We stayed in the village of Symondsbury on the outskirts of Bridport. An attractive village, with some of the advantages of rural life - peace and quiet,and long views. We ventured to the village pub, The Ilchester Arms, one evening and found the Locals to be friendly. They must have guessed that we were in a holiday rental, and thus could have been justified in showing some resentment or suspicion - many rural communities are being decimated by holiday cottages. We were involved in a conversation and generally welcomed. I'm not sure how sustainable small pubs in small villages really are. Even on the Friday night it wasn't exactly heaving. They serve food, and the menu looked good, but unless a pub employs a chef ans markets themselves as food specialists, they're not going to get rich on it.
On the Saturday afternoon, after we had stocked up in Bridport, we went for a stroll round the village. If you look carefully in just about any setting, you can always find things of interest. But you do have to get out of your car and walk. Also, it would have been better if I had better light. But it had been raining on and off all day, and time was marching on towards sunset.
I was mildly fascinated by the semi-culverting of the River Simene, allowing it to run under the road. I have a passing interest in Lost Rivers - so many minor rivers in London have been lost to sight (near me the Falconbrook and slightly further, the Effra). I have subsequently visited many places where the river flows down or across Main Street forming an important feature of the village or town.
Most English villages have an Anglican church. This village also has a local Primary School which is an Anglican school. it puzzles me how the churches can be sustainable, as for a religiously selective Primary School at the heart of a village, it seems at best anachronistic and possibly anti-choice, as if imposing Religion, a specific Religion, and a very specific branch of that Religion from the top down - if you are an atheist living in such a village your choice is to send your child to the local school to be taught stuff you don't accept, or to find a properly secular school outside walking distance. But given that the Church is there, and, in this case, appears to have a history dating back to 1325, I totally accept that these are a permanent feature of the rural built environment. The Church didn't look open, and didn't seem to have sufficient interest to warrant a return.
We often look at graveyards. I hope that Jimmy finds it interesting, because I'm rapidly losing my interest in them. It always strikes me that there are few if any recent graves. I'm not sure what that means. Perhaps the Churchyard is closed to new applicants. Perhaps people are generally opting for cremations. Even so, there are also a few graves that have clearly been visited recently. It's not something I do, and I don't really understand why other people do. I emphasise I'm not being judgemental, it's obviously a popular habit, and, except in extremis, does no one any harm.
The most interesting feature to me was this construction. It took me a while to figure out what it was, until I saw a sign explaining. I thought perhaps it was some rudimentary but complex flood defence scheme, but it turns out that it's a bath for sheep, for use prior to shearing. I don't think that I had ever seen one before, but, as often happens, just a few weeks later, I saw a similar construction on Countryfile.
In the evening we ate at The George in Chideock. I think it has changed hands since we visited two years ago and remains a high standard. Homely food, well-prepared with fresh ingredients. Not necessarily presented in the most arty way, but I had very decent Butternut Squash soup, grilled fish with a variety of vegetables and chips, and a gorgeous treacle tart. I did take photos, but the ambient lighting was great for eating but not for photography, and I don't like flash in such settings.
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A drizzly afternoon in Dorset
(Sorry that I have still not got back into the habit of regular blog posting. Life has this tiresome habit of getting in the way).
We stayed in the village of Symondsbury on the outskirts of Bridport. An attractive village, with some of the advantages of rural life - peace and quiet,and long views. We ventured to the village pub, The Ilchester Arms, one evening and found the Locals to be friendly. They must have guessed that we were in a holiday rental, and thus could have been justified in showing some resentment or suspicion - many rural communities are being decimated by holiday cottages. We were involved in a conversation and generally welcomed. I'm not sure how sustainable small pubs in small villages really are. Even on the Friday night it wasn't exactly heaving. They serve food, and the menu looked good, but unless a pub employs a chef ans markets themselves as food specialists, they're not going to get rich on it.
On the Saturday afternoon, after we had stocked up in Bridport, we went for a stroll round the village. If you look carefully in just about any setting, you can always find things of interest. But you do have to get out of your car and walk. Also, it would have been better if I had better light. But it had been raining on and off all day, and time was marching on towards sunset.
I was mildly fascinated by the semi-culverting of the River Simene, allowing it to run under the road. I have a passing interest in Lost Rivers - so many minor rivers in London have been lost to sight (near me the Falconbrook and slightly further, the Effra). I have subsequently visited many places where the river flows down or across Main Street forming an important feature of the village or town.
Most English villages have an Anglican church. This village also has a local Primary School which is an Anglican school. it puzzles me how the churches can be sustainable, as for a religiously selective Primary School at the heart of a village, it seems at best anachronistic and possibly anti-choice, as if imposing Religion, a specific Religion, and a very specific branch of that Religion from the top down - if you are an atheist living in such a village your choice is to send your child to the local school to be taught stuff you don't accept, or to find a properly secular school outside walking distance. But given that the Church is there, and, in this case, appears to have a history dating back to 1325, I totally accept that these are a permanent feature of the rural built environment. The Church didn't look open, and didn't seem to have sufficient interest to warrant a return.
We often look at graveyards. I hope that Jimmy finds it interesting, because I'm rapidly losing my interest in them. It always strikes me that there are few if any recent graves. I'm not sure what that means. Perhaps the Churchyard is closed to new applicants. Perhaps people are generally opting for cremations. Even so, there are also a few graves that have clearly been visited recently. It's not something I do, and I don't really understand why other people do. I emphasise I'm not being judgemental, it's obviously a popular habit, and, except in extremis, does no one any harm.
The most interesting feature to me was this construction. It took me a while to figure out what it was, until I saw a sign explaining. I thought perhaps it was some rudimentary but complex flood defence scheme, but it turns out that it's a bath for sheep, for use prior to shearing. I don't think that I had ever seen one before, but, as often happens, just a few weeks later, I saw a similar construction on Countryfile.
In the evening we ate at The George in Chideock. I think it has changed hands since we visited two years ago and remains a high standard. Homely food, well-prepared with fresh ingredients. Not necessarily presented in the most arty way, but I had very decent Butternut Squash soup, grilled fish with a variety of vegetables and chips, and a gorgeous treacle tart. I did take photos, but the ambient lighting was great for eating but not for photography, and I don't like flash in such settings.
