Having missed out on a
walk yesterday as a result of an unduly pessimistic weather forecast we were
keen to get out and about today. The forecast was good and confirmed by a clear
blue sky, albeit with mist rolling through the camping ground as we ate breakfast.
Just after 09:00 we
started on the 4 mile walk to Corfe Castle. Initially we followed the same
route taken with Sue and Richard on Saturday. We had a nervous moment when we
came across a large black bull, a cow and a calf. Why is it that while cattle
have a whole field to graze, they more often than not congregate on footpaths?
We had seen the bull on the hillside above the camp ground from Mabel while
eating breakfast. It looked impressive from a distance, it was enormous at
close hand. While the bull looked placid enough lying in the grass chewing the
cud we gave it a wide berth.
After passing the bull we
started a long climb on Purbeck Way up to the ridgeline on the downs commanding
views to our right across to Poole Harbour and Bournemouth. On our left we
looked across to Worth Maltravers, Kingston and the coastline beyond. It was a
beautiful clear day.
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| The Purbeck Way |
Our route took us high
above the valley where Sue and Richard’s caravan is parked. Every now and again
we caught glimpses of the ruins of Corfe Castle ahead of us but it wasn’t until
we were within a mile of our destination that we could see it in its full
glory. As we neared the village of Corfe Castle we left the ridgeline and walked
down into the village.
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Sue And Richard's Caravan Site (theirs is extreme right, top)
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Windswept
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Corfe Castle Ruins And Corfe Castle Village
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At Corfe we visited the
castle which is cared for by the National Trust. Construction of the castle
dates back to Norman times when a hall was constructed by Queen Elfrida. Henry
I added to the hall in the early 1100s and Henry III and Edward I fortified the
castle in the 13th century. Over the years the castle has been used
as a military garrison, a prison, a royal residence, a treasury and a family
home. All that remains today are ruins resulting from demolition by
Parliamentarian sappers ordered by an Act of Parliament during the Civil War.
We purchased an
informative guide to the castle and spent an hour walking among the ruins. We
were taken by the ‘garderobe’, a toilet shute in a wall. The name originates
from the practice of hanging robes in the toilets – the ammonia would drive
fleas and lice from the robes. It is said the ‘gong farmer’ who cleaned the
ditch below the garderobes, was well paid!
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| View From Below Castle |
From the castle we took a
short walk to the Bankes Arms for lunch. There we were greeted by a very
amiable Scottish landlord. We ate in the garden, a steak and ale pie for me, a
cheese and pickle baguette for Jane. One of the attractions of the pub was Corfe
Castle station on the Swanage Railway was at the bottom of the garden. The railway
is a restored branch line closed in 1972 and now operates steam and diesel
hauled trains. During lunch a train headed by a steam engine pulled up at the
station causing me to pause pie eating to take a few photographs.
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| Bankes Arms Pub |
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| Lunchtime View From The Pub |
Walking back through the
pub after lunch I managed to walk into a low beam. Fortunately I was wearing my
hat, but I still managed to take a chunk out of my scalp.
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| Head Wound |
Our guide to the castle
also contained walks and we opted to take the 1 mile ‘Castle Views’ walk.
Initially, we walked below the castle ramparts and then through farmland to
‘The Rings’. Situated about half a kilometre from the castle the Rings are the
remains of a medieval siege castle constructed in 1139. It was part of an
unsuccessful attempt by King Stephen to take Corfe Castle. The Rings are also
known as ‘Oliver’s Battery as the site was used by the Parliamentarians led by
Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War. From the Rings we walked back across
fields and through the village to the railway station.
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| Thatched Cottage, Corfe Castle |
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| Castle Viewed From The Rings |
Having seen the steam
train over lunch the anorak in me had calculated the train would be back and
heading for Swanage round about 14:45. I wasn’t wrong, we reached the station
with about 20 minutes in hand and having purchased tickets from the booking
office staffed by a man in an authentic Southern Region railway uniform (he
assured me it was) the train pulled into the station heading north. We were
told we could take the train to its terminus at Norden and then return through
Corfe Castle to Herston Halt. The train of five carriages in Southern Region
green was hauled by 34028 ‘Edystone’ a Bulleid Light Pacific purchased for its
scrap value of £6,000 and restored by ‘The Southern Pacific Rescue Group'. At
Norden the locomotive was uncoupled and then hitched on to the other end of the
train to work in reverse back to Swanage. Herston Halt is a request stop and at
Norden I needed to ask the guard to stop the train for us. He said he would
speak to the driver and hopefully he would remember to stop.
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| The Smartly Dressed Booking Office Clerk |
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| Jane Enjoying The Train Journey |
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| Our Loco Reversing At Nordon To Couple Up To Other End Of Train |
The journey to Herston took
about 20 minutes. It was nostalgic sitting in an old railway carriage with the
upholstery permeated with the distinctive smell of soot from steam engines. The
driver did remember to stop and from Herston we walked a mile through country
lanes back to the camping ground.
The weather forecast was
for heavy rain overnight so we stowed our outdoor furniture and mat and took in
the awning in readiness for heading to Guildford tomorrow.
Tea was bread and cheese
for me and a cheese omelette for Jane.
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