Day Tripper

Took a bus to Weymouth, resisting the typical seaside allure. Instead, I walked to Nothe Fort, a large 19th-century fortification built to protect against a French invasion. It served during both World Wars and the Cold War, even housing a nuclear bunker in the 1980s. Weymouth played a significant role 80 years ago on D-Day,…… Continue reading Day Tripper

Clifftop Signal

Walked east along the coast, past this clifftop burning beacon. The beacon aligns with another we saw yesterday. These structures have been used since Roman times to signal danger, but nowadays, they’re lit to celebrate events like the new millennium or the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Jurassic Coast Hike

We’re staying on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, where the cliffs are constantly eroding, revealing formations and fossils from different geologic periods. Today, we hiked the cliffs west of where we’re staying. This turned out to be a good workout as we navigated the trail up and down. Another day, we’ll explore the eastern cliffs.

A Toast to Rope

On our walk into town, we admired a playground where all the equipment imaginatively incorporated rope. This area has a rich history of rope-making for shipping, executions, and more, dating back to the 13th century. Rope was sometimes produced exclusively here for the entire kingdom by royal decree. To commemorate this important industry we enjoyed…… Continue reading A Toast to Rope

A Bit of British Seaside

With the Thames Path Diversion hike successfully accomplished, it was time to start planning another inn-to-inn hike and go our separate ways. Our friends headed back to their homes in the north and south of England, while Dwight and I took three trains and a bus to a seaside town on the Dorset coast for…… Continue reading A Bit of British Seaside

Thames Path Diversion: Final Day

To reach our final destination, the Thames Head Inn, we planned a route that bypassed areas with substantial flooding. Along the way, we encountered glimpses of the Thames, a distant relative to the mighty river we’d seen at the Thames Barrier earlier in our trip.

Thames Leaf Dash

When it’s contained, the Thames is now quite narrow, but unusually deep, up to the arch of this bridge. When it’s not contained, entire fields are flooded. Here, children are enjoying leaf races, each dropping a leaf into the fast-flowing water from one side of the bridge and then racing to the other side to…… Continue reading Thames Leaf Dash

Even the Best-Laid Plans…

View of the Thames from our window this morning, swollen and discolored from runoff from recent unusually intense rainfall. We’ve pretty much abandoned the Thames Path, instead finding alternative trails that were usually less flooded and presented fine sights, including traditional thatched cottages. My back muscles tell me tomorrow will be a mandatory day of…… Continue reading Even the Best-Laid Plans…

Hike to the Source of the Thames: Day 1

The start of today’s hike west from Oxford was positively bucolic. Soon we were reminded of the flooding that has occurred in these parts. At one point we even walked in our bare feet for a short distance. At Ferryman Inn, our destination for the night, warm showers and pub grub revived us.