I should know by now that when I set out to fulfill a goal something usually gets in my way so apologies for being so late with the second part of our photographic journey around Portland Bill and other parts! As I had stated in an earlier post, my one little word for this year is EXPLORE and having purchased the Secret Places of West Dorset book earlier in the New Year we could not resist going to at least one of the places mentioned in there during our stay on the Isle of Portland. We decided to head to Church Ope Cove the Saturday of our stay which also happened to be my hubby’s birthday. We both love walks, photography and being outdoors in general so he was quite happy to have an exploration adventure on his special day.
Since we were staying in a B&B in one of the old Coast Guard cottages and were within a stone’s throw from the lighthouse we thought it was just a bit more exciting to walk to Church Ope Cove than to drive there as the book suggests. Also, we don’t own a car so relying on public transport and our own two legs is a must. Louise Hodgson does a great job of telling you exactly how to get to each place in her book when you are driving there but it is also easy enough to follow her detailed instructions on foot. Our host was able to tell us that following the coast path from the Bill would lead us to where we wanted to go so that’s what we did. In the following selection of photos you will get to see the coast line leading from the lighthouse to the Cove just as we saw it on 31st January of this year. Enjoy!
Starting point, Portland Bill Lighthouse & Obelisk as seen from the coast path.
Waves crashing in the crags along the coast line.
Silhouette of a lone derrick, these dot the coast path along the former quarry sites one passes through.
A look back as we walked farther down the path…
Beach huts and boats dot this first part of the coast path heading East…
Stone, waves, and huts in the distance…
Just a look out to sea…
Hubby sat in a boat with the sun shinning, a derrick in the background…
Beach huts and the Old Lower Lighthouse in the background…
Seeing the crags fill with waves crashing onto them was just breath-taking…
It continued to get rockier and deeper as we continued along the path…
Alan stood close to a derrick that was not covered in water…
At this point along the path we could no longer see the lighthouse but rather saw mostly rocks…
We stopped near here, an abandoned quarry site along the path, to have some refreshment before heading on. You can see parts of the Isle of Purbeck in the distance from here.
Finally arriving at the site of our destination, trees along the entry way to Church Ope Cove, just outside of Rufus Castle…
Looking up at the imposing Rufus Castle, more a fort than a castle really…
The view of Church Ope Cove from just below Rufus Castle…
Rufus Castle is a Grade I listed building and also a scheduled monument and dates from the late 15th century…
The rugged coastline of Church Ope Cove is dotted by small beach huts below…
The way down to the Cove from just below Rufus Castle…
The impressive archway attached to the castle…
Part of the overgrown ruins of St. Andrew’s Church which lays just below Rufus Castle and above the Cove…
Ruins of St. Andrew’s Church…
Long view of the top of some of the beach huts at Church Ope Cove with rocks above and to the East…
A rocky getaway…
Isn’t Portland a beautiful place? We can’t wait to go again and explore other areas that we didn’t see on our visit. It was quite rainy and muddy the majority of the time we stayed. The Saturday was really the only clear day we had which worked out perfectly as that was our main outing, aside from going to the top of the lighthouse. I recommend that if you go in the winter months and want to do some walking and exploring you take good pair of hiking boots so you can trek through the mud. We can’t wait to explore more of Dorset in the next few months!
Have a beautiful week and keep travelling!
Cheers,
Nadia xo
More about Rufus Castle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Castle
More about St. Andrew’s Church: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Andrew%27s_Church,_Portland
More about Church Ope Cove: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Ope_Cove
Walks in Beauty 