Monday 9 July 2012

Orchid, 41: Coasteering


 We had another weekend in Dorset, again really wet. We walked in Wareham Forest in an effort to stay out of the rain. It's a wonderful area, and at last I found bee orchids as well as more of the the common spotted and pyramidal. Most of the other British natives are rare or very localised but I'm still hoping to find some. The Box Hill area might be productive if it stops raining long enough for them to bloom.

           

The weekend was organised for the walking club to go coasteering, on Saturday a totally unexpected change in wind direction and power produced six foot waves on Dancing Ledge, so it was unsafe, and therefore cancelled. Our second day was moved to the much more sheltered Man o' War Rocks and Durdle Door. It was flat calm (nearly) with blue sky. It's incredibly hard to swim in wetsuits, life jackets helmets gloves and boots (needed for the sharp rocks). Everything is stiff and awkward, and progress slow. Climbing along the rocks, and up through a pot-hole type chimney posed an interesting exercise, but I confess to having bottled out of the higher leaps!

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