Shaldon to Torquay - 11 miles

I've got a long way to go.

Today was one of the hardest walks we have done on the SWCP.  11 miles of walking up and down very steep cliffs.  It took us 6 hours of non stop walking to complete this walk and now we are both very tired.  Ann is lying on the sofa and I have just gone straight to bed!

We got the 8.45am No. 11 bus from Torquay to Shaldon.  It cost £3.80 for Ann and 50p for my 'pet explorer' ticket.  The bus driver was very helpful and told us which stop to get off at and also told us how tired he'd been when he'd done the walk.  Stupidly, we just thought he was exgagerating when he said it was a very tiring walk.  Ann had told me that the first section out of Shaldon would be hard but for some reason she thought the rest of it would be easy.  Why she thought that, I don't know?  It was all hard - very hard.

Lovely sunny day, we can see for miles

We started our walk at 9.15am.  Shaldon is a very pretty place - lovely little cottages, a lot with thatched roofs.  It was a beautiful day and we got a good view of Teignmouth which is more than could be said for our walk on Wednesday.  Also once we'd climbed the first hill out of Shaldon we could see right the way up the coast to Exmouth.  Infact we could see for miles in every direction.  We could see all the way down the coast to the headland before Torquay and we could see all the way over to Dorset and the Chesil Beach.  It was lovely to have some sun for a change. 

Dartmoor Ponies

I really enjoyed this walk because I was off my lead for pretty much all of the walk until I got back to Torquay.  There were a few places when I had to go back on my lead because the walk went alongside the road for a couple of mins, and once I had to go back on my lead because Ann spotted sheep.  Normally I'm quite observant and would have seen them first, but I was having such fun running about sniffing all the new smells and generally just having a good time, that I'd failed to notice that there was a whole flock of sheep in the field we were walking though.  I was really confused when I got put back on my lead 'cos I knew I hadn't done anything naughty.  However Ann told me I was a good girl and I only had to stay on my lead for a couple of mins.  We also saw some Dartmoor ponies.  There were signs saying that we weren't to approach them because they might bite.  I'm normally quite good with horses (unless they're running in which case I chase them) so Ann said she was going to trust me to walk sensibly through their field.  I managed to do that perfectly.  



Fun in the woods

This walk went through a lot of woody areas and through a lot of fields.  But, whether it was wood or field the path was all very, very up and down.  Ann was really slow at walking up the hills so I raced to the top and then had to come back down again to check she was following me.  This meant that I probably walked double what she did.  No wonder I'm a tired collie.  Also there wasn't a great deal of streams on this walk for me to drink out of, nor did the path go right down to the sea on many occasions so I had to rely on Ann giving me drinks at regular intervals.  The trouble is Ann didn't really want to stop too often.  We stopped for a few mins a couple of times and sat on benches admiring the view but Ann complained that her feet and knees hurt after a stop.



Oddicombe Beach

 Ann said that when we got to Babbacombe we'd find a nice pub or cafe and stop for some lunch.  But she hadn't really thought about the fact that we were walking the coast path and not walking through the centre of Babbacombe.  After about 3 hours of walking we got to Oddicombe Beach in Babbacombe where we had to walk up & down the side of the Babbacombe Cliff  Railway.  I didn't like that.  The train wasn't running but I still didn't like the railway track.  However I did get to have a swim in the sea and then Ann spotted a pub at the end of the beach where she thought we could maybe go for lunch.  It had a dog bowl full of water outside so we thought it was probably dog friendly but the menu outside seemed very 'restaurant orienated' (and all Ann wanted was soup or a sandwich) so we thought it was probably too posh for us.  Ann wasn't really very hungry anyway but we both could have done with a sit down. 

Relaxing

For some reason Ann thought that Babbacombe was only a couple of miles from Torquay.  Well it probably was if we'd gone the direct route.  But of course we were walking the coastal path so it was probably another 5 miles or so.  Another 5 miles of walking up and down. 

When we got to the headland at 'Long Quarry Point' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to the headland at 'Black Head we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to the headland at 'Hope's Nose' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to the headland at 'Thatcher Point' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to 'Meadfoot Beach' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to 'Daddyhole Cove' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to 'London Bridge' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  When we got to 'Saddle Rock' we thought we'd just have to go around the corner to get to Torquay.  Finally, when we got to the 'Millstones' we went around the corner and we could see Torquay.

Torquay Harbour

The harbour in Torquay was such a welcome sight at the end of this walk because we knew then we only had a mile or so to walk back to our apartment.

Today's walk has been lovely but I'm so glad the weather has been good.  Ann said we were going to do this walk whatever the weather, but if it had been as wet as it's been for the last 3 days I think we would have had to abandon it and get a bus or a taxi back to our apartment.

I've really enjoyed my walking holiday in Torquay but I'm absolutely shattered now.  I know I'm a collie and am supposed to be able to keep going forever but as I said before, I've walked double what Ann has, and 22 miles in 6 hours is hard going - even for a speedy, full of energy, collie like me!

Brixham to Torquay - 9 miles

Brixham Harbour

Yesterday we didn't do a walk because it poured with rain all day.  However today we decided to walk from Brixham to Torquay.  It was rainning quite hard when I had a little walk first thing this morning but by the time I'd finished breakfast it was looking brighter so we felt a bit more optimistic that we wouldn't get soaked.

We got the number 12 bus at 9.45am which took us all the way to Brixham in about 35 mins.  It cost £3.30 for Ann & 50p for me.

Fun in the woods

Our walk today took us exactly 3 hours and was an easy walk, at least it would have been if it hadn't been so wet.  As soon as we got past Brixham harbour I was allowed off my lead and I didn't have to go back on it until we got to Paignton.  The first part of the walk was lovely.  We were walking through woods and I had ever such a good time running about and sniffing all the new smells.  The only trouble was the path was really muddy so I got ever so dirty.  However there were lots of little coves and beaches on this walk so I was able to go swimming every so often to get clean. 

Even though it wasn't raining on the first part of our walk the views weren't that great.  It was quite misty so we couldn't really see Torquay that well.  The views would have been stunning if the sun had been shining.  This section of the SWCP is quite heavily populated and we met lots of other people who were walking their dogs - but I bet none of them were going as far as me.

Soggy doggie - on the way to Paignton

We were just thinking how lucky we were that it wasn't raining when guess what?  It started to absolutely pour down with rain.  Ann was quite cross because she knew there were lots of little cafes & pubs on Paignton sea front and she'd thought we could maybe stop at one for some lunch.  By the time we got to Paignton though we were both soaked through and no way did Ann want to take off all her wet clothes just to put them back on again.  So we decided we'd just keep walking as Paignton is only about 2 - 3 miles from Torquay and we knew it wouldn't take us very long.  Also when we got to Paignton I had to go back on my lead because the SWCP goes along the main road into Torquay.  I was a very good girl today, I walked sensibly on my lead and only barked at two buses even though we saw loads.

Soggy Doggie in Paignton

Todays walk was lovely and I really enjoyed it.  Ann was very pleased with my behaviour today so I'm a happy hound.

Starcross to Teignmouth - 8 miles

It was raining today when we got up today but Ann said we were on a walking holiday, so walk we would do!

We drove to Teignmouth and managed to park in a car park where it only cost us £1.10 for the whole day.  Then we had to have a wander around to find our bus stop.  We got the No. 2 bus to Starcross at 9.33am.  It cost us £4.30 - £3.80 for Ann and 50p for me.  It was a big double decker bus but there was hardly any one on it.  It took us about 30 mins to get to Starcross.

I have to say this was not one of my most favourite walks.  Firstly, it was raining for the whole walk so I ended up soaking wet.  Secondly, I had to stay on my lead for the whole walk.  A lot of the time I was walking along roads and when I wasn't walking along roads I was walking along the path by the railway and there were signs saying that doggies had to be kept on their leads.

If the weather had been better we're sure we would have had lovely views over to Exmouth and also down the coast towards Teignmouth.  But it rained constantly, it was quite misty at times, the sea was very choppy and no-one else was stupid enough to be walking about.  Also because it was so wet Ann couldn't get her camera out and take photos so we've only got one.

It took us 2 hours & 40 mins to do this walk.  If it had been a nice day we could have stopped for a coffee in Dawlish or had a wander around Teignmouth at the end of our walk.  It was an easy walk (or would have been if it hadn't been raining the whole time), the whole walk was pretty much on the flat.  I think we only walked up and down one hill in the whole of the walk.

Anyway, that's another 8 miles of the SWCP walked.  Let's hope my next two days of walking are better?!

Dartmouth to Brixham - 11 miles

Dartmouth/Kingswear

This title is misleading.  We didn't actually walk from Dartmouth - we walked from Kingswear.  We thought it was a bit silly to take the ferry across to Darmouth just so that we could get the ferry back to Kingswear and say we started our walk in Dartmouth.   However the official SWCP website states that Dartmouth to Brixham is 11 miles.  We're not sure if that includes the ferry crossing.  Anyway we walked from Kingswear to Brixham and are sure that it was more than 11 miles.  This was a very hard walk.  It is one of the most up & down walks we have done, it was very muddy & it took us about five & a half hours of walking non stop.

We're staying in a very nice apartment in Torquay - 'Chelston Dene Apartments'.  We've booked for a week but we'll probably go home after we've done all our walks. The owners have said we can stay for £165 for the week which is great.  What is even better - I can stay for free.  We have a one bed apartment with views over Torquay.  The owners like me.  Ann had already warned me that I had to be on my best behaviour when I met them so I offered them a paw.  They thought I was lovely so I rolled over onto my back like a right old tart so they could tickle my tummy.  We would highly recommend these apartments for any other dog loving visitors to Torquay.

Firstly we had to go in the car to Brixham.  We were going to park in the 'harbour long stay car park' but it cost £7 for 5 hours or more.  What a rip off?!  The machine only took coins and Ann didn't have £7 in coins.  We thought about buying a ticket for 3-4 hours (even though we didn't know how long our walk would take) but then we saw a parking enforcement officer prowling around so we decided just to park in the higher part of Brixham for free and walk into town to get our bus.

We had to get on the number 22 bus to Kingswear at 10.05am.  I was a good girl when I got on the bus but I was not very well behaved while waiting for the bus.  I woofed at other buses that passed us and when the postie dared to walk past our bus stop I went absolutely ballistic.  It cost £2.70 for Ann & 50p for me to go from Brixham to Kingswear.  We got there about 10.30am.

For the first 20mins of our walk I had to stay on my lead because we were walking along a lane where cars might have come.  The houses were lovely - huge, but we think some might have been apartments. 

And then we hit the coastal path and I was allowed off my lead all the way back to Brixham.  Well, apart from one very small section, when we had to walk down a very steep hill, through a field full of sheep.  Ann was a bit cross with me.  I wanted to go chasing & was pulling on my lead - until she went really mad at me.  She said  if I didn't walk properly there was no way we would do any more walks.  She said she would go shopping instead.  I knew she meant it, so for the rest of the walk down the hill I walked properly by her side.  I have to say it was quite hard because there were loads of sheep and all I wanted to do was herd them into a corner.  Even though I was on my lead I was giving them 'the evils'.  They knew I was a collie that could keep them in order if I was allowed to?!! 

The other thing that was a bit tricky on this walk was that Ann had forgotten to bring us any water.  She got so excited packing her new rucksack, with unnecessary things that we didn't need, that she forgot to pack the one thing that we did need - water.  For the first 1 & a half hours there was no water for me but after that there were streams & troughs so I was happy.  Ann had packed an extra fleece in her rucksack because she couldn't believe that the 'thin, with all the warmth' top that she had bought last week at 'Mountain Warehouse' actually was thin & warm?!!  In fact today Ann was like a proper walker for the first time - new walking top, new walking trousers, new rucksack.  The ice warning came on in the car when we were driving to Brixham but Ann was toasty warm in all her new clothes.

This walk was lovely.  However it was a bit isolated.  We only saw four people in 3 and a half hours.  And then when we reached the 'Berry Head Country Park' there were loads of people walking their dogs.  At that point we thought we were almost back at Brixham.  We weren't, we still had at least a couple of miles to go to Berry Head, which is about a mile from Brixham.  So we kept walking and walking and walking!

Once we'd reached the 'Berry Head Hotel' Ann knew we were back in civilisation.  But we still had a couple of miles to walk back to the car.  We think we've walked between 12 - 14 miles today.

We're both very tired & sleepy!

The Portland Circuit - 13 miles



Ann was really worried about me last night.  I was sick a couple of times (fortunately on the bathroom floor which could be easily cleaned) but when she took me out for my wee before bedtime I didn’t want one.  All I wanted to do was eat grass.  I had an upset stomach and I thought that eating grass might help.  Ann put down newspaper all over the bedroom floor in case I was sick during the night but I wasn’t.  She said if I wasn’t very well in the morning we wouldn’t do a big walk – we’d just have a drive around and do some little walks.

This morning when I went for my little walk before breakfast at about 8.15am I ate loads of grass.  Ann thought I’d be desperate for a wee, because I hadn’t had one since about 4pm yesterday, but all I wanted to do was eat grass so I didn’t have a wee until I’d been out for about 10 mins.  I had to go in the car while Ann had breakfast today and she said if I was sick while she was having breakfast we’d abandon our third day of walking.  I love our walking holiday so I tried my hardest not to be sick.

However I still wasn’t feeling that great.  We drove to the car park at Chesil Beach, at the start of the road to Portland, and got there at about 9.30am. It cost us £5.50 to park there for 12 hours.  It was a massive car park and at least two dog walking people arrived, didn’t bother paying and just wandered off to exercise their dogs.   I had to stay on my lead because we were near the main road but we were walking through a grassy area and I ate loads of grass.  Ann said we didn’t have to do the whole walk – we could just have a little walk round the first area on Portland and then go back to the car.  However, after about half an hour I was let off my lead as we had to climb up a big steep hill to the top of some cliffs.  By then I was having such fun running about, that I forgot I wasn’t very well.

It was ever so cold at the start of our walk.  Ann had to wear her fleece, anorak and gloves but after about half an hour she took her anorak and gloves off and didn’t need to put them back on again.  It was a lovely day.  We could see for miles down the Chesil Beach.

There were quite a few people about on this walk.  I don’t think we went for more than 10 mins without seeing someone.  And also because it is quite a built up area with quite a lot of buses Ann said that if I wanted to abandon the walk at any time we would look on the map and head for the nearest bus stop so she could take me back to the car.  Portland seems to be well served with buses into Weymouth and they all had to pass where we’d left the car.

This walk was described as ‘moderate’ on the official SWCP website.  The first trek to the top of the cliffs was hard, then once we'd done about half of the walk we then had to go down and back up to a place called Church Ope Cove and then the last bit of the walk from the prison down to the water was hard.  Ann said that she had sore feet and also her knees were hurting occasionally.

We got to Portland Bill (the very end of Portland) by about 11.30am and had a coffee at the cafe there.  I got to have a drink in my foldable doggie water bowl.  The worst thing about this walk was that there were absolutely no streams for me to have a drink in.  Ann gave me drinks at regular intervals and I also had several drinks out of muddy puddles but there were no streams.  It wasn’t until we got back to the B&B and I drank loads that Ann wondered if Portland was a water free environment?!  We certainly couldn’t see any water marked on the map.

Once we’d rounded Portland Bill and were on the homeward route we had to walk past a ‘Young Offenders Institution and also the Prison – all very eerie.  I suppose they have these places on islands because if any of the inmates escape there’s only one route via the road off the island.

Apart from stopping for coffee we didn’t have any other breaks.  We didn’t have anything for lunch today but Ann said that she doesn’t really like stopping because her feet get sore when she stops and starts.  In fact neither of us has eaten very much during the last few days.

We got back to the car at about 2.15pm so our walk today took us just under 5 hours.

I’m absolutely shattered.  I’m just lying on my duvet fast asleep.  Ann is lying on the bed having a snooze.  She says her legs feel stiff all over.  I’ve had an absolutely lovely holiday walking the SWCP.  But 38 miles in 3 days is very tiring for a 6 year old collie like me.  I’m looking forward to going home tomorrow and hope that Ann is going to be at work a lot this week so I can have a few days of quiet sleep time.

However, I’m sure when I’ve re-charged my batteries I’ll be up and raring to go on our next walking holiday.  We think we might go to the Torquay area next.

Lulworth Cove to Ferrybridge (Weymouth) - 14 miles

I’m exhausted.  I’ve been walking for six hours and have had no sleep time today. 

We had to get the X53 bus to Wool Station at 10.05am and when we arrived at the bus stop at the Esplanade in Weymouth there was a massive queue.  We think everyone was going shopping in Poole because the bus was the Exeter to Poole one.  Anyway when the bus came it was a big double decker and even though we were at the end of the queue we still managed to get a single seat right at the front of the bus which meant that there was loads of room for me to sit and watch everyone getting on and off.  It cost £3.20 for Ann and the driver let me on for free.  It took us about 35 mins to get to Wool Station and then we had to transfer onto the 103 bus which was a little bus that arrived at 10.45am.  Again the driver let me on free and it cost Ann 90p to get to Lulworth Cove.  We arrived just before 11am.

Lulworth Cove was lovely.  All the houses had thatched roofs and it was ever so pretty.  There were a lot of people about.  We think most people were just having a little walk to Durdle Door Cove which was very pretty and about a mile from Lulworth Cove.  The coastal path out of Lulworth Cove took us up a big steep hill but it was obviously part of a well walked route because there was a wide path of steps leading right to the top.  Then, when we started to head down the other side, we met a group of about four young Dutch boys who told us there was an abandoned dog further down the path.  They said they’d tried phoning the number on its collar but got no answer.  Ann was a bit cross that they’d just left it for someone else to deal with, and so began our first adventure of the day.

The little dog was gorgeous.  It was a puppy spaniel and she was absolutely exhausted.  She was all wet and had loads of thorns etc sticking in her fur, her paws were red and it was obvious she’d had a really long walk and could go no further.  She was just lying at the side of the path half asleep but she wagged her tail when we approached her.  Ann was really annoyed because there were loads of people walking on this part of our walk and they all must have just ignored her.  Ann phoned the mobile number on her collar and left a message saying puppy was exhausted and that we would take her back to Lulworth Cove.  She let Ann pick her up and she snuggled right into her but as we had almost a mile to go back to Lulworth Cove, Ann asked if I’d mind if she borrowed my lead because puppy was too heavy to carry for long.  I didn’t mind.  I liked the puppy.  So we walked back.  I was off lead and puppy walked by Ann’s side on my lead.  When we got into the car park Ann told me I had to walk off lead by her side as there were a lot of cars about.  I managed to do that perfectly, but then when we got to the Heritage Centre she took the puppy off the lead, tied me up outside and carried puppy into the centre.  I couldn’t believe I’d been left outside when I’d been such a good girl.  Ann told the Heritage Centre man that she’d found puppy exhausted and didn’t know what to do with her.  Secretly I think Ann wanted to keep her but we knew she must belong to someone because she had a collar & ID tag on and she was also wearing one of those collars that sends out an electric shock if they bark too much.  The Heritage Centre man phoned a dog rescue centre, the dog warden and someone else but couldn’t find anyone that would help locate her owner.  The dog warden wasn’t even answering the phone and if he’d come out he could have scanned her to see if she was micro chipped.  Ann really wanted to take puppy with us, but she was so exhausted all she wanted to do was sleep.  When Ann put her down in the Heritage Centre she immediately just went to sleep so a 14 mile walk with us wasn’t really an option.  Ann told the Heritage Centre man that we were walking to Weymouth and if he could look after her, we’d come back and get her.  But the Heritage Centre closed at 4pm and we knew we wouldn’t be finished our walk by then, let alone be finished and be able to drive back to Lulworth Cove by 4pm.  Anyway after a lot of discussion, the Heritage Centre Man eventually found someone in the village that agreed to look after her until her owners contacted us.  We left her there, but by 3.30pm we still hadn’t heard anything from her owners so phoned the Heritage Centre.  Apparently the lady who was looking after her had phoned the local vet and asked him to do a search on puppy’s phone number.  It turns out that puppy belonged to someone who actually lives in Lulworth Cove and she’s been returned to her owners.  We’re happy about that, but very disappointed that puppy’s owners couldn’t even be bothered to return our call or the call from the Heritage Centre.  It makes us wonder what kind of a life puppy has?!

Anyway by the time we’d finished faffing about with all that it was well after 12 noon when we started our walk.  And obviously we had to go back up the big steep hill.  The first part of our walk was ever so hard.  There were three or four really strenuous areas where we had to walk down and up very steep hills.  The cliffs were very high and although we had lovely views (we could see all the way to Portland/Weymouth) it was very hard going.  After about the first half an hour there wasn’t many people about but it was a really lovely day, in fact Ann had to take her fleece off for some of the walk.  Also, after the first 1 – 2 hours the walk was quite easy.

This walk wasn’t totally isolated – there were other people that we met on all sections of the walk but because we’d ended up leaving so late we were very conscious of the fact that we had to get to Weymouth before it got dark.  Ann had some mini pork pies for our lunch but she wasn’t very hungry so we didn’t eat them.  We stopped a couple of times so that we could both have a drink.  There weren’t very many streams on this walk for me to drink out of and as I was doing quite a bit of running about I was getting thirsty.

After we’d been walking for a couple of hours we could hear loads of dogs barking.  And then, the next thing we knew, we saw 12-14 beagles running across several fields.  There was no one with them and we couldn’t see anything that they were chasing, but they were running in a pack and quite obviously seemed to know where they were going.  I was desperate to go chasing with them, but Ann said ‘NO’ so I was a good collie and just stuck to the path.  It was strange though – we didn’t know what they were up to.

We got to Osmington Mills at about 2.30pm and there was a very nice pub there called the ‘Smugglers’ with loads of seats outside.  It seemed like a really nice place to stop for a coffee but because we were very conscious that we had to get back to Weymouth by about 4pm-ish we didn’t stop.  Instead we just kept walking and walking and walking.  What was quite nice with this walk was that right from leaving Lulworth Cove we could see Weymouth and Portland so could see where we were aiming for.  We just didn’t know how long it would take us.

However once we got to the last hilly bit of our walk which was just before 4pm, and a built up area where we could see the Weymouth Esplanade, we stopped for a coffee in a very nice cafe called the ‘Lookout’.  Ann tied me to a picnic table while she went inside to order a coffee, but I was so tired I would have lain down even if I hadn’t been tied up.  In fact I didn’t feel very well

After coffee it was about another hours walk along the Esplanade, through the town and back to our B&B.  I kept stopping and trying to eat grass as I was feeling really sick by then.  We got back about 5.10pm and I’m totally exhausted.

I’ve been sick a couple of times since coming back but now I’m just lying asleep in the shower cubicle.  I hope I’ll be well enough to walk round the Portland Island tomorrow.

Abbotsbury to Ferrybridge (Weymouth) - 11 miles

Today we had to be at the bus stop on Weymouth Esplanade by 9.15am to get the X53 bus to Abbotsbury.  It was a big double decker bus that goes from Poole to Exeter.  It cost us £2.70 to get to Abbotsbury – 40p for me and £2.30 for Ann.  It wasn’t a very busy bus so we had a seat to ourselves.  We got to Abbotsbury at about 9.40am.  First, I had to stay on my lead while we walked down a little road until we got to some fields where we saw a coast path sign.  For the first hour or so we were walking through fields which were inland from Chesil Beach.

I was on my lead for most of this time as there were a lot of sheep in the fields and Ann said I couldn’t be trusted not to go chasing.  However, a little deer ran right in front of us, jumped over a fence and went zooming across the sheep field.  I was desperate to chase it, though I have to admit it was so speedy I don’t think I would ever have caught it.  It made all the sheep run together into the corner of their field, but by that time it was almost right at the other side of another field.  Then we met a farmer rounding up some other sheep on his quad bike.  He had three mongrel type dogs sitting on the back of his quad bike.  They weren’t collies and I thought I’d look much better than them sat on a quad bike – I’d have loved a go at that.

After about an hour or so we reached the sea at Chesil Beach and I was allowed off my lead for the rest of the walk.  I was a bit thirsty because I hadn’t had a drink since we left the B&B.  But then I spotted a big deep trough so I jumped in, had a drink and also had a good wallow in the water.  Unfortunately when I came to get out I couldn’t because the sides were too steep so Ann had to help me.

The weather wasn’t that great today.  It wasn’t cold and it didn’t rain but it was quite misty so we couldn’t admire the view.  We didn’t take very many photos.  Chesil Beach would have been lovely if we could have seen all the way to Portland but we only managed to see a little bit of Portland when we got to the end of our walk, and even then, most of it was shrouded in mist.  Also we didn’t meet many people on our walk today.  Every now and again, when we got near a village, we met dog walkers but we didn’t meet anyone else walking as far as we did today.  At least we don’t think we did.

Today’s walk is described on the official SWCP site as being easy – and it was.  Apart from the start, when we had to walk up hilly fields, it was pretty much all on the flat.  However there was absolutely nowhere for us to stop for coffee/lunch etc.  Ann had brought an M&S quiche that she hadn’t eaten last night, for our lunch but because it was so damp and misty we didn’t fancy sitting down anywhere so we just kept walking until we got to the end of our walk which took exactly 4 hours.  After my dip in the trough, I managed to find a couple more places to have a drink so I was OK and Ann had a few drinks of water but she just did that on the go.

We passed several caravan sites and wondered if they had a cafe/pub where we could stop for lunch but they all seemed to be closed for the winter.  We also walked through an area where I had to go back on my lead because there was a sign saying that ‘fast horses’ could be galloping past and there was what looked like a horse racing circuit.  But we couldn’t see anything on our map that indicated this.

The other thing that was really annoying was walking through a military area where apparently we had to keep to the path because there might have been unexploded devices.  Well we always keep to the path.  So, we walked round this area at Tidmoor Point where there is a rifle range, we kept to the path as all the signs said, and then we got to the end of the danger area and found a locked gate.  After consulting our map we realised we only had about another 10 – 15 yards to go.  So we climbed over the gate (which said ‘KEEP OUT’ at the other side but nothing on our side) and then we had to climb over another one.  It all seemed a bit weird – we’d followed all the signs, there were no flags flying to say that anything was happening and yet one weeny, teeny area of the SWCP appeared to be closed off.  Anyway we passed through this area in less than a minute and were on our way again.

We got to Ferrybridge, which was officially the end of our walk, at about 1.40pm and Ann spotted a really classy looking cafe with a lovely outdoor area called the ‘Crab House Cafe’.  We went there and Ann tied me up at a lovely outdoor picnic table, which was under cover, while she went in to ask if she could just have a coffee.  Once inside, Ann realised that it was a very posh fish restaurant.  However, because she’d gone in (looking like a scruffy, bedraggled, walker), she felt she had to say something so she asked if she could just have a coffee.  The ‘chef’ said that as it was so quiet we could.  Ann had a lovely cup of coffee for £1.90 and she gave me a drink of water in my foldable doggie bowl.

After that we had to walk back to our B&B which we did via the Rodwell Trail which is a walkway from Ferrybridge into the centre of Weymouth.  We reckon this added 1 – 2 miles onto our walk, but that’s OK.  Tomorrow when we do a more strenuous walk from Lulworth Cove to Weymouth it will be slightly less than the 14 miles to Ferrybridge.

I’m really tired now.  I’m trying to sleep but there’s fireworks going off and I just don’t know where to  lie so that I don’t hear them.

I’ve had a lovely day but I’m such a tired little collie dog now.