, the tower was dismantled and re-built further from the cliff in the early 2000's by the Landmark Trust. The Trust restores historic buildings at risk and then markets them as places to stay. The Clavell Tower can cater for two people and the views from here are just stunning.
From Tyneham Cap, on to Gad Cliff and a lovely walk along the clifftop before dropping down briefly to Worbarrow Bay. From Worbarrow you can see in to the face of Flower's Barrow and the knees tremble. I do not do well in the heat and I remember that by this time I was already a wilted flower, never mind a flower barrow. Standing at the bottom of the hill and looking up I remember thinking 'how could anybody expect you to walk up such a slope with a forty pound pack on your back'? Completely forgetting, of course, that the only person that expected it was me (well maybe Joanna Elizabeth, as well). While the first part is long, the second part of Flower's Barrow is steep, very steep. Whenever I stopped, I had to be careful not to lean back too far or gravity would have taken hold and had me tumbling down the hill. Half-way up, when I stopped for the upteenth time to rest, a family were sitting on the steep hillside to my right and a wee boy of about seven says to his Da "can I sit behind you Daddy so that I don't fall off'? Aye, me as well, Mister!
There is a Scheduled Ancient monument on the summit of the hill, an early Iron Age multivallate fort, that is slowly being lost to the sea as a consequence of coastal erosion. However, there are still substantial remains to be seen of the outlines of the fort's north, East and West sides and, the view from its ramparts are a joy to behold.