Spyway: a coastal walk

A few days ago the sun came out! Only for one day, but it came out! Obviously an event not to be missed. Even better it coincided with my day off – so I grabbed (one of) my camera bags, jumped into the car and headed for the sea. Joking apart it has been a long, dull, drab, wet winter. The chance to get some sea air and sun couldn’t be missed. I ended up at Spyway, a National Trust property, one of those that is really just land, but what land! The car park is small, especially when half of it is chained off for no reason so I had to park side ways in the entrance. Then of course the pay machine wasn’t working, so I just left my membership card in the window.

About half a mile from the car park the path crosses the “Priests Way”, and that’s where I made the image of the tree above, a beautiful tree, not yet out in leaf, the image doesn’t do it justice. Carrying on I pass between a barn and an isolated cottage. The name “Spyway” comes from smuggling days, smuggled goods were once stored in the barn, now it’s empty but for 4 or 5 info boards on the wall. Adjacent is Spyway cottage, also owned by the trust, and used as a holiday let. I made a couple of photo’s but nothing special. Passing between the two, and about another half mile, the path meets the South West Coast Path. It’s a path that starts in Poole and goes 677 miles right around the “toe” of England. Here is reaches Dancing Ledge.

Dancing ledge is a well known local beauty spot, the whole area is great for a picnic. I once walked the length of the Dorset Coast, long before it got designated as a World Heritage Site, placing it on par with Grand Canyon! I can say that the stretch from Swanage to Lulworth is stunningly beautiful. Since I’m so local to it I often feel I should photograph it more. I think I don’t, partly as it is local and we tend to feel farther away is more exotic and worthy somehow. The other reason I think is that images of some of the coves etc have been “done to death” and that lessens my interest! That said I do have a project in mind.

Now on the South West Coast Path, I continued along until reaching Seacombe Cliff, about the two mile point. As this is Purbeck, and has many quarries for the stone, there are loads of “scrap” pieces about, these have for centuries been used for dry stone walls, black and white and this sort of texture are just made for each other!

Here I turned inland, walked up through a quite steep valley, enroute seeing a couple of wild deer. I reached Worth Matravers, at about the 3 mile mark. This area is most well known for radar development during the second world war. If you are interested in such things, may I suggest a google search “Worth Matravers Radar”. Back in my youth a knew a man who worked on radar here during the war. When I was in my teens I had little interest in such things, now of course I wish I could have a long conversation with him, but sadly he’s no longer with us.

After a climb up through that valley I was ready for a drink and the Compass and Square is a well known pub in the area perfectly situated. I had a sausage roll too, unlike any other. Chorizo sausage, and twice the width of any I’ve had before, it was very good!

From here I took the inland route back towards Langton Matravers on the Preists Way, a walk that has recently been re- instated. Looking back down into the coast, I made the photo above. I liked how the v in the wall is mirrored by the landscape behind. The neg is fine, I seem to have made a poor job of scanning it, and made it far too dark, it looked much lighter in photoshop! All in all a very good day out. A nice walk, a pub visit, a roll of film, and half a dozen photo’s I’m happy with! I look forward to the next “day out”.

Chatter: Pentax Spotmatic, with 35 and 50mm Takumar lenses. Ilford FP4+, developed in Ilfosol 3 1+9 at 20 degrees.