and set off up on the footpath up towards Hambeldon Hill
under dramatic skies.
Happily there were a couple of gates, but not really squeaky enough to be very tuneful
and some rusty wires, making line, shape and pattern
Hambledon is one of the 20 Hill Forts in Dorset. I have been to 12, not all of them are on footpaths, but I will see if I can go to a few more, there always such magnificent views from up there.
Dil on a Hill
Then back down the hill to the Pub garden
for lunch
I am glad I ordered a Child’s portion of Roast Beef – look at the size of that Yorkshire pudding – it was massive – and yummy.
Last year, in April, I was in a quandry about which colours to use in my Coastal Cosy blanket – and you dear readers helped me out – pinks or no pinks that was the question.
I finished the blanket back in the Autumn, but have been waiting for a suitable sunny day to take it to the beach for its Ta Dah! moment.
Yesterday was the day and we went on a fabulous walk at Tyneham before getting to the beach
there was a bit of resistance to climbing that hill but after seeing this sign
chatting about exploding cows got us to the top
walking through coconut scented gorse bushes towards Flowers Barrow and looking inland at Lulworth Castle
and then the most glorious view of the steep descent to the beach
oh my aching knees! but Oh! it was so worth it.
The blanket had found exactly the right place to be photographed
and because it went so beautifully with the colours there, it has been re-named the Worbarrow Bay Blanket.
Master R and Little Miss M were happy to help me with the photo shoot.
and came up with some novel ideas of their own …
blanket angels
“we are a rock”
“it would look good on this rock over here Granny”
and then back to hunting for sea glass
our haul after about an hour and a half
tiny pieces of treasure.
We walked 3.8 miles bringing the total number of miles walked by Little Miss M and me to 65 of our 500 mile target.
More details of the colour order and the edging of the Worbarrow Bay Blanket to follow in a future post.
Edit
In case you would like to visit Tyneham and Worbarrow – here are the Opening times for this year.
On Sunday, Little Miss M and I added 2.7 miles to our target of 500 miles.
The weather has been relentlessly wet and windy since I returned from Egypt on the 5th March, so it was a relief that the sun was shining at last. But still so windy!
We parked near Kingston and walked through the woods towards the sea
Little Miss M often likes to run ahead, and found a hill that she and her siblings wanted to roll down – but it was a bit steep for that! So on we went
pushing on against the wind
to be rewarded with gorgeous views towards the Isle of Portland
and a brief stop to taste some gorse flowers, in the summer they taste like coconut – not much taste on this cold and windy March day
but the colour! That yellow just glows in the sunshine.
All the colours looked crisp and clear after the weeks of rain we have had.
Click on any photo to see it full screen.
We were battered by the wind, but did our best to stop and breathe in the colours and the elements and the sheer joy of being in such a beautiful place.
We did not go right to the end, there have been a few scary cliff falls along the coast recently especially further west at West Bay, when this happened on 15 March.
Looking East over the dry stone walls, one could catch the sound of larks singing – extraordinary delicate silver tinkling amidst the bluster of the wind.
Larks say “Summer is a-coming” to me like no other bird does and remind me of hot sunny days lying on Dorset hill tops looking up into the sky trying to see their little bodies on the wing, dark against a clear blue sky.
No lying on hilltops on Sunday though – we turned back
and this time noticed Encombe House in the valley, much of it is hidden by the trees, but can you see the pavilion looking out onto the lake with a little white boat on it?
but not before gathering some wild garlic so that my daughter could try a new Salsa Verde recipe.
In the woods Little Miss M also wanted to gather some moss and ivy and as many different leaves as she could find to take to school.
My son ( the running one) had told me about a new App that records walks and runs – so I tried it out for the first time – I haven’t quite mastered adding the photos properly, but it is a fun free App called Relive – here is our walk:
The App seemed to run my battery down very quickly so I had to turn it off before we made it to the pub. My son recorded his 46 mile run around Bristol – (yes! that is not a typo – 46 miles!!!!) a couple of weekends ago, so there must be something wrong with my phone.
We went to the Scott Arms where you can sit in the garden as gaze across at Corfe Castle – what a view!
Do click on this picture and see it bigger – we could see for miles.
Little Miss M was thrilled that she could look through the telescope and ran to tell me that she could see a person in a red jacket walking around at Corfe Castle
There is a footpath, part of the Hardy Way, that goes from Kingston to Corfe Castle and we all decided we would like to walk it on a warm summer’s day.
Here we are on the first Tuesday of the Month , our Monthly Meet-up Photo Challenge, with another collection of WINDOW photographs. To join in please leave a link to your photos in the comments. Your photos can be any interpretation of the subject, and can be your latest photos or archive photos and posts – all welcome.
Forde Abbey on the Somerset/Dorset border in the south of England is the perfect place if you are looking for a collection of windows to photograph. Join them on Instagram to see some wonderful photos of the gardens.
The photos above are the windows to the Orangery, we couldn’t go in in February, but peeped through the windows to see the citrus trees inside
I hope we will be able to wander through this space later in the year when the house is open for viewing.
Til then we had the outside views to enjoy.
But we could go into the Chapel where, behind the Rood Screen, there was a delicate tree flowering in the window – is that a Mimosa?
but this Window at the other end of the Chapel stole the show
especially with that blue sky beaming through.
I’m looking forward to seeing the windows you have spied this month.
The picture is missing Jenny, who joined us later.
Sladers Yard (in West Bay, Dorset, UK) were very accommodating and welcoming. We had a board of yummy cakes garnished with strawberries and cherries – I wish I had taken a photo! And they had set aside two tables at the back of the room for us.
There were nine adult crocheters altogether and a delightful junior knitter.
There is something so deeply comforting about being with a group of women coming together and making things together – it is timeless – a connection with our ancestors reaching back over the centuries.
It is great to share ideas and talk about our current a future projects, equipment and how we store our stash.
And don’t you just LOVE Helen’s craft bag!
I admit to a bit of Craft Bag envy!
We felt we had to get at least some pictures on the beach, to show us firmly placed in West Bay, especially to send to Lucy, the designer of the blanket that had brought us all together. Lucy comes from these parts and often returns here for holidays and family visits.
Some of our group had other places they had to be for lunch, so there were fond farewells and talks of meeting again, before a few of us went to the beach where as you can see – it was a bit windy.
I’m hopeless at selfies!
Just right for paragliders
And then there were 3, we had a wander around the harbour
Time for a few more photos
I love this one of Kay and Sandra
And then back to Sladers Yard for a lunch.
A huge thank you to everyone who came and made our Gathering such an enjoyable one – and thank you to all those who have said they would like to come to another one – yes there will be another meeting, not sure when yet.
Any one of the group might arrange a meeting in their area and I will do my best to get there. I will be arranging one in early Summer and will give plenty of notice here on my blog and on Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks also to Stylecraft Yarns for sending such amazing goody bags – everyone was thrilled! We all have plans for our Batik Elements Yarn. The colours on the website do not do it justice, they are much lighter and lovelier! The youngest member of our group used hers as a friendship bracelet for her cuddly toy – just the right fit!
And I have some goody bags left for anyone new who comes to the next meeting.
Thank you to Sladers Yard for their wonderful hospitality, and to some of the other customers who came to chat about crochet.
One guy told me that he had learnt to knit when he was 8 and loved it but his Grandad had ridiculed him for ‘being a girl’ and he’d stopped. I told him about all the many examples of men knititng and crocheting online and he said he might take it up again in his impending retirement. He said we should exhibit our work in a gallery as it was so good! Now there’s a thought …….. !
Of course the biggest thank you has to go to Lucy for creating such a friendly and fabulous crochet community with her heart-warming blog posts and wonderfully colourful designs. This is the fourth Lucy Crochet Along I have done and each one has brought a wonderful sense of community but there seems to be something about these colours that have inspired many of us to gathering in groups all over the world, to share the Sweet Pea journey.
I think about 12 of us will be meeting up for Coffee and Crochet and sharing our Attic24 Sweet Pea Cal projects. All Attic24 fans are welcome, the more the merrier!
There will be cake – and they do a most delicious Turmeric Latte
I will most probably stay for lunch and anyone is welcome to join me – here is a sample menu – a bit pricey perhaps, but looks yummy.
There are loads of other wonderful places to eat in West Bay, The George pub, just round the corner does a spendid Carvery for just £8.50, but you need to book – it is very popular. And even on a Sunday in Winter there are some kiosks open around the harbour, selling burgers, tea and coffee.
Please leave me a message in the comments of via my Contact Me page if you have any questions, or to let me know you will be joining us.
It would be great for me to get an idea of numbers as I have some Goody Bags to make up! Yes! Goody Bags generously donated by the wonderful Stylecraft! Eeek! I don’t want to say anything about them yet as I want them to be surprise on the day. I think you’ll like them though! 😀
The Crochet Along is really gathering momentum on Instagram #attic24sweetpeacal and in the Facebook Group and there seem to be quite a few groups of crocheters meeting up to share the Sweet Pea journey together. There is a real warmth to the crochet community.
I am making the Baby Blanket size, and it got me thinking about making a baby version of my toddlers’ Fairy Jacket pattern
A Sweet Pea Flower Fairy
I’m working on the written pattern for Newborn – 3months old  – I hope to have it finished soon to offer as a Free Pattern to my blog readers and to the Attic24 Facebook group, for a limited time before it goes into my Ravelry Shop.
So I’d better get on with it! Writing patterns is much harder than creating them with yarn!
I am really looking forward to seeing as many Attic24 fans as can make it on Sunday, til then Happy Hooking!
It is always exciting meeting someone from a train, but a fellow blogger – that’s very special! I was looking forward to our day and RJ seemed very happy to have arrived at my local station.
We went back to my house for a quick cuppa, and then onto the National Trust Car Park above Ringstead.Glorious!
We walked along the top, enjoying the views out to sea and far inland, Â
and then turning downhill towards one of my favourite destinations, St. Catherine’s Chapel, a little wooden gem, which has featured in a couple of previous blog posts. Here, and here.
There is a fine view of the sea from the windows, and always pretty garden flowers to decorate the chapel.
Outside, in the graveyard, there are plenty of benches on which one can sit and enjoy the view
even when the sun goes behind the clouds.
Watercraft was buzzing about while we sat chatting about blogging and crochet, listening to the rhythm of the waves below.
Neither of us are particularly keen on having our photograph taken but we thought we would have a go at a selfie as part of the record of the day before heading back to the car for a 20 minute drive to Moreton Tea Rooms for lunch.
We sat in the gardens
both choosing the same dish from the menu – very British fare – Ham, Egg and Cheese on muffins
And can you see the beautiful gift RJ gave me! one of her fabulous Celtic pot stands. WOW!!!!! How lucky I am – it is GORGEOUS!!!!
After lunch we explored all that Moreton has to offer.
This church holds a special place in my heart as my son and daughter-in-law were married here, their two boys were christened here and one Christmas with her Dad playing the organ, my lovely daughter-in-law, 6 months pregnant with her first baby, in a pale blue robe, led the choir into the church singing a solo of the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City. It gives me happy goose bumps when I remember that magical occasion.
The floor is beautiful too
I see doodles, mandalas and crochet patterns
We went on for a short walk to the river, where there is a ford, a popular place for paddling on hot summer days. We visited the grave of T.E.Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arbia as he was called, then into
Moreton Walled Garden (photo taken earlier this summer) for a wander and a cup of tea before returning to the railway station, about a mile and a half away.
It was lovely to spend time with a fellow blogger and get to talk about our many mutual interests. I felt very lucky to be able to show Jane around my patch and on such a lovely day – not too hot and no rain – perfect! I hope you enjoyed coming along with us.
for lunch
We headed for the pub and a hot chocolate
What a happy bunch we were!
We all have plans for our 
I’m so excited about next Sunday! Attic24 Crocheters will be meeting at this lovely cafe and Art Gallery
Glorious!
and then turning downhill towards one of my favourite destinations, 
famous for its wonderful engraved windows by 
 We visited the grave of 
for a wander and a cup of tea before returning to the railway station, about a mile and a half away.
Ravelry