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cathyml Posts: 23275 Joined: 25th Jan 2010 Location: South Africa | quotePosted at 07:37 on 19th August 2010 Hi Ruth, I am so glad you could join us, btw the last picture with the mellow yellow fields and gorgeous thatched house is in Fiddleford. Hope we see this view when we are there today. lol Well I am now up and running, primed and ready to go. There are so many beautiful places/villages/scenes/buildings to see on this tour today. So I will meet up with you all again tonight in Christchurch to plan where we are going next on the Whistle Stop Tour. Have a wonderful day
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Ted  Posts: 733 Joined: 14th Jan 2009 Location: Netherlands | quotePosted at 09:13 on 19th August 2010 Large parts of Dorset are listed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and traveling through you 'll find out why. When driving on the A31 somewhere between Wimborne Minster and Bere Regis, you will pass a very long brick wall. A wall only interrupted by two impressive gates. One with a stag on top and one with a lion. Behind this wall, one of the longest in Britain made of more than 2 million bricks, Charborough Park is situated in 7,000 acres of private land. Normaly not open for the public, but a few day a year the gates open and you can have a chance to visit this impressive estate. We where lucky to be in Dorset during one of these days. The Stag Gate.  Picture by Ted van Onzen When you look closely it appears that the stage has five legs.  Picture by Ted van Onzen The 'fifth leg' is actually a 'tree stump' originally incorporated into the sculpture to add strength. There is a wonderful collection of rhododendrons and azaleas in the woodland garden.  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen In the middle of the garden stands Charborough Tower. A folly build in 1790. It is over 100 feet high and has 161 steps. Due to Health & Safety regulations it is no longer posible to climb the tower.  Picture by Ted van Onzen Next to the gardens there is a deer park.  Picture by Ted van Onzen Tea and home made cake served by local charities  Picture by Ted van Onzen It's a great place to visit. We where very lucky to be there on the right time.  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen More picture of this extraordinary place can be found on http://www.picturesofengland.com/user/Ted/pictures/1//England/Dorset/Wimborne_Minster Edited by: Ted at:19th August 2010 09:16 |
| cathyml Posts: 23275 Joined: 25th Jan 2010 Location: South Africa | quotePosted at 09:41 on 19th August 2010 Oh Ted yes! You were so lucky to find this gorgeous place open to the public. Perhaps it could be added as an Attraction on POE for Wimborne Minster and if it is possible to find out when it is open each year?? Is it possible PTB? I hope it will be open when I get to Wimborne Minster this afternoon (virtually of course) Thanks for adding this lovely possibility to the tour. |
| Ted Posts: 733 Joined: 14th Jan 2009 Location: Netherlands | quotePosted at 11:06 on 19th August 2010 Opening times can be find on the website of Charborough estate. |
| Ted Posts: 733 Joined: 14th Jan 2009 Location: Netherlands | quotePosted at 13:57 on 19th August 2010 Dorset's own ghost town. In the middle of the Lulworth shooting range lays Tyneham. Once a idylic place to live with a church , a school some farms and a beautiful country house. Tyneham tells the sad story of a community (252 people) that had to leave his homes and properties behind for the war efforts in 1943. Although they where promissed they where allowed to come back after the war, almost 70 years later Tyneham is still abandonned. Normaly strickly forbidden area but during most weekend, when the guns are silent, you are allowed to visit the village and the surrounding country site. A visit well worth. Entering the village one of the firs thing that caught your attention is the bright red and with phone box. Hartly used becouse it was installed a few weeks before the evacuation.  Picture by Ted van Onzen Not much is left of the old houses. Two buildings are still intact; The school and the church. The school building now is a kind of museum and educational center.  Picture by Ted van Onzen The restored St. Mary's Church acts as a living museum to the small village  Picture by Ted van Onzen The country site around Tyneham is very beautifull, but the hills are very steep so you need sturdy shoes.  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen During the walk you'll be constantly reminded that this is not an ordinary site. Every were you see remains of practice targets. Visiting this place gives me mixed feelings, feelings well discribed in these following lines written on the time line in the church. Sad but true: Whether you agree with the Army's continuing presence or not, the Tyneham Valley has escaped the unsightly tourism developments, only too prominent along the adjacent coastline. It has been untouched, by modern intensive farming practices and is a haven for wildlife, supporting many rare and threatened species. Tyneham is a Valley frozen in time. More picture of Tyneham and Lullworth Range can be found on http://www.picturesofengland.com/user/Ted/pictures//England/Dorset/Tyneham |
| cathyml Posts: 23275 Joined: 25th Jan 2010 Location: South Africa | quotePosted at 14:55 on 19th August 2010 I'm not sure how I can put a BIG STAR * on here for you. Those are two great additions to the tour and well worth visiting. Thank you so much for adding them and all the interesting information you have given us about them. Great Job! (BTW Why were you hiding the pics til now??) Although I am really glad you have added them. |
| Ted Posts: 733 Joined: 14th Jan 2009 Location: Netherlands | quotePosted at 15:09 on 19th August 2010 So much to do and so less time. I could spent hours on POE but have lots of other jobs to do on my computer. Next to my normal job i'm working as a freelance grapic designer. I still have lots of pictures to upload. Your tours are a good excuse to hurry up. Later today I will place the pictures of Tout Quarry sculpture park |
| cathyml Posts: 23275 Joined: 25th Jan 2010 Location: South Africa | quotePosted at 19:10 on 19th August 2010 Not long before our two day Whistle Stop Tour of DORSET is finished, and we have barely touched the surface of this beautiful county. So if you have photos/suggestions/stories you can add do feel free to continue to add them to this thread.
Tomorrow we move on to HAMPSHIRE and a new thread. It seems that people do not holiday much in the northern parts of Hampshire around the New Forest because there are many little towns and villages and attractions that have no pictures, and in some cases no description either. This is very sad and it would be fantastic if anyone living around there or travelling through on their way to Dorset/Devon/Cornwall would allow a little time to stop off in the beautiful areas surrounding the New Forest. Just check the Hampshire Towns and Attractions to see whats missing!! |
| Ted Posts: 733 Joined: 14th Jan 2009 Location: Netherlands | quotePosted at 22:03 on 22nd August 2010 When Cathy was runs over the Isle of White (what a energy) I took the oppertunity for a further exploration on the isle of Portland Most tourist who are visiting Portland heading straight to the far south part of the island to Portland Bill. But Portland has much more to offer. Portland is well know for his limestone. Lots of famous Englisch buildings where build using this stone (i.e Palace of Westminster, the Tower of London, Exeter Cathedral, Saint Paul's Cathedral). Portland limestone is still quarried here, but not all quarries are still in use. The abandoned Tout Quarry, at the north-west corner of Portland, is now a sculpture park. In the middle of the old quarry spoil you will find an amazing group of sculptures and carvings spread all over the place. The use of this quarry as an open air exhibition center started in 1983, but not much of the early sculptures have survived the urge of distruction sadly found by to many people. But new art is still in the making overthere. You can join a Stone Carving & Sculpture Course and put your own mark on this amazing place. The place is littered with more or less succesfull peaces of art. Entering the quarry it's looks only like a big pill off rock  Picture by Ted van Onzen But soon you'r discovering the most amazing sculptures…  Picture by Ted van Onzen  Picture by Ted van Onzen clever integrated is the surroundings  Picture by Ted van Onzen I've got a feeling like stepping back in time. I felt like Fred Flinstones in Bedrock City.  Picture by Ted van Onzen This place is brilliant! We spent hours overhere looking for art in the most strange places.  Picture by Ted van Onzen This is one of my favourites…  Picture by Ted van Onzen because this is the view from the other site  Picture by Ted van Onzen At the highest top off the quarry you have splendid view over Chesil Beach  Picture by Ted van Onzen I'll take my hat off for all this creativity More pictures of Tout Quarry Sculpture Park can be found at http://www.picturesofengland.com/user/Ted/pictures/1//England/Dorset/Portland |
| cathyml Posts: 23275 Joined: 25th Jan 2010 Location: South Africa | quotePosted at 22:17 on 22nd August 2010 Wow "Fred" that was a great find! Thank you so much for sharing your pics with the rest of us. It definitely looks well worth a visit - a long one, lol. |
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