Spring finally seems to have arrived in the southwest with a lovely clear crisp day greeting me when I finally extricated myself from my pit. We had already decided that today was a day for a walk and so we had breakfast a little earlier than usual and struck out for the Dorset cliffs.

No sooner had we set out, in the first field in fact, when we had to stop. Melek was not happy with one of his back legs and kept sitting down and licking it. Sarah inspected the offending paw carefully and found nothing, but we decided that if he was struggling in the first 100 yards, seven miles might be a little difficult for him, so the poor chap was left behind in the van. In all probability we was whooping for joy in his little doggy brain, being the reluctant walker that he is.

A babbling brook

We had decided to walk on public footpaths rather that on country lanes but this turned out to be a mixed blessing. The views and peace and quiet were lovely but it was extremely wet and muddy underfoot and the sludge sucking at our boots made each mile feel much further.

Dorset hills

It was the best part of three miles from our campsite to the sea, but eventually we crested one of the many hills to see the English Channel and the Jurassic Coast laid out before us. The sun was still shining and the ocean was so turquoise we could almost be back in Greece, other than for the chilly sea breeze which forced us to don our coats.

We followed the coast for a couple of miles, with beautiful views all the way before heading slightly inland to the village of Worth Maltravers, the location of the recommended pub, the Square and Compass. This is a public house at its most basic, but for that reason, very attractive. Small rooms; stone flag floors; roaring log fires; home made cider; beers poured straight from the barrel; and even a small fossil collection in one of the rooms.

The Square and Compass

Sarah was very abstemious but I couldn’t resist sampling both their home brewed cider and one of the local beers – not at the same time you understand. We sampled their entire menu, which consisted of steak pasty (me), cheese pie (Sarah) and Dorset apple cake (both of us). Our location in the garden gave us a superb view over the sea and we joined by the bravest little robin I have ever seen. He came within a few inches of us and more dangerously Mabel’s mouth, all for a few crumbs of pasty.

Much to the entertainment of all non locals the pub dog has a party piece, the like of which I’ve never seen before. He likes to climb up onto the ridge of the pub roof and observe the patrons laid out below! When I first saw it I thought it must be stuffed – as sort of elaborate joke, but when it moved I could not believe my eyes.

The pub dog’s party piece!

The sun had begun to slip behind some light cloud as we left and it became distinctly chillier. Fortunately, given my beer and cider combination, the journey back to the site was much shorter, mostly on rural roads and downhill and so we were home quickly. Melek seemed none the worse for his confinement and when Sarah opened Basil’s door he actually ran towards me with his tail wagging. We’ll have to lock him up more often!