There and Back

Moreton, the start point for todays walk, is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated on the River Frome about 8 miles (13 km) east of Dorchester. It has a number of long distance foot paths and cycle ways passing through it. So we started our walk from here. Moreton has become synonymous with the memory of T. E. Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia. He rented nearby Clouds Hill cottage from his cousins, the Framptons, while serving at Bovington Camp. Following his death in 1935 he was buried in Moreton churchyard where his grave attracts tourists from around the world. Who was TE Lawrence? - Some history, (courtesy of BBC): Lawrence was a British scholar, writer and soldier who mobilised the Arab Revolt in World War One and became famous as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born on 16 August 1888 in north Wales. His father, Thomas Chapman, had left his wife to live with Lawrence's mother, a governess. Lawrence studied at Oxford...

We had wanted to visit Dorset for some time, so this cottage was a perfect choice for a weeks holiday with Hayley and Izobelle. It was close to Portland Bill and not too far from Lulworth, in an area called Fleet.  Fleet is a small, scattered village and civil parish in south Dorset, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Weymouth, and close to the shore of The Fleet, a brackish lagoon behind Chesil Beach.  The Great Storm of 1824 caused waves to breach Chesil Beach, and many of the buildings in the village were destroyed. An eye-witness described the event: At six o'-clock on the morning of the 23rd I was standing with other boys by the gate near the cattle pound when I saw, rushing up the valley, the tidal wave, driven by a hurricane and bearing upon its crest a whole haystack and other debris from the fields below. We ran for our lives to Chickerell, and when we returned found that five houses had been swept away and the church was in ruins. It was much calmer o...