Within half an hour I was back into jungle this morning. That was interspersed with sections of rough lumpy fields, and quite a lot of road walking which helped to make up time. I met nobody and the scenery was much of a muchness apart from one or two pretty hamlets. This was a short day because of the logistics involved in finding accommodation and I arrived at The Acorn Inn just after three.
I said this walk would take twenty one days and Abbotsbury is actually a good day's march away and I could finish tomorrow, but Abbotsbury is a small town in the middle of nowhere and I don't want yo arrive late in the afternoon with no transport options. I have therefore booked in at the YHA at Litton Cheney which is a mile off route and that will leave me only a few miles to do for the finish next day.
The Acorn Inn featured in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles as the Sow and Acorn and dates back over 400 years to the sixteenth century.
The Half Moon, Sherborne where I stayed last night
Jungle...
...and more jungle
This field and the one beyond the central tree must previously have contained a network of hedges. The guide navigates you through. I had to use compass bearings to find my way across - there was no evident path on the ground
I wondered about the backstory here. What decided someone to stop work at that point obviously some time ago?
The drive up to Melbury House - just short of a mile
Melbury House
The Acorn Inn, Evershot. Featured in Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles
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We really are in the swing of jungle season now, aren't we? Such a short gap between mud season (which rules out a number of my local-to-home walks) and jungle season (which rules out a whole different bunch).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're adding an extra day into your itinerary, purely from the selfish point of view of giving me another day's story to read :-)
whatever the 'backstory', it is curious that nobody - private or public - has moved the barrow or finished the work ever since: surely you are not the first to tread the way: it's not jungle, not even the Dorset kind!
ReplyDeletefine old buildings you are finding to stay in - i imagine this gives a sort of seamless feel to the expedition, whereas eg a Travelodge, would seem a particularly jarring anachronism.
Being on holiday I am almost entirely separated from your peregrinations and am astonished to discover you have moved from Big Sky in Sproutland to Wessex, home to a number of doomed literary lovers.
ReplyDeleteSome time back I noted you were staying in a Youth Hostel and not enjoying it one bit. Now you're doing it again. The YHA played a large part in my exploration of England. On one occasion I stayed in the YHA's least popular hostel, Broughton, where I was the only occupant. As usual in those days I was required to perform a domestic task before leaving, in this case sweeping the room in which I had slept. Quite ridiculous: there was accommodation for about twenty-five in my dormitory and I limited myself to a 2 ft radius of my bed. Hardly in the YHA spirit.
Soon you will be home, impatiently planning yet another themed linkage where intellect plays a larger part than the countryside ("much of a muchness" I see from your latest). I did suggest industrial estates but these did not fire your interests. How about pubs called The Marquess of Granby. Warning: the reason why so many pubs are labelled after this obscure aristocrat is not worthy of inclusion in your posts.
Gayle - not much jungle today (Tuesdy). Sorry, no extra day, plans changed. See tonight's post when I put it up in a while.
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Gimmer - read a book years ago: The Complete Practical Joker. The enjoyment was not in witnessing the result but musing about it.
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RR - I thought I may escape your caustic comments fo a while. You will see from my next post that YHA has been aborted. Logistics dictate that you find whatever accommodation is available at the end of the distance you want to walk each day and often there is little choice - better the YHA than under the hedge, I think.
Your DofE photo will give a taste of the view that Blonde One and I have for much of the summer. We have a bronze route that includes 'nettle lane'. Last year we wondered where the nettles had all gone, until we realised that we were there about six weeks earlier. The phrase, 'I told you not to wear shorts.' crops up regularly!
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