05:19:33
The early morning view from my bivvy bag. It was raining, and I didn't feel particularly inclined to get up in a hurry.05:50:47
A little later on, and a little lighter as a result.05:50:55
I quite liked the rain on my tarp, and was pleased that my setup had kept me warm and dry throughout the night. Unfortunately I now had to pack all this wet gear up...06:37:30
The spot where my tarp shelter had been.
06:48:49
Quite a late start by my normal standards of two day hikes. I blame the weather!06:48:52
06:55:50
There would probably have been nice views here, had the visibility been better.07:01:17
The rain wasn'tvery heavy, so I tried to just make do with my insulated jacket (which isn't really waterproof).
07:05:26
Apparrently Langham Wine Estate is somewhere near here...?07:16:18
It got really misty at this point.07:17:02
...but shortly after it started to lift.07:18:37
I turned off the road at Bulbarrow Hill / Rawlsbury Camp.
07:19:40
Quite an atmospheric spot actually, although having not slept very well I wasn't really in the best frame of mind to fully appreciate it.07:25:50
...and managed to take a wrong turn so ended up walking almost entirely round Rawlsbury Camp.07:29:13
07:33:04
07:38:43
This stuff - wet grass in the morning of day two - is my arch enemy. My boots seemed to get soaked through in a matter of seconds, and then it wasn't long after that until my feet started to get sore, and then the joy of being out in the countryside on a long walk started to subside.07:47:51
Further obstacles in the form of mud - it was supposed to be the middle of August!07:50:04
Oh and this "ford" which seemed in practice to mean the stream was following the course of the path.07:50:40
07:53:24
08:00:05
Oh and then even longer wet grass conspired to get my trousers wet as well.08:00:32
Look at that. Ridiculous.08:09:54
More of the vindictive long wet grass.
08:17:21
08:19:50
08:28:13
Looks like the hay had just been cut here. I think this was around Melcombe Park Farm.08:35:34
Views improving as I headed up Nordon Hill. Although I managed to take another wrong turn around here which added on some extra distance I'd rather have avoided.
08:35:37
08:43:30
This spot - Dorsetshire Gap - provided a bit of respite from what was otherwise a fairly joyless trudge this morning.08:44:18
Very nice views from here in all directions.08:45:18
Although to the south the weather wasn't quite as good.
08:45:46
A video of Dorsetshire Gap.09:01:23
Through a wooded section beyond Dorsetshire Gap, where once again I managed to stray off course somehow. The signposts on this section of the Wessex Ridgeway really could be better.09:04:08
Gates also became an irritation in my weary state.09:08:31
For a moment I thought this might be a public toilet or something.
09:11:29
Sloes?09:13:40
An extremely overgrown path, yet another thing sent to try me on today's walk.09:17:02
I was pleased when the path opened up at the other end of that bit.09:22:48
09:42:33
Ball Hill I think - nice views from here.09:43:33
09:44:15
09:47:41
Puffball?
09:50:09
09:58:33
Enclosure marked on the OS map on Church Hill.10:11:16
10:23:29
10:31:30
10:42:18
11:02:29
11:13:16
This campsite at Giant's Head couldn't have been more of a stark contrast to the campsute I'd stayed in last night.
11:17:23
Nearing Cerne Abbas now, and I parted ways with the Wessex Ridgeway here, which goes off on another of its strange detours here. I just wanted to head as directly as possible into Cerne Abbas and find the nearest pub.11:23:38
11:30:31
11:34:37
Nice chalky hillside path heading into Cerne Abbas, which I would probably have appreciated more had I not been on a very narrow minded mission by this point to get to the pub.
11:37:12
Scabious.11:40:49
More of that chalky hillside path.11:47:09
Very close to the Cerne Giant here, but of course hill carvings like this need to be seen from a distance.11:50:12
A flock of sheep guarding the entrance to Cerne Abbas.
11:51:46
I passed through this gateway into Cerne Abbas.11:53:57
It's a very pretty village and I was glad to have the opportunity to visit, however briefly.11:55:38
I stopped at the first pub I came to - the Royal Oak.12:11:13
I was extremely pleased to have a sit down, the opportunity to take my wet boots / socks off, and have a pint.
12:20:32
My Sunday roast, this was much appreciated.12:53:11
After lunch, having booked a taxi to take me to Maiden Newton, I thought I had to make an effort and hobble over to the viewing point to see the giant.12:53:14
Here it is zoomed in a bit.12:53:17
...and zoomed in a bit more.
12:53:22
13:01:28
The village stocks.13:01:35
More houses in Cerne Abbas - what a pretty place it is.13:45:33
After getting the taxi to Maiden Newton, I thought this sign at the station looked interesting.
14:41:54
Taken from the train back to London (which went a circuitous route, with changes at Westbury and then Salisbury), I was fascinated to see that halts still exist.