Alum Bay

On 31st March - a gusty and cold, but bright, day - we took the bus from Newport to Alum Bay, whose beach I haven't visited since around 1970. Out of season, the chairlift doesn't operate, and I was worried about the climb (what with cough, etc). I was very pleased to find no problems - altogether a pleasant visit to a location rich in geological and literary assocations.

Joe and the Jolly Gist

It's an unlikely jump from Victorian inspirational book to Cumbrian dialect stories, but J Milner Fothergill's 1888 The Will Power; Its Range in Action does exactly that. It's a bit of a curiosity, a collection of examples of will power in action, from history and literature, and described by its physician author as "not a metaphysical enquiry, but a practical book, which it is hoped will be found useful by many, especially those entering into the battle of life".

The A'Court Smiths of Gurnard: fossil insects and pedestrianism

After reading about the appalling Thomas Hawkins, the story of Mr A'Court Smith of Gurnard makes a refreshing contrast. He was a fossil collector also with Isle of Wight connections, but of very different temperament. The Athenaeum magazine commemorated his death in 1900 thus:

The Great Sea Dragons and other weirdness

"Ow, me neck!"

Lyme Regis Museum Blog just announced what looks an interesting talk by Stephen Locke at Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, on Thursday: Thomas Hawkins and his Sea Dragons – a mad, bad, fossil collector? I can't get there that day, but the name rang a bell. I knew Hawkins was buried in Ventnor, Isle of Wight (see the God's Acre photo post Thomas Hawkins 1810-1889), but had never bothered to pursue his details.

Branscombe: "curious rather than beautiful" petrifactions

The South Devon Coast by Charles G Harper mentions an interesting phenomenon I'd not heard of previously: the formation of petrified moss in the outflow of cliff springs near Branscombe. This led to an associated local vogue for petrifying things deliberately.

St. Lawrence Well

St. Lawrence Well is another poem from the illustrated anthology The Vecta Garland, and Isle of Wight souvenir, by Newport tinsmith, ironmonger and poet Albert Midlane. This concerns a stranger who came to the well for a drink, and left scurrilous lines - mild ones, anyway - on finding it locked up.

The Dropping Rock

similar elsewhere

Another Blank, Missing and Empty Thing - another rock disappeared from history - the Dropping Rock, a spring that was formerly a well-known fixture of St George's Down, near Blackwater, a couple of miles south of Newport, Isle of Wight. It's the subject of one of the poems in Albert Midlane's 1860 The Vecta Garland, and Isle of Wight souvenir.

The timeline of Chad's Rock

Another post inspired by the interesting category History of Blank, Missing and Empty Things at John Ptak's blog Ptak Science Books: the fate of "Chad's Rock" (aka Chad Rock), a picturesque monolith on the Isle of Wight Undercliff that regularly appears in paintings and photos of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but which no longer exists.

Langstone Rock - live visit

After yesterday's virtual and historical tour of Langstone Rock (Langstone Cliff - civilised lunch and a missing elephant), today we walked from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish, and had a look at the real thing.

We'd erode and fall in green ...

... or, Kate Bush meets coastal geomorphology. The Express & Echo, Exeter, is one of many publications to report on the coastal erosion threat to the singer's mansion in the South Hams, Devon: Kate Bush faces a battle to save Devon clifftop home from falling into the sea (September 03, 2014).

Littlecombe Shoot: down among the plats

View Donkey Sanctuary to Beer in a larger map

I felt energetic on Friday, and repeated - with some side explorations - the Sidmouth to Beer 'lite' walk of almost exactly a year ago. In part I wanted a closer look at the ruins of Weston House as described in the previous post; in part I wanted to explore the unique landscape of the plats at Littlecombe Shoot.

Lyme antiquariana

I forgot to mention in the Chimney Rock post that I was almost at the location, Ware Cliff at the western end of Lyme Regis, of the 1685 landing for the Duke of Monmouth's failed attempt to become King of England. A quick search for sources converged on a 19th century Lyme antiquary, George Roberts - I should have looked out for him at Lyme Regis Museum (of which more later in the article).

Chimney Rock

In highly unstable landslip terrains, you nevertheless find the occasional long-standing feature. Chimney Rock, just to the west of Lyme Regis, is an example: one that has been in the guidebooks for nearly two centuries.

Brixham: up to the Cavern

I've just freshened this post because of some new details arising. On 11th July I had a glance at the location of the long-closed Brixham Bone Cavern (aka Brixham Cavern, Windmill Hill Cavern, and Philp's Cave). However, yesterday I paid a visit to Brixham Heritage Museum, whose staff kindly showed me further materials.

Elberry Cove - marine curiosity

In the previous post I mentioned a peculiarity of Elberry Cove, between Brixham and Paignton, South Devon; its freshwater springs rising from the sandy sea bed a little offshore. I've found more references, one connecting to a largely unsung 19th century naturalist.

Micah Morey's Cave

John Ptak's blog Ptak Science Books has a very useful category - "History of Blank, Missing and Empty Things"- and this handily covers a now-lost Isle of Wight cave connected with a grim story.

Milne-Shaw

A recent post at the Ptak Science Books weblog - On the Continued Rediscovery of the Horizontal Pendulum - leads into an interesting backstory with roots in Birmingham, Japan, and the Isle of Wight.

The Chines They Are a-Changin'

Another spinoff from the recent posts on 18th century Isle of Wight travelogues: the clues you can follow about landscape changes over two centuries, particularly in the chines of the 'Back of the Wight'.

The Devil's Bridge, Steephill

Further to the previous post about Charles Tomkins' 1796 A Tour to the Isle of Wight: a handful of topographic accounts mention an interesting landform at Steephill, Isle of Wight, called the Devil's Bridge.

Weston Plats revisited: part 2

Further to Weston Plats revisited: part 1, some photos of the remaining section of Wednesday's walk, from Weston Plats to Sidmouth, taking in the odd landscape of 'Dunscombe Humps'.