Finding Fort Henry

It is Saturday and the weather looks grey, no change there, we have had the odd day of sunshine and I hope that is a prelude to spring finally arriving. The trouble with spring is it brings rather unpredictable weather and naturally rain. The English are famous for opening any encounter with another English person, is the question of the weather. It goes something like this, well for me on my daily walk and swim sit does.

‘Hi, it is not too bad today?’

‘No, not too bad but yesterday the wind from the southeast was quite cool and did bring up a few waves, almost rough conditions.’

‘Reminds me of a time I spent in Scotland, very windy is Scotland.’

At this point I tend to make my excuses and move on, knowing full well Roger is ahead of me and the same conversation will occur.

Getting back to Saturday, Susan was keen to swim early, as she had some friends to see at 10, we left by 8 and with the sun not really knowing if it should come through the clouds or if the clouds would let it, we walked and then swam in a calm, flat sea with mist just over there.

We almost expected a pirate boat to come through the mist and attack the beach, who says we never have fun? Alas, the only boat we saw was the ferry to Cherbourg while we were swimming.

With the weather looking slightly more promising we picked up Gary and Alex and took the ferry to Studland, heading to Old Harry’s.

Standing tall on Handfast Point at the southern end of Studland Bay is one of the most famous landmarks on the South Coast – Old Harry. They are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and are managed by the National Trust.

The chalk formations are popularly known as Old Harry Rocks, but the name Old Harry actually refers to the single stack of chalk standing furthest out to sea. Until 1896 there was another stack known as Old Harry’s Wife, but erosion caused her to tumble into the sea, leaving just a stump.

Thousands of years ago, Old Harry and The Needles (another chalk rock formation) on the Isle of Wight were linked by a line of chalk hills that eroded away during the last ice age. On a clear day, you can see The Needles from Studland Bay.

There are a number of theories about where Old Harry got its name. It is reputedly named after either a famous local pirate (Harry Paye) or the devil. The top of the cliff nearby is known as Old Nick’s Ground which is another name for the devil.

Getting back to our walk to Old Harry’s Rock. It is a good distance and takes around half an hour to reach the viewpoint. We were lucky and the skies were clear so we could see the needles from the top of the cliff. The beauty of this outlook is that you can see from the Isle of Wight to Middle Beach, Middle Beach is just after the nudist beach, from what I could see there was no one playing volleyball, quite a sight with the boys wobbling their dangle bits and the girls boobs seeming to have a mind of their own. I really do not understand why it is not a televised sport, for all to enjoy.

Moving on swiftly as there are some that would now be blushing at the thought of grown men and women playing volleyball naked.

Just as we were close to the car park, Susan decided to take Jenson for a quick swim at Joe's Cafe, a few hundred meters down a dodgy path. I decided I had had enough and went in search of a cool drink and the comfort of my car.

Susan, Gary, Alex and Jenson on the other hand were in for more than they bargained for. The path was slippery so they decided to walk around to Middle Beach and up on the tar road. Tides are funny things and this was coming in so it was turning out to be a climb over the rocks and Jenson, being Jenson was having a panic attack at having to climb. Gary had his hands full with helping Alex and Susan was having very little joy getting Jenson to follow. One can only imagine the scene, Susan imploring Jenson to follow, he is too big to carry and Gary not wanting to get his shoes wet and Alex wobbling on the edge of the rocks.

The situation resolved itself when the group of people behind them helped coax Jenson over and around. They did expect the next beach to be the start of Middle Beach but that was around the next outcrop. Susan threw caution to the wind and just walked Jenson around in the sea.

Out of this adventure came an unexpected find, an old beach defence bunker used during the Second World War and now preserved by the National Trust for future generations.

Fort Henry is a Grade II listed World War Two observation bunker overlooking Studland Bay, in Dorset. It was built in 1943 to defend the bay from possible German invasion along with other beach defences such as gun emplacements, Type 25 pill boxes and concrete Dragon’s Teeth anti-tank obstacles (which have also been listed for protection) (Wikipedia)

This wartime bunker was used by Winston Churchill to watch his troops prepare for the D-Day landings, he was joined there by the Supreme Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower and King George VI at the observation point on the eve of the historic invasion of Europe.

Alex enjoyed the find and as Susan always says, if you are not out there, you will not have the adventure. I did get a little perturbed by their length of absence but was not that worried to want to go out and find them.

BREAKING NEWS; Master Robert Smith, who has his Master’s in Behavioural Science, will be known as Doctor Robert Smith in a few years' time. How cool is that, a Doctor in the family, at last? Nottingham University has invited him to write his PHD and he will be joining that esteemed faculty towards the end of the year. I will bring you more on this breaking news item as soon as I have more breaking news!