What a lovely spot for a house.
Oh look, little bridge has an older brother bridge on the left… but I haven’t got a better photo of older brother.
Here is a look at the village.
And another house.
Visit Louis for Sunday Bridges.
Visit James for Weekend Reflections.
This lunch reminded me of Sunday lunch in the country in Australia. We went to the Acorn Inn in Evershot, Dorset. It is a pretty building with window boxes, flowers and plants on the outside (pictured below).
I had their roast beef lunch, with Yorkshire pudding, which was – surprise, surprise (not) - a rather big serve with potatoes. The beef was pink and cooked beautifully, served with a red wine sauce. Very satisfying!
Jeremy had roast pork, with Yorkshire pudding, and Chris had fish. Everyone was happy with lunch :).
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
Roast pork (left) and fish (right)
Like most English villages around Dorset, that we have seen so far, Evershot is pretty with lovely flowers in front of the cottages, hanging flower baskets in all sorts of colours, and narrow streets.
It was all happening on the day we went to Beer (the name of a town by the beach, not the beverage). It was like being on a film set of a movie. There were rows and rows of beach boxes – some were occupied but most were not. Colourful striped beach chairs lined the pebbled beach. There was a group of men getting their boats set-up for a day out sailing. Beach stalls were having a good busy day of business selling food and drinks. It was a fantastic day for people watching.
Houses lining the streets of the hilly town
Open bay area
Beach chairs adding colours to the pebbled beach
More beach chairs, which did not seem popular with the public when this photo was taken
Devonshire tea on the beeach
People (including me) enjoying food, drinks, sunshine and people watching on the beach
On another day, we visited Lyme Regis. We were lucky that it was hot (yes, HOT!). It was busy with loads of people there enjoying the day out in the sun. We had a lazy afternoon; walked around the built-up beach area, took loads of photos, sat on the grass, had lunch and sat on the grass some more.
Busy day on the beach for sunbathers
Lots to take in. This artist is busy recording the scene on the beach.
Lunch at Hix Oyster and Fish House
The surrounding built-up area
Boats stranded in the harbour until high tide
Flowers, flowers, flowers – lots of them. That’s what I have always remembered about English countryside. I can go on, and on, and on taking photos of the many varieties of flowers in England, but I won’t. The above are just a few from the camera… There is so much more to do and things to take photos of.
For example, food, since our time here is often divided between seeking out food and not seeking out food. The former always involve food (of course!) and some related activities like drinking beer or cider (which I’m fond of while here in England). The latter involves some walking and looking at the countryside (sometimes blogging). Having established these 2 very clear-cut categories, let me start with category one.
Branscombe is the village with the longest main road, and it took us a while to find the pub. We went the entire length of the main road then arrived at the next town, before we realised we had gone too far and had to turn around. Country roads are very narrow, and that would sometimes mean a zillion points turn, and with some stopping and weaving around oncoming cars, we arrived only minutes before the kitchen closed. Phew!
We had only 4 minutes to order lunch. That was not difficult, since this is a seaside town, I decided on seafood. By process of elimination, I settled on the seafood stew. That was a good choice - really delicious. As usual, the serve was big – it had 2 varieties of fish and mussels, and came with a bowl of mash potatoes topped with cheese. I ate most of stew, washed down with cider, but did not manage to eat much of the potatoes (I remember thinking that I’d never eat again after this huge meal!)
Yummy fish stew with baked mashed potatoes
Jeremy and Chris both had the lemon sole topped with lobster pieces, and served with lobster sauce. They both seem contented.
Lemon sole with lobster and lobster sauce
Inside Masons Arms Hotel - Jeremy getting us our drinks: beer, cider and pimms
With full bellies and feeling slightly energised, we took a walk to the beach. It was a pleasant walk on this cool afternoon. Getting there, we walked along a narrow road, sharing it with cars. This may not be the safest choice (but not too bad since cars were only travelling at 20 mph or less) but we were up high with nice views. On the way back, we walked alongside green fields and across a small stream – much more pleasant.
Lovely cottages – not sure what the smoke was about
Rolling hills behind me
It took about 15 minutes to stroll to the beach. I had forgotten about the pebbled beaches of England. I find this rather unusual since most beaches I have been to are sandy.
Close-up of pebbles on the beach
Lovely green hills make a nice backdrop
Jeremy looking happy in the sun
More food and non-food activities later…
Pilsdon Pen is a 277 metre hill in West Dorset, England. It is one of the highest hills around here.
We went there yesterday, and had a good gentle hike up and down. There were sheep poo along the way – frankly, I’ve never seen so much poo in one place. I had to see where I put my feet and that made it difficult to look at the views too. However, it was worth the effort, as the views were spectacular.
It is a coincidence that I have seen a birds’ nest in Malaysia where I was last week, and now, in Dorset, England. It is not that I go seeking out nests in the wild. In Malaysia, the nest was on a plant in my brother’s garden (click to read my blog post about this). Now in Dorset, this nest is on a beam close to the ceiling, of the house we are currently living in.
I managed to take the photo below with the 2 cute birds peeking out of the nest. These 2 little birds with their black & white, shiny and neat coat remind me of the character, Nibbler of the TV cartoon series, Futurama (without the 3rd eye, of course).
Dart competition at the White Horse pub in Kirbymoorside
then followed by the pool tournament also held at the White Horse.
This is what a cobbler's workshop would have looked like in the old days, as depicted in the Ryedale Museum in Hutton-le-Hole
Pictures take on the walk
