Littered with concrete skeletons of coastal defences,
Once thought to be indestructible,
Now tossed into a jumble on the shore.
Discarded playthings of the ocean
Mirroring what fate has done with the issues
that we once thought so solid in our lives,
Now scattered in disarray amongst the fossils,
From millennia before.
Stephen Hawkins 18.10.2012
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Staple Plain
Following a tip off from twin sisters with 5 dogs on Doniford Beach yesterday, this morning we headed for the National Trust area of Staple Plain and the neighbouring Staple Plantation. Here we found broad leaf woodland, bracken-filled combes, lowland heathland and broad tracks leading to the top of Beacon Hill with panoramic views over the Quantock Hills and the Bristol Channel beyond.
A fellow dog walker mourned the loss of the Rhododendron Valley (or Vinny Combe) which was full of rhododendrons until they were all cut down last year. Apparently they poison the soil and were giving diseases to all the native trees, but it would appear that many would have valued the beauty of the flowers over their potential damage. A lot of other trees have also been cut down to prevent the spread of another disease, but it is a mixed blessing as it has exposed some magnificent views. We saw some plump white sheep but none of the red deer that live here.
A fellow dog walker mourned the loss of the Rhododendron Valley (or Vinny Combe) which was full of rhododendrons until they were all cut down last year. Apparently they poison the soil and were giving diseases to all the native trees, but it would appear that many would have valued the beauty of the flowers over their potential damage. A lot of other trees have also been cut down to prevent the spread of another disease, but it is a mixed blessing as it has exposed some magnificent views. We saw some plump white sheep but none of the red deer that live here.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
New Discoveries
Although we have been living here for 4 months we are still finding new areas to explore. We have found a new footpath close to the house which takes us down into Whitehall, the heart of Watchet and on to further footpaths steeply climbing the green hills opposite our house. We have gathered sloe berries on the Old Mineral Line trail and blackberries from the slopes of the Quantock Hills and have sloe gin and blackberry vodka slowly maturing for Christmas consumption.
This morning we took a short drive along the A39 and explored trails through the St. Audries Forestry Commission pines with distant views of the silver grey waters of the Bristol Channel. The large sinister black block of Hinkley Point nuclear power station was visible to the east. Cadbury, our chocolate Labrador who was 10 years old on Sunday was delighted by the choice of overlarge "sticks" to play with in the undergrowth and found a relatively clean pond to splash about in.
On the way back we discovered a small car park in the shadow of 2 huge lime kilns, which gave access to the Jurassic coastal beach at Doniford. Cadbury enjoyed swimming in the sea and chasing a yellow rubber ball which she found. The sun transformed the wet sand into a shining silver mirror and I was delighted to spot a fossil ammonite on one of the large rocks on the beach.
This morning we took a short drive along the A39 and explored trails through the St. Audries Forestry Commission pines with distant views of the silver grey waters of the Bristol Channel. The large sinister black block of Hinkley Point nuclear power station was visible to the east. Cadbury, our chocolate Labrador who was 10 years old on Sunday was delighted by the choice of overlarge "sticks" to play with in the undergrowth and found a relatively clean pond to splash about in.
On the way back we discovered a small car park in the shadow of 2 huge lime kilns, which gave access to the Jurassic coastal beach at Doniford. Cadbury enjoyed swimming in the sea and chasing a yellow rubber ball which she found. The sun transformed the wet sand into a shining silver mirror and I was delighted to spot a fossil ammonite on one of the large rocks on the beach.
Echoes from the Past
On Thursday 27th September 2012 we went to see "ECHO WATCHET - Portrait of a Harbour Town". At the end of the summer two grey shipping containers appeared on the east arm of the harbour, across from the trademark lighthouse. In here performance artists and film makers setup their venue for this performance art presentation for the last week of September. We met fellow "passengers" by the statue of the Ancient Mariner on the Esplanade and were led by a handsome young fellow with long blond hair and a naval overcoat to the forbidding metal boxes. The captain welcomed us aboard for our voyage to Watchet past, present and future.
As promised, the performance delivered a colourful portrait of Watchet as seen through the eyes of the people who lived there, captured in film, sound and live performance. There was an air of nostalgia for loss of employment from traditional local industry such as the dock yard and the paper mill, but a sense of optimism for the future with a budding youth club and trendy new artist galleries opening in the town. The conclusion was that Watchet was open to modernisation as long as the atmosphere of the town was not adversely affected.
As promised, the performance delivered a colourful portrait of Watchet as seen through the eyes of the people who lived there, captured in film, sound and live performance. There was an air of nostalgia for loss of employment from traditional local industry such as the dock yard and the paper mill, but a sense of optimism for the future with a budding youth club and trendy new artist galleries opening in the town. The conclusion was that Watchet was open to modernisation as long as the atmosphere of the town was not adversely affected.
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