Abbotsbury to Littlebredy - 1st December 2016

This was part two of our previous week's walk, inspired by St Catherine. It has made it to number one in Becky's 2016 Solo Walks Chart, by dint of the sheer beauty and clarity of the day (yes, despite the pea-souper in the Valley of the Stones). Some days linger in the memory and you savour them over and over again . Today was such a day and one  I shall not forget in a hurry.

It started with the mist - for which I had to turn round at the petrol station on the A37 to return to the parking spot to take a photo.

View from A37 at 0800

At Abbotsbury I lingered once more in St Catherine's Chapel, seeking and finding poetic inspiration in its setting and legends.

St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury - SY5784

St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury - SY5784

Inside St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury - SY5784

Seeing the bright sunshine outside the chapel, I eventually stole myself awaying form poetic musings and walked out into a scene of mist, rooks and cows.

Rooks and cows on St Catherine's Hill, Abbotsbury - SY5785

I made my way northwards across Abbotsbury Plains, casting lingering looks back to the sainted village of Abbotsbury.

Abbostbury - SY5785

Walking through Oxlip Coppice, I gradually entered thicker mist.

Oxlip coppice - SY5885

Abbotsbury Plains - SY5885

An unusual structure caught my eye, but I have not been able to find out what it is, unless it's just a tunnel - a rather attractive one at that!

Tunnel on Abbotsbury Plains - SY5885

I was surprised, but somehow comforted, to hear distant voices as I reached the end of a field. Surely I was in the middle of nowhere? Then I realised I was actually close to the road I'd driven down earlier in the day. In fact I was about to emerge onto that road to walk along it, starting at the point Paul and  I had identified as being the only sensible place to park if we wanted to quicky access the Valley of the Stones.

Bishop's Road - SY5886

I have to confess I fought disappointment as I wandered mindlessly along the road and very nearly turned back as the fog grew thicker and thicker. What was the point if I couldn't even photograph anything? Somehow I kept going, even braving a herd of (apparently friendly) Long-horned Cattle which are deliberately reared here to graze the important nature reserve. Again apparently there are some rare lichens here and I've always advocated lichen hunting in the winter when all else wildlife-wise fails. I didn't know about the lichen as I congratulated myself on walking courageously through what looked like a deadly herd of cattle (they didn't budge as it happened) and decided to carry on regardless.

I have to admit it was a little atmospheric here, though I wish I knew exactly what I was looking at. I'd assumed it was huge standing stones, but I guessed that even with this thick fog, large standing stones would loom mysteriously in front of me before I actually walked into one. If I'd known I intended walking here, I'd have done a bit of research. Another place to return to with Paul.

Valley of the Stones - SY6087

Valley of the Stones - SY6087

I've not counted those photos of the Valley of the Stones in my gridsquare count as I want to return in better weather. To count as a geograph, the photo needs to show features within that gridsquare quite clearly, and I don't think those photos do, even if they are atmospheric!

I took a boring photo of the minor road leading to Littlebredy for gridsquare SY5988 and caught a misty glimpse of Bridehead, also in that gridsquare.

Road to Littlebredy - SY5988

Bridehead - SY5988

I continued to the church, where I ate my lunch.

Church of St Mary, Littlebredy - SY5889

Still in mist and gone lunch time, I wondered if the mist had cleared at Abbotsbury. If not, I doubted it would ever clear that day. I was cheered by the presence of a sign inviting people to walk in the grounds of Bridehead and I soon heard the rushing of a waterfall and walked in that direction.

Waterfall in Bridehead grounds - SY5888

This gave me an opportunity to acquire a gridsquare I wouldn't otherwise have walked in today. I couldn't rejoin the footpath from here, however, so retraced my steps through the sleepy village to a footpath sign leading southwards.

Here I entered fairyland - a magical place full of dewy webs and silvery threads created by the mist and peeping sunshine. You see, if I'd followed my instincts and turned back I would have missed this wonderland. I was in awe, gasping and clicking at every shrouded umbellifer.

Dewy grass near the Valley of the Stones - SY5988

Dewy grass near the Valley of the Stones - SY5988

Fairy chandelier in the Valley of the Stones - SY5988

Fairy chandelier in the Valley of the Stones - SY5988

Looming out of the mist - near Littlebredy - SY5988

Still in wonder, I emerged from the mist into glorious sunshine at Toppart's Dairy, where a sunny sign invited me back into the Valley of the Stones. No, I wanted to leave it shrouded in mystery to return to with new anticipation.

Valley of the Stones - western entrance - SY5987

Felling gloriously uplifted, I wandered back down the hill towards Abbotsbury, through White Hill plantation with its ubiquitous strip lynchets.

Strip lynchets at White Hill Planation - SY5886

My day was not yet over by a long shot. I still had St Nicholas church to revisit, tea and cake to consume, poetry to write and recite in the wonderful acoustics of St Catherine's chapel and sunset to anticipate. The wonder of several hours has just been reduced to a sentence because some things are just best left unsaid for fear of shattering their inherent beauty. Photos fall far short of such exquisite moments.

Reflection, St Nicholas' Church, Abbotsbury - SY5785

St Catherine's Chapel through autumn leaves - SY5785

Tree, Abbotsbury - SY5785

Window, St Catherine's Chapel - SY5785

St Catherine's sunset - SY5785

Number of new gridsquares: 6
Number of missed gridsquares: 2
Number of miles walked: 10.1
Number of fairy chandeliers: innumerable
Number of times I was glad to be alive today: innumerable