At West Coker, Somerset is Dawes Twine Works which has been restored to its 1890s condition. We have an open day this Saturday with guided tours and a talk on #Nelsons #Navy - @kejamieson.bsky.social
westcoker-pc.gov.uk/home-page/ro...
When living in London in the early 1970s I would pop into the National or the Tate for just a few minutes to see a couple of pictures I wanted specifically to see.
Eype beach eastward to West Bay
Eype beach westward to Golden Cap
A sample of Marion Taylors paintings
A trip to the 6 Bridport Artists exhibition yesterday as it enters its last weekend. We have had some 700 visitors to this lovely church perched on the hill above Eype, with wonderful views to the sea.
Then a trip to the almost deserted beach and coffee at the excellent Eype Beach cafe
Eggardon hillfort from King Johns ( motte and bailey) castle in Powerstock
Or you can have both as this photo shows. Eggardon hillfort in the distance, taken from King John’s (motte and bailey) castle in Powerstock!
That and a bacon roll!
Just walked from Eype Church to the beach for coffee at the excellent cafe there. Then you remember you have the climb back!
A selection of Marion Taylor’s paintings at Eype
Ceramics by Marion Taylor
Dorset Art Weeks at Beaminster Gallery
The 6 Bridport Artists exhibition is entering its last few days. Open every day from 10.30 to 4.30, with the last day being Sunday
#HillfortsWednesday A change this week, Roger Sewill and his pony Scarlet are on a three week trek to visit every hillfort in Dorset
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The excellent Tess of the Vale’s website has a map of these to enable you to visualise the journey
tessofthevale.com/product/dors...
Leaflet advertising Dorset Art Weeks 2026, from 23rd of May until the 7th of June
During Dorset Art Weeks Marion Taylor will be exhibiting at the Beaminster Gallery (venue 253, 11-4, Mondays excepted)
RAF pocket book 1937, printed in India 1942
Guide to field sketching from pocket book
Air force markings, two of four pages
Appendix to pocket book
My late father’s #RAF pocket book from his time in India during #WW2
The view over Eype Beach towards Golden Cap and Lyme Regis
While Marion was stewarding the 6 Bridport Artists Exhibition at Eype Church I took the opportunity to walk Betty, our Cavapoo, down to the beach and back up the coast path. The wooden bungalow above the car park gets closer to the cliff edge every year!
King’s Lane at Eggardon
This is the 3D view on Google Earth
And you can see another six hillforts from that road!
Eggardon hillfort from the road
King’s Lane runs from here to Powerstock and for a few yards runs on the outer bank of the hill fort. It can be seen in the further distance
Apple maps view of Eggardon hillfort with King’s Lane on the right
The majestic Eggardon hillfort showing the southern ramparts with the diagonal strip of Eggardon Grit. In the distance is Lewesdon hillfort.
King’s Lane runs from here to Powerstock. For a distance it runs along the outer rampart, which makes for skill in reversing! #HillfortsWednesday
Allowing dogs on leads in for the first time has proven itself already
Italian garden at Mapperton created by Ethel Labouchere in the 1920s. First opened to the public in 1928 in support of Queen Alexandra Fund
#Mapperton’s Italianate garden this morning. Some 250 people had booked tickets today and that is before the casual visitors arrived. The gardens were looking great and the arboretum, with its spring flowers, was at its best.
Fox, Colmer’s Hill, a painting by Marion Taylor
@chrisgpackham.bsky.social
An arty fox
Sounds like torc-ture
I do not wish to upset the spirits. With seven hillforts near us I feel it is the cautious thing to do!
Cover of the programme for the 2026 Lyme Regis Fossil Festival with a reconstruction of a pterosaur.
This year's programme for the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival is now online at fossilfestival.com! A weekend packed with all sorts of events - talks, walks, displays and demos. I'll be there talking about #MaryAnning, of course, and leading a walk around the places she knew well. Hope to see you there!
Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock, the shallow dip is the remains of the cart road
c1900 photo of Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, showing the cart road
A wander along the coast path at Burton Bradstock yesterday afternoon revealed the shallow remains of the cart track that ran along the coast from here to Abbotsbury. The Hive Beach section has been lost to the sea but much of the rest can still be accessed. The photo shows the track c1900
Shipton Hillfort from the road between Burton Bradstock and Uploders
A closer view of Shipton Hillfort than I normally post. This was taken from the road home from Burton Bradstock. #HillfortsWednesday
Bridport is similar; an industrial town with a significant non CofE population. In the 1790s the Congregationalists split in two with one set forming the Unitarian church in the town.
By the 1820s the Non-Conformists were in the majority on the Council despite this being technically illegal.
Railway incline taking stone down to the harbour
Very much so, the remains of the quarrying make an excellent day’s wandering. There are the remains of railway inclines which took the stone down to the waiting ships or out over the sea when the breakwater was being constructed. The weares on the east and west side are the tipped quarry waste
Cart tracks in the stone at Portland, Dorset, the result of many years taking stone from the quarries
A section of the coast path at Portland showing the tracks made by passing carts over the years
West Bay was originally called Bridport Harbour when the harbour was built in the 1740s. It became West Bay around 1883. The maritime trade was declining and the Bridport Railway was about to open its extension to the harbour. Deciding tourism was the future its name was changed to West Bay
Paintings by Marion Taylor at Eype Church until 19th April
Ceramics by Marion Taylor at Eype Church until 19th April
Hand painted tikes by Marion Taylor at Eype Church until 19th April
Hand painted Tiles and Red Barn collage by Marion Taylor at Eype Church until April 19th
The 6 Bridport Artists exhibition at Eype Church starts tomorrow and runs until April 19. These photos show the work of Marion Taylor
@annadillon.bsky.social
Apologies the cafe/ bar is the Lyme Bay.
Lyme Bay, the area of sea between Portland and Start Point, was originally called ‘the West Bay’ until the the late 19th century
Wool drying tower at Lyme Regis
The West Bay cafe/bar is well worth a visit as is the one on the beach. There is a river walk to Uplyme, walk one way and bus(51/53) back.
A rare wool drying tower can be seen by Gosling Bridge, a relict of Lyme’s woollen trade
The view towards Portland from Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock
Getting everything ready for the 6 Bridport Artists exhibition which starts on Saturday at Eype Church. Then a walk at Hive Beach, finishing off with coffee at the excellent Seaside Boarding House, with its view towards Portland.