A good friend loveth at all times, and a brother or sister is born for the times when everything is going wrong.
Proverbs 17:17 (Partly Sandy’s wording.)
Let us use this footpath to walk along the cliffs. The wind is blowing enough in the protected meadows to bend the wild flower and grass stems. Today, sea and sky float into each other and soon there will be more water with the ground already soaked and nook and cranny full.
There are six of us walking and we will be walking in different places over three days. The first walk will begin and end in Swanage.
The area around Swanage is made of beds of hard and soft rock. The soft rock is made of clay and sand, and the hard rock known as Purbeck is chalk and limestone. Swanage changed after 1666. Why? Well that was the year of the Great Fire of London. Swanage port was enlarged so Purbeck stone could be loaded on to ships for rebuilding London.
Then to another port Bournemouth where Purbeck stone is used at the base of a signicant memorial to a red arrows pilot.
A pilot whose plane crashed during a display in 2011. This Bournemouth memorial stands proud on the varying colours of Purbeck stone.
Light beige to a deep blue/grey.
Press on the picture to enlarge.
Then leaving the coast and going in land we walked the grounds of Stourhead where Victorians brought back pelargonium plants from South Africa and seeds of exotic trees and plants from all over the world. The walled gardens were where they cultivated them. These grounds favoured nurturing pineapples which they hired for a price and for much more sold them to be eaten . An exotic fruit.
The first Palladian – style villa to be built in England .
The central part of the house was destroyed by fire in 1902.
All Purbeck stone.
It is the walled garden and trees I am interested in with a few chairs.🙂
I believe this one came from America during the Victorian period as did a Sequoias tree.
Both were wonderful to see.
Our National Trust volunteer guide drew our attention to how this tree was splitting with thick black sap oozing down the trunk.
Higher up they have put in stabilisers to help the tree hold together in the wind.
Giant sequoia never stop growing and can reach heights of 300feet and weigh over 600tons.
They are also among the oldest living organisms on earth.
In the house a library chair and then more chairs around a table. Beautifully crafted.
The roads we travelled mostly in the rain.
A scene waiting to be wrung out.
I guess the sun may shine tomorrow. Thank you for seeing the roads we have been travelling.
Sandy 🙂
Ps
A thought about rain.
I have always considered the rain to be healing- a blanket- the comfort of a friend.
Douglas Coupland ( Canadian novelist, designer and visual artist. If you would like to hear him speak Google The extreme Present Douglas Coupland.)
A good friend loveth at all times, and a brother or sister is born for the times when everything is going wrong.
Proverbs 17:17… So true 💖🙏💐
Glad you liked it!!!
💖
Lovely post, Sandy. Is that Bess I see on that cliff edge? She is adorable. The photo with all the trees is so pretty with all the different greens.
Thank you, Kellye. Yes , that is our Bess. She was on the lead ‘most of the time’. They use Stourhead for a lot of filming especially the Parthenon you see in the distance throught those trees.
So many fascinating places you’re getting to see. Beautiful nature, architecture, artefacts. Enjoyed your pics.
Thank you Shelly. Yes, it was great to see two trees I had wanted to see.
What a beautiful place and I love thee proverb. 😏
So glad you did!