Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cliff walk at Dunscombe to see the Elder



A walk along the clifftops today, seeing as it's summer and the view is good. One of the reasons for walking about in June is to see the Elders in flower, as this is the time that they make themselves visible and we can play spot the Elderflower. Elderflower makes good wine and later on there will be Elderberries too. Pick them while the sun is shining.

This walk is partly along the South West Coast Path, which you can walk along for about 630 miles if you have the time. This particular stretch is graded as severe to strenuous and the ground can be very flinty so this walk is not for the faint of heart. One of the things that I like about the path is that in these days of over enthusiastic health and safety (unless you are a large corporation in which case no law seems to apply) the path brings you within a foot or two of the edge of the cliff in some places, so you have to be pretty careful around here and watch for sudden gusts of wind or wet and slippery ground. People do fall off these cliffs on a fairly regular basis and depending on where you fall you either end up very quickly down on the beach about 500 feet below, or you get stuck in a tree or bush and you might get rescued. These parts of the walk always give me the heebie-jeebies anyway.

The days are long here now, with it starting to get light after 3:30 and getting properly dark at around 10. In the winter it gets light after 8 in the morning and will be dark again just after 5, so lots of daylight to enjoy at the moment. In the next part of this walk we will get to Salcombe church, which is very nice indeed if you enjoy that sort of thing. It's certainly peaceful there, as there is hardly any traffic on any of the lanes. There is a bench in the first photo where we can take a rest and enjoy the view for now.

14 comments:

nobody said...

Hullo John, at first I wondered if that chair wasn't suicidal and that perhaps we ought to refer it to a shrink. But then I kicked myself for not having realised that it is in fact a perfect Stoner's Couch of the Gods. I mean, look at it - it's got 'enjoy a hottie' written all over it.

And imagine the sick horror of arriving there, being struck by the obviousness of the chair, and then suddenly realising you'd forgotten to bring any with you! Awful. There'd be nothing for it but to shed tears of frustration and curse yourself for being so foolish.

That aside, doesn't it speak well of the local council that they should support the, um... 'arts' in such a fashion? Finally the rate-payer's money spent on something worthwhile. Hooray.

Otherwise, lovely. I could smell the sharp sea air coming off the screen.

john said...

Yes that is the place for it nobody.

Many years ago I went to considerable trouble to get back to a beach of my childhood and after finally getting there and walking all the way along the beach I sat down for a smoke and discovered that I had the smoke but not the lighter. you can imagine my delighted reaction.

One of the things that I really like about the place in the photos is how wonderfully quiet it is. No roads or distant sound of traffic, just the sea and the odd plane.

Hope all going well where you are.

nobody said...

Hee Hee, the story of my life.

Actually at the moment the aforementioned story consists of me jumping through government hoops. Thirty years ago I passed both my motorcycle and car licences first time each but now, what with my licence being lapsed for more than five years and having to do the tests all over again, I have failed three times. And each for the most absurd 'gotcha' reasons. Anyway I've learnt my lesson and that is: the law is an ass. Oh wait, I knew that already. Never mind.

But! One day I shall have a licence again and then I can buy a van and hit the road. How nice it'll be to have a space of my own even if it's only a camper van and whatever deserted location I can drive it too.

Devon looks nice. I wonder how long it would take to drive there? A day or so?

john said...

Argh, I hate government red tapey hoop jumping stuff, especially as I expect you can probably drive perfectly well. It must be annoying for you to have to put your plans on hold because of this and I hope you can get it sorted soon.

I passed my driving test first time too nobody, but only by accident.

I was pretty nervous on the test and had a lesson beforehand in which I drove appallingly, trying to drive through red lights and such.

The examiner gave me instructions to drive straight ahead unless he told me otherwise. Upon arriving at a staggered junction I just hung a left and the examiner freaked and made me stop the car. He asked me why I had turned left and I explained that I had got confused because of the staggered junction and had just hung a left, for some reason he then allowed me to continue.

Seeing as I thought I had failed in the first five minutes all my nerves went and I thought "Oh well I might as well show him that I can drive ok really" and proceeded to do everything perfectly.

Much to my surprise, at the end of the examination he told me that I had passed! I had to ask him why he had passed me and he replied "Well, I'm here to test your driving skills, not your intelligence" which seemed fair enough I thought.

john said...

Having your own camper van will be fantastic nobody and is something very much to look forward too. A home wherever you go. There must be quite a few places to go in Australia probably.

Devon might take a day or more to drive to, depending on how fast you drive. It might even take a bit longer possibly.

reem said...

Hi John ،i missed your work very much ،it's nice place ،i'm sure you have enjoed walking there،and these beautifull ELdon flowers ,the see seems quiet and the summer is cool ،i'm in syria now ،and life is very quiet here not as media says،peopl want safe situation and normal dayes،but we have some problems in Homs .

Also we have problems to contact the internet،anyway i am so glad today to be able to see your photos and write comment for you ،have good time and enjoy the light day John.

john said...

Choukran Reem and thank you very much. I hope you are very much enjoying your visit to Syria and it is very interesting to me to find that it is quiet there and not as has been described in the media, as you say people want safe situation and normal days. I very much hope that this is how things will be for Syria and everywhere.

The weather has been nice here lately with temperatures that we consider to be warm and pleasant. I am glad that you are enjoying the cliff walk, I will try to put some more of the photos from this walk in a few days.

Thanks very much for popping round and leaving a comment. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. All the best to you.

reem said...

Yes,i liked this cliff even it seems dingeras but at the same time it's quiet and you can sit there and take a rest ،think about good time ،alone or with a friend،i guess you were alone.

It's the season to pick up the apricot here in Syria and local people are making jam in my town ،everything is going well and life is nice and normal ،people are enjoying .

I think there is no revolution here in Syria ،actualy there are asectarianism people and they don't want safe situation ،most syrian people don't want to distroy this country and who wants that ugly thing?anyway we hope the best and peace for all people.

Enjoy the life John ،enjoy the beauty that you can see around you .havegood time always.

nobody said...

"It might even take a bit longer possibly."

Ha ha ha ha ha, marvellous. I do like things dry, John.

john said...

Hi Reem. I was wondering what was happening in Syria. The news I get from the media here isn't always very reliable so many thanks for that.

Here in Devon the strawberry season is just coming to an end. There's something very nice about picking fruit straight from a plant or tree, it doesn't really get any fresher than that.

I was hoping to put some more photos up here sooner than I have been able to but have changed my ISP over the last week so haven't been able to get here for a while. Hopefully I'll get time on Sunday.

Thanks again Reem and all the best to you.

john said...

Cheers nobody. I hope all is going well with you and that there might be a new haiku picture on the horizon. I'll go and have a look in a bit.

The band that I play guitar with, Trouble and Mischief, have a gig tonight in Ottery St. Mary. We're supporting Jabbrock and have the fantastic DJ James McCartney there too. It's in the Kings so if you want to pop in you'd be most welcome. I know it's a long way but don't say I never offer. Bring some fruit if you like.

john said...

I've not had the internet all week so I hope nothing much has been happening. If anything has, I'll expect I'll read all about it in the news of the world on sunday.

reem said...

Actually no one knows the real events and in this situation the gevernment and people do mistakes،we hear much storiesand rumors ,i think there's one truth that syrian peopl don't want to destroy their country and most big cities are quiet ،and also there's religious community wants to kill some people and army ،they say bad words and much vituperations durind the demonstrations and this is notcivilizational way.

Anyway all that we want real reforms and safe country ,always there's much to say John but i don't want to be chaty ،all the best for you.

john said...

Hi Reem. That's ok, I don't expect you to feel like talking all the time but thanks for telling me about Syria. I am always interested in what you have to say. I don't always talk a lot and like my peace and quiet generally. I like to share some of what I do here but I'm also quite a private person as well. I hope all is well where you are Reem. All the best and thanks again.