Arriving at the car park, we were greeted by a delightful gentlemen (a middle to late aged man with a very stylishly waxed and manicured moustache and Lennon-esque circular sunglasses!) who gave us his parking ticket with a little over an hour on it. After considering whether this would be long enough, we decided to go with it and made our way to the cafe, where the path around the coastline starts.
First, a strategic visit to the ladies. Mike always smirks when I do this, because I have this small fear that I will get caught short and so whenever the opportunity arises I take it. Better safe than sorry! This need to "spend a penny" can reach absurd levels when we are in the forest for the day. We will normally visit several carparks and virtually every carpark in the forest has a public restroom. Vicky can end up using 4 or 5 public restrooms in one day - something a lot of people would be horrified at the thought of!
Then into the visitors centre. Despite having walked around this beautiful part of the world I have never been into the visitors centre. It is a new building, with wooden beams and clean white walls. There is a little exhibition which we took cursory glance at, playing with the parts of the displays meant for the children because it's more fun than reading the signs! There was a very nice, if baffling, display of carbonised crab apples. I'm sure it had some significant relevance and had I taken the time to read the bumf I would have understood it, but to me it was basically a basket of small, burnt fruit which I childishly mocked under my breath.
Outside, we commence the circular walk around the headland. It's a warm sunny day, considering it is the end of October, and people are out in their masses. A perfect time to people watch and chuckle at the parts of conversations we overhear. To our left, there is the marshland looking over to Mudeford. Egrets, seagulls and ducks go about their business, fishing and swimming on the shadow waters. To our right, meadows for cattle to graze on and pheasants to argue over the best food and partners.
We walk on, admiring other peoples dogs and standing to one side to allow the land train to go past. I always think this is cheating and that the people riding past are missing out on chances to stop and watch the world go by. Sometimes I just like to stop and look or listen to nature, take in my surroundings and enjoy the fact that I am lucky enough to live in such a spectacular part of the world. Whizzing past on the land train, these people are missing out on just pausing and absorbing the countryside and everything that lives in it.
Eventually we reached the water. We mill around the shoreline, looking for shells and other treasure, before realising that the time is getting on and soon our parking ticket will expire. We pick up the pace. Walking along pebbles is not easy at the best of times, let alone when you are in a bit of a rush, and the distance back to the car is a little longer than we anticipated. In short we are half an hour or more's walk away and the ticket will expire in the next 5 minutes! Its a shame to rush along on a glorious sunny day when you are walking along the beach, but I still do my best to hurry us along - I do not want a fine and there will certainly be more sunny days to enjoy!
I keep my head down, watching my ankles wobble from side to side trying to keep me upright. I miss a lot of the view as a result, only looking up to see how much further we have to go. I do however then spot some other delights that may have been missed if I wasn't looking. Small wild flowers in pinks and whites. Photos are taken and we march on.
I concentrate on not making a fool of myself by tripping over stones. I do not have the strongest ankles considering my stature, and they often fail me when I least expect it, hence my need to observe my footing. Whilst I am not looking at the gorgeous scenery, this does give me ample opportunity to listen to snippets of conversations, and chuckle to myself. While Vicky chuckles to herself, I keep my eyes peeled for exciting things by the shoreline and stumble across the shell of a spider crab.
After a small age, we arrive back at the grassland next to the car park. Now I'm positively roasting in all my warm layers, and my calves have been bitten countless numbers of times. Swearing under my breath, I try not to scratch them and ponder the only downside to a warm Autumn - Mozzies! Fortunately, my legs weren't bitten by any buzzing insects, but my head and neck were! I end up with a lump on my temple and the back of my neck the size of peanut M&Ms!
Climbing into the car, I disrobe my warm cardigan (or coatigan, as it was named on the label!) and contemplate the prospect of a nice cup of tea at home. The sun is still warm and I stare into the sea as we drive along the coastline. This really is a wonderful place to live.
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