To the Dorset Sea

We drove in a very nice 'my colour electric blue' Lotus Elan (1991 I think!.. well it was J reg) without great suspension, but suspended I was.  It could do a ton whilst I kept extremely relaxed with regular breathing, heart not quite in my mouth!  I even had a test drive! Safe! Told it was 'school rules' and if I crashed it, I would have to pay. Fair do's. 

After a walk through sheep downs showing the vestiges of Roman vineyards (!!! yes, in England!!!)  we came upon Dancing Ledge.  The historical and geographical information on my return with the assistance of 'the fount of all knowledge' is fascinating!In the old quarry, evidently one of the Dr Who films was taken.  The notice on other grilled and barred entrances said that Greater Horseshoe Bats were in the caves. It was a fascinating place to be with what appeared to be its own micro-climate. I would love to return and do the coastal walk! Such a beautiful experience assisted by a half pint and a Pinot Noir in an English inn!

Captured with my zoom...Maybe a Meadow Pipit?

Dancing Ledge, Dorset

A Native Bluebell Wood

This was a first for me and oh, oh, oh so magical. We were trespassing (perhaps) in an ancient Dorset pheasant shooting woodland but who could resist treading amongst native bluebells, celandines, wood anemones with their six or seven petals, amongst gnarled and twisted trees dead or in leaf, amongst sunlight streaming between shadows on probably the warmest UK April day! Scents crushed underfoot arise with a  hint of wild garlic mixed with a luscious aroma of canola / oil seed rape from the surrounding fields.  Transported, transfixed heavenwards,  I wished to lay me down with bluebells 'round my hair listening to birdsong in woodland.  A long strip of ancient land left alongside a lane was wide enough to feel concealed within that habitat.  Oh to be lost in a bluebell wood whilst they are in bloom.

bluebells in a blur

Far and near a witches' rock

I love this view ... not realising before that I could capture so many rooftops.

Ré-island

An island for a morning stroll along sand, where two hours pass unbelievably quickly as a half hour. Tide goes out.  Mesmerised by morning colour, light, pattern, form, people, events, she wandered along the sands dreaming blissful thoughts.
An island for a fashion shoot, where a woman moves this way, that way, as her ego is stroked by others who ré-position her clothes,  ré-preen her hair for the man who shoots the shots! People paid to perform! Narcissism!
BUT, She ré-turns for breakfast! She ré-turns to her inner isle to cycle! It's all Her réverie!

Wistfully, reluctantly, she departs this île, this last image first viewed 27 months ago. It is a memory.

Ré-turn

When I ré-turned to this fabulous, luminous Île I was immediately in Heaven, in Paradise, with all the angels singing without a cloud in the sky, without anxiety, without a care in the world!  I know because I wore that 'certain smile' all day and each day whilst on and off my bike, irregardless of whom I met or what I did! Age did not matter! Nothing mattered!  It stayed until I moved to Île d'Oléron, which was equally, if not more luminous.  However, it is absolutely truthful that the continuous blissfulness witnessed for four full days on each of those three visits, faded as I left that isle.  Maybe, ancestral roots of Saint-Onge call me to that region.  Although sitting on beaches for long is difficult, here the sand is soft, the water warm, with space to move to or away from people, to walk, cycle, read, paint, or water sport if one fancies but that latter is not for me. Like the Cancerian Crab that I am, a shoreline needs to be available to scuttle hear and there! September sunrise and sunset make this the most marvelous of beaches. I kid myself to believe that I could stay for ever... but when the tempests come, ... , I like everyone will find a different haven for safety and security.
After pitching tent before five pm, the beach beckoned me insistently, to paddle and to picnic on peaches and a mirabelle tart. A bottle of water to quench the thirst.

To the south

To the east

To the west

To the north

To my taste buds

History of the Battle of Tours / Poitiers 732 AD plus Nature Reserves

The BBC recently aired a programme "In Our Time" presented by Melvyn Bragg.
I quote from the programme blurb: 

In 732 a large Arab army invaded Gaul from northern Spain, and travelled as far north as Poitiers. There they were defeated by Charles Martel, whose Frankish and Burgundian forces repelled the invaders. The result confirmed the regional supremacy of Charles, who went on to establish a strong Frankish dynasty.  The Battle of Tours was the last major incursion of Muslim armies into northern Europe; some historians, including Edward Gibbon, have seen it as the decisive moment that determined that the continent would remain Christian.

I have provided these links for anyone who enjoys history:

 http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/tours.html

http://www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/forum/moussais-86-la-bataille-de-poitiers-en-732-t9979.html 

I can't find my own photos of Moussais... possibly pre this computer's photo system.  It is quite an interesting outdoor museum / exhibition but last time I was there it looked as if it needed TLC.   It is sited near the lake of St Cyr which is heaving with waterside visitors in Summer but in Winter there are more avian visitors and it's good to walk around the lake... nearby a golf club! Also it is not far from the Reserve Naturelle de Pinail...where  now that mining for millstones has ceased there is heathland and small ponds, a haven for wildlife.  A group visit might be a good idea???????

A Wasteland - Wasted land - Waste Wilderness

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.	T.S. Eliot 1922 The Wasteland

On my return journey I came across vast aggression towards a rural landscape which now was a wilderness. Land not to be Wasted?  I presume, it will be a new roadway. It was a shock to see desecration, huge machinery worth millions standing still on a Sunday, and a cut off rail track.

 

And then I came across what look like ruins of a former grandiose empire!   Fascinating!

I think I was on D109 but can't be sure..I'd just come under the A10 or a major road.
Looking at Google maps... perhaps what I witnessed is that a huge lake has been landfilled?
Looking at my photos I can see that this is probably true and clearly a roadway is being constructed?
Is this a waste or improvement for the future?

POSTSCRIPT: I am now wondering if the landwork is for the TGV and having done a little research I am now sure this is correct..... 
http://www.lgv-sea-tours-bordeaux.fr/construction-de-la-lgv/les-cartes-du-trace-et-des-travaux