Dave Frost Photography

Is it me, or is putting this sign, with it’s rather small and hard to read from a distance typeface, right at the edge of the cliff counterproductive?

St Catherines dates from the 14th century. It was built by the monks of Abbotsbury, possibly as a beacon for pilgrims coming to worship at the abbey in the village below. The chapel survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries that destroyed the abbey, because it was so valued as a navigational beacon to sailers making the crossing of Lyme Bay.

Because it was dedicated to St Catherine, the patron saint of spinsters, the chapel became popular as a place for women to pray for a husband. In the words of an old prayer:

A Husband, St Catherine,
A handsome one, St Catherine,
A rich one, St Catherine,
A nice one, St Catherine,
And soon, St Catherine.

The chapel is built entirely of local stone, hauled up the hill to the building site. There is a small oratory in the turret. The interior is bare, though regular musical events are held in the chapel, featuring local musicians. Surrounding the chapel are a series of medieval strip lynchets; terraces cut into the hillside for agricultural purposes. The lynchets are know locally as Chapel Rings, and are quite striking when seen from the village below.

The climb from the village takes 10 minutes or so (depending on how many stops you take to enjoy the view!). The slope is not terribly steep, and once you’ve reached the top, a very short level walk to the seaward side of the hill gives stunning views out over Lyme Bay, with Abbotsbury Swannery, The Fleet, and Chesil Bank in the foreground.

Having had yet another good soaking, there’s one thing you can rely on when visiting this green and pleasant land. Yup, us Brits talk about the weather a lot for a reason. 4 Seasons of weather all in the space of an hour is fairly common midsummer. You’re never sure what you’re going to get and it makes deciding what to wear so much more interesting.
Another shot from our break in Dorset. This time looking from Durdle Door back towards Lulworth. On the plus side, I guess it makes for a more dramatic photo than blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Just got back from our holidays at Freshwater Beach, caravanning in Dorset.
Got literally hundreds of photos to go through and process, but this little chap was straight out of the camera with no processing applied. Hopefully be posting some of the landscapes (and of course the Donkeys from the campsite) later in the week. This was taken at Monkey World, the ape rescue centre in Dorset.

After being awake for a goodly portion of the night due to the mammoth thunderstorm and bucket sized raindrops hammering the roof of the caravan for a few hours, I went for a rather early morning stroll to see what was happening.
On reflection, I probably should have used the tripod that was in the boot of the car, althought the clouds weren’t quite as dramatic as I would have expected (or hoped). I also learned that the sun actually rises a lot earlier than 4 o’clock.

This shot, is taken looking across the River Blackwater from St Lawrence, towards the two towers of the de-commissioned Bradwell-on-sea nuclear power station.

Bradwell-on-Sea is a village in Essex, England. It is located about 9 km (5 miles) north-northeast of Southminster and is 30 km (19 miles) east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon and will be in the new parliamentary constituency of Maldon. It has a population of 877.

It was a Saxon Shore fort in Roman times known as Othona. The Anglo-Saxons originally called it Ithancester. Saint Cedd founded a monastery within the old walls in 653, which survives as the restored chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall. From there, he evangelised Essex. In the 20th century, the village became more well known as the site for the Bradwell nuclear power station. It also has a very good sailing club and outdoor leisure facilities

The village has been called Bradwell juxta Mare, Bradwell-next-the-Sea and Bradwell near the Sea.

Celebrated Residents include Thomas Abel, Sir Henry Bate Dudley and Tom Driberg

During World War Two Bradwell Bay Airfield was a front line air base.

The village is on the Dengie peninsula.