Wednesday, we took to the sea in Ilfracombe and went on a 2-hour boat trip on the Ilfracombe Princess along the coast . We spotted about 20 Grey Seals. Not many seabirds were still on the cliffs as the breeding season has now passed, but I did spot one lone Gannet.
A visit today to see this remarkable historic clapper bridge, constructed from massive stone slabs; it proudly spans the River Barle in Exmoor National Park.
I was looking for Dipper’s in the river but only saw one flying down stream.
Now managed by English Herritage This 800 year old, abbey in Somerset housed a community of Cistercian monks for almost 350 years. Home to 28 monks. The whole monastery was complete by the late 13th CENTURY, 200 years later the monks lavished funds on renovating the cloister buildings and creating a magnificent new dining hall.
After the abbey’s suppression in 1536 the church was destroyed, but the cloister survived fairy intact today.
A place for quiet and reflection.
On Wednesday, our walk was a circular route of approximately 7 miles, starting from our campsite at Acton Fields, and then heading down to the coast at Dancing Ledge, along the coast to Winspit. The coast in Purbeck is dotted with quarries and caves, a legacy of the stone-cutting industry. Then back inland “uphill” to Worth Matraver and along the Priests Way back to the van.
A couple of nights camping in the van at Acton fields campsite near Swanage Dorset. A chance to explore the coastal path near Worth Matraves about a miles walk from the campsite. The last time I was at Acton fields I broke my shoulder when I fell at Kimmeridge Bay!
(Posted via smartphone).
I was watching a Shelduck chick learning to dive, he would dive down, pushing off with his over large feet. He would then stop and just pop up to the surface. I felt it made an interesting sequence of pictures.
Wordless Wednesday.
A few photographs of birds spotted along the coast while on our Pembrokeshire trip.
Herring Gull.
Oystercatcher.
Linnet.
Pipit.
I got to see several male Ruff at Slimbridge Wetland Centre yesterday. There is a small breeding population of ruff in the UK. The Ruff is a large Sandpiper; they get their name from the large ruff of feathers around the males’ neck when in breeding plumage. The colour of the ruff can be white, black or buff. I have seen a few of these birds in non-breeding plumage at the marshes locally to me in Lymington. These birds were fairly plain-looking waders – pale fawn-brown all over, with a paler belly.
Seals Strumble Head Wales.
Continued Reflections from my World. 