UP ON EYPE DOWN

a feast for the eyes on May Day

By The Bimbler

It’s the first day of May and Spring has arrived so I head out to traverse Eype Down on the South Coast Path, an area justifiably allocated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Just minutes into my ascent from the beach a sea mist rolls in and it’s icy cold in stark contrast to the warmth of the sun

I’m struck by the eery quality of the mist which obscures the land below leaving just fleeting glipses of distant hill tops.

In the background is Golden Cap, at 627 feet the highest cliff in Southern England.

I continue up until reaching Thorncombe Beacon, it’s name a direct reference to the role it played in the chain of prominent signaling beacons dotted along the coast line which once warned of the approach of the Spanish Armada back in the 1580’s

It’s offers a superb vista Eastwards along Chesil beach with Portland in the distance

after my leisurely ascent it’s time for a warming drink and a snack… a common theme in my bimbles and a personal reward for not much effort!

After refreshments it’s time to head over the Common land of Eype Down and through the Bluebell woods on my way homewards

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Stopping to admire an old Showmans wagon and a Shepherds hut I imagine how much things have changed since the original occupants gazed out across this beautiful part of the world.