Poole, Studland
As some of you may or may not know, part of my job entails me travelling to Poole, Dorset, on the South Coast of England every so often. Now while Poole is a not inconsiderable distance away, there are many worse places to be sent – in parts its absolutely beautiful – and the weather is certainly better than in the North.
I have brought my camera to Poole before but this time, due to the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth, there didn’t seem to be a hotel in all of Poole so it was off to a pub in Studland for me.
As hotels go, it didn’t have wireless, not even internet, no trouser press, not even an iron, it only got 2 channels on telly, so no bbc news 24, i never saw breakfast as it wasn’t served till 9am – it did however have its own brewery out the back and a real log fire – it might actually be the best hotel i have ever stayed in.
What made this pub so special was not just the beer, the food or the fire – but the surroundings. It lies about 3 miles from the ferry, and about 10 miles from work, i decided to bring my bicycle down and try to get a bit of exercise on the way to work – and i’m very glad I did. If you have Google Earth installed, you can see the route here (right click and save as)
The first 3 miles or so until the ferry go through amazing scenery with patches of woodland absoultely teeming with deer – the commutes back from work were spent riding off road and following trail to find deer. As always in Poole the Sunsets didn’t disappoint, and when that was over, the finest full moon I have seen.
1. October 2007 at 22:46
One of my earliest memories is of seeing a huge stag at the back of our house when we lived in Scotland, I was about 4 or 5. It was magnificent. It stood there for about a minute until the next door neighbour shot it. I remember that too, not so magnificent……
9. October 2007 at 17:55
We saw a doe the other day on a walk through the Wyre forest just off the river Severn. It stood there all defiant and graceful for ages, staring at us like the Queen must stare at her palace minions. It was bewtiching. Those photos are wonderful, Toast. You and your camera ought to go back there in November for The Rut, the annual bit of argy bargey that decides which males get the best girlfriends. Its a bit like Discotheque Royale on a Friday night but with antlers. Wear camouflage…I would.