STONE'S THROW AWAY, Monday, October 3

Short stop at Christchurch just out the New Forest National Park for a look at the local markets and we continued on our coastal route planning to stop at Poole as I'm a fan of the pottery. It was a bit disappointing as the studio had the latest range but none of the earlier lines on display except for one glass cabinet. It is a working harbour town so while it is on the water is very industrial on the water front.
Ultimately we were heading to Portland which was further along the south coast, to stay with a friend's sister. It was good to visit a place that isn't geared for tourism so you see a real slice of British life, although it is hosting the sailing at next year's Olympics so some money is being injected into the local area.
Portand is a small island penninsular on the English Channel quite exposed to the sea so it's wild and windy. In fact the moment we left Poole the weather turned from the hot humid to wet and cold, so we finally had the opportunity to get some woolly clothes on. It was had to believe that the temperature dropped by 10 degrees in less than an hour and 30 miles of travel. That's England I suppose. The locals couldn't believe we were complaining about how hot it was. They appreciate every ray of sunshine they can get.
Portland is famous for its stone, light grey in colour, and naturally a lot of the buildings feature it. That aspect, combined with the weather, does give the place a sombre feel but it would be interesting living up on a cliff top, in fact fans of Grand Designs will see a Portland home featured soon as our friend's sister pointed it out on the cliff top as we went for walk along with tracks along the edge. She also said The Goodies filmed some episodes in Portland at the stone quarry back and on the beach back in their heyday which impressed me to no end. You can see the start of World Heritage Jurassic Coast from Portland which was our next port of call, albeit briefly before we headed to see another some other important English stone near Salisbury, Stonehenge.