Date: January 1997
Participants: Graham Beevor, Malcolm Duff, Howard Hillier-Daines, Drew Rush, Malcolm Rush, John Schmitt, Brian Shaw and Geoff Wright.
Despite the tough experience of The Peak District in 1996 the same group turned out again for our trip to the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset.
Tucked away in the south-eastern corner of the county, Purbeck is some 60 sq. miles of land that is bounded on almost all sides by water, and although not an island in the strict meaning of the word, it does convey a feeling that is particularly apt.
The name ‘Purbeck’ reputedly translates as ‘beak-shaped ridge which is home to bittern or snipe’, which is Saxon. The beak-shaped ridge we might assume refers to the Purbeck Hills.
Our plan was to spend some time walking ‘the beak’, although it was also our intention to walk some of the coastal path to enjoy the sea views.
Geoff drove down separately and we agreed to meet in the Castle Inn, in Corfe Castle for a drink before heading into Swanage.
Saturday
Our plan for Saturday was to do the coastal path out to the west and come back along the mighty Purbeck Ridgeway, finishing in Corfe Castle - a distance of approximately 21km (13 miles). As we intended to start at Kingston we used all three cars – leaving Geoff’s in Corfe Castle before heading south to Kingston.
After this logistics exercise we were finally able to proceed with the business of the day.
We took the minor road south and then, as it came to an end, the footpath down to Houns-tout Cliff where we were able to join the coastal path.
It was not long though before we had found something to explore. At the junction with the path leading to Encombe Dairy we discovered what appeared to be a man made cave. Initial thoughts were that it might have been used as an ice house for the Dairy, but the distance probably ruled this out. Other suggestions included somewhere to store things landed from the sea.
With no way of ascertaining its true use we moved on. The path went up and down and it was evident that there had been a lot of erosion. Several of the footbridges had been moved or replaced whenever it was necessary for the footpath to be moved further north.
We continued to Kimmeridge Bay where a number of activities took place.
First we took the opportunity to have a quick look round Clavell Tower, also known as Clavell Folly and the Kimmeridge Tower.
The tower is part of the Smedmore estate and was built about 1831 by the Reverend John Richards who had either changed his name to Clavell after inheriting the estate in 1817, or as a ploy to inherit the estate.
There are 3 floors to the 35ft high tower, and some evidence of fireplaces, which might suggest the intention of all year occupancy, but access to the first and second floors would have been by ladder.
However, its main purpose has never been known, and although there were suggestions that it could have been built as either a summer house, an observatory or a watchtower, they have all been discounted for one reason or another. The most likely reason is simply that it was built as a folly.
Whatever the answer, it is considered part of our heritage and worth saving from falling into the sea. The Landmark Trust has therefore now (mid 2007) commenced dismantling this landmark and will rebuild it 25m away from the cliff edge.
There were also some picnic tables at Kimmeridge Bay so we decided that it was a good spot to have our lunch. As most of us tucked into our sandwiches Malcolm R found an owl’s pellet that he set about dissecting. After each night's hunting the owl regurgitates one or two black pellets typically about the size of a man's thumb and containing the indigestible remains of four or five small mammals. They do not smell and are usually enclosed by softer material like fur, feathers and vegetable fibre.
With lunch and the biology session over it was time to move on. There was still a bit more of the coastal path to follow before we were going to move inland.
As we followed the path around the bay we got closer to the oil derrick that we had been observing during lunch, until we were almost next to the ‘nodding donkey’.
The Well was drilled in 1959 and 80 barrels (12,720 litres) a day of high quality oil are pumped out from the Kimmeridge shale 520 metres below sea level.
As we continued on our way we had good views, firstly of Hobarrow Bay and then Brandy Bay from the top of Gad Cliff. It was then down hill to Worbarrow Bay, where we took a five minute break.
Graham, who has a problem with his left knee during steep descents, had rapidly gone from first place to last.
It was then a steep climb to Flower’s Barrow hill fort, with its limited future. Although ramparts are visible on the north, west and east side, either there were none on the south side, or they have fallen into the sea.
From here we started to head back and followed the path north-east up the slope. Fortunately the MOD was not using the ranges for practice and it was safe for us to proceed with our chosen route.
As we neared the brow we had a good view of the ridgeway and the summit of Povington Hill, at 200 meters above sea level.
We kept to the path as we continued east, over the summit, past some picnic tables, over Ridgeway Hill and onto Knowle Hill.
From the trig point we dropped down into Corfe Castle, with the castle, from which the town takes its name, being clearly visible.
The castle does in fact have a long and eventful history – it was built soon after the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 and is positioned strategically in the gap between the Purbeck Hills. It was perfect for defending inland Dorset against attack from the sea and not surprisingly therefore, was a royal fortress for over 600 years.
In 1572 Queen Elizabeth I sold it to her Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton, who subsequently sold it in 1635 to Sir John Bankes. Following his death shortly afterwards his widow Lady Mary Bankes successfully defended the castle during a Civil War siege in 1643. However, a second siege in 1646 led to its capture by the parliamentarians who deliberately demolished it, resulting in the dramatic ruin seen by us.
Upon arrival in the town we located Geoff’s car and he drove the other drivers back to Kingston to collect the other cars. In the meantime the rest of us went to a café for a nice cup of tea.
Back at the B&B we changed and then walked to the local pub. We ate, played cards and tried a beer called Ringwood 49er. It was a nice way to spend the evening after a pleasant day in the hills.
Sunday
After breakfast we needed to vacate our rooms, so it was a case of paying the bill and loading our casual wear into the cars. But there was of course still at least half a day available for walking.
The task we had set ourselves was to hike from Swanage to Corfe Castle along Nine Barrows Down, a linear barrow cemetery of round barrows and a long barrow on the Purbeck Ridgeway. The barrows are very impressive and clearly visible for many miles around, although the long barrow is harder to discern.
We took the road north, steadily up the hill, until we met the footpath just north of Ulwell Farm.
We followed this to the west and met the main path as it came down from the north.
There were good views all around and we stopped to take some photos of Swanage and it’s Bay that was clearly visible to the south-east.
A little further on we were able to see Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island to the north.
We continued this pleasant walk along the ridge that included Ailwood Down, Brenscombe Hill and Rollington Hill, before we made our way into Corfe Castle.
It was now time for lunch and from the numerous pubs available, we chose The Fox Inn, reputed to be the oldest pub in town. The pub had a 14th century fireplace with a real fire and there were barrels on the floor. From the garden you could see the castle and the Purbeck Hills.
After lunch we made our way to the station and enjoyed the steam train ride back to Swanage.
Upon our arrival there was time to inspect the train and take a few photos, before we eventually headed back to the cars for the journey home.
