Ninebarrow

BBC R2 Folk Award Nominees | Wandering Minstrels | Purveyors of Musical Walking Holidays | ★★★★★ EFDSS | ★★★★★ Maverick Magazine | ★★★★★ Morning Star

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Seacombe is one of Purbeck’s old sea quarries, where stone could be taken straight from the cliffs to boats below. Those cut ledges hark back to a time when these cliffs would have been much busier. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

You can see Dorset’s geology slowly rearranging itself at St Aldhelm’s Head. Portland limestone sits above softer sand and Kimmeridge Clay; waves erode the foot of the cliff while rainwater weakens it from within, allowing the slope to slump towards the sea. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

The old oaks at Upton Country Park have the space to spread into those huge parkland crowns. Oak supports hundreds of insect species too, but in this light it’s the shape of them that stops us in our tracks. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

The Square and Compass at Worth Matravers even gives pumpkins their own day, when local gardeners compete for the heaviest. This little lot looks very at home among all that Purbeck stone. 🎃

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Chapman’s Pool sits beneath Portland limestone cliffs, with softer Kimmeridge Clay down by the shore. The climb back out is always worth it for a view like this. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

From Swyre Head, Clavell Tower is the tiny landmark above Kimmeridge Bay. When the cliff edge came too close, it was taken apart and rebuilt 25 metres inland - a proper piece of Dorset rescue work. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Looking west from St Aldhelm’s Head, Portland sits low on the horizon. It looks every inch an island from here, although Chesil Beach ties it to the Dorset mainland. We’ll never tire of Purbeck skies like this. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Chapman’s Pool once had its very own RNLI lifeboat, the six-oared George Scott, based here to help vessels in trouble on the rocky ledges around St Aldhelm’s Head. It’s hard to picture that from this peaceful view. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Those well-worn wings belong to a red admiral. Many of the ones we see in Dorset have flown in from continental Europe, while a few now make it through our winters too. Quite a traveller. 🦋

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

One of Moors Lake’s resident mute swans gliding through the reed beds at Moors Valley Country Park. Magnificent as they are, it’s the ducks that Josh prefers feeding here! 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Common sea-lavender gives Dorset’s saltmarshes their soft lilac haze, and those tiny flowers are a welcome food stop for all sorts of visiting insects. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Golden sunset light across the boats and shallows of Whitley Bay in Poole Harbour. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

The magnificent layers of Gad Cliff rising above the blue water of Brandy Bay. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Golden light breaking through the clouds over the boulders and cliffs of Chapman’s Pool. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

A patch of blue sky framed by the oak canopy at Upton Heath. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

A pretty magnificent sunset over Corfe Castle from East Hill. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

Pink and gold clouds glowing above Studland Heath. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

A slow worm winding through a puddle on Upton Heath. 😊

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

A red admiral and a bumblebee sharing the flowers at Kimmeridge. 🦋

[Ninebarrow @Ninebarrow]

A tiny crescent moon hanging over the sunset glow and winding channels of Holes Bay. 😊