travel

A lost village.

/ Andy Finnegan / 4 Comments

Today, being the last day of 2025, we decided to have a day out and headed to the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. About an hour and a half’s drive from home, but well worth the trip.

All the residents of the village of Imber were evicted from their homes during ww2 in 1943 with just 47 days’ notice. The village and land formed part of the training grounds for American troops. Land was first purchased for military training on Salisbury Plain in late 1890s. Within 5 years, the total area in the hands of the War Department had risen to 43,000 acres. Permanent barracks were started at Tidworth in 1905. After the First World War, the War Department resumed buying land on Salisbury Plain. The Larkhill Royal School of Artillery was built in 1920. The village of Imber and its surrounding terrain were acquired between 1928 and 1932. The villagers became tenants of the War Department. After the evictions at the end of the war, it was never returned and remains, to this day, a training ground for urban warfare within the larger military training area of the Plain.

Today, the village is open for visits on a few days a year.

A walk around the village’s old homes and more modern killing houses.

The church of St Giles occupies the site of an earlier building dating from the mid-12th century. The nave was rebuilt towards the end of the 13th century, and around 1400,the addition of the north and south aisles, plus the tower and north porch. At this time, the nave roof was reconstructed. The chancel was rebuilt in 1849, at which time the north-east vestry was built.

Swanage.

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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).

Dorset Coast trip.

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Our 1st Camper Van Trip of 2025 was just a couple of hours’ drive from home. It gave us a return visit to the Dorset Coast around Portland Bill.

Hive Beach is, made up of shingle, surrounded by striking sandstone cliffs. It forms part of the larger Chesil Beach. It is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. It is also the largest shingle ridge in the world. Burton Cliff offers one of the finest examples of the distinctive geology of this Bridport Sands area. The cliffs glow bright gold in the sunlight.

Chesil Bank looking towards the Isle of Portland and Portland Bill.

The Hardy Monument stands on a hill above the village of Portesham. It has uninterrupted views across the Dorset countryside. It was built in 1844 to honor Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy. He was the Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Lord Nelson died in his arms, saying the immortal words ‘Kiss me Hardy’.

The Isle of Portland is an island linked to the mainland by the Chesil bank. It is 6 kilometers long and 2.7 kilometers wide. The southern tip is known as Portland Bill. It lies 8 kilometers south of the resort of Weymouth. This location forms the southernmost point of the county of Dorset.

Portland stone is a limestone geological formation. It dates to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic period. It is quarried on the Isle of Portland. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles. It is notably used in major public buildings in London, like St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. Portland stone has been exported to many countries. For example, it is used at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Portland’s quarries are interesting places to explore. They are full of tunnels and gullies. Many tramways and cranes can be found as you walk the area.

Ratty.

/ Andy Finnegan / 4 Comments

A walk later in the day paid off yesterday when I spotted a Water Vole in the reeds at Titchfield Haven. Water Voles were once widespread and common in the UK. They have undergone a serious decline in Britain, which has continued in the last 10 years. They are our fastest-declining mammal. They were given full legal protection in 2008 including protection of their habitat. In 1900 there were some 8 million Water Voles in the UK today their numbers are said to be less than 100,000. Ratty is one of the four main characters in the 1908 book “The Wind of the Willows”. He is referred to as a water rat in the book who lives on a riverbank in England. One spring day, he meets and befriends Mole, who had left his underground home to explore the outside world after getting bored of spring cleaning. Mole goes on to become Ratty’s housemate and meets his other friends Otter and Mr. Toad.