Journey to the Jurassic

Our Sunday hike took us west of here, just past Abbotsbury where we parked the car and made for Langdon Hill. (Just to record yet another kindness, we were surprised to discover that even in a woodsy car park well off the beaten track, there was a machine where visitors must insert a pound coin and get a ticket to display in their car window. We had bills with us, but no coins. A young couple, aware of our predicament, offered to pay our fee, but it turned out they were able to change our ten pound note, thus saving our day.)

Halfway around Langdon Hill, the trail made a right leading us to Golden Cap, the highest point along the Channel Coast at 626 feet of elevation. It is named for its warm yellow sandstone, but the cliffs below are composed of a blue-gray clay that is crumbling into the sea at a rate of about three feet per year. This clay is rich in fossils from the Jurassic Age, and many were down on the beach with their small picks and shovels, poking through the soft clay. Another time we'll go back prepared to do the same. (Our trail guide says that in 1986, a 35-ft ichthyosaur was unearthed at that location.)

On the way home, we detoured to the village of West Bay, stopping for tea and cake at a cafe that overlooks the harbor.

At Abbotsbury we abandoned the Coast Road, opting instead for one of the narrow back roads that Jenny and I had driven last week. It took us through farmland where we got up close and personal with countless sheep and saw a number of pheasants as well. There is a stretch of the South West Coast Path that leads right through those fields of sheep. I'd like to hike that some day...maybe getting to nuzzle one of those lambies. Dwight says they don't smell as good as they look, but that is something for me to discover for myself.