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Miscellaneous photos, on the hill

This page follows Miscellaneous photos, home 2. I took these photos on St. Catherine’s Hill, Christchurch, Dorset, England, on a couple of different days in May 2020.

South

The hill has two parts; north and south, divided by the A338 ‘spur road.’ These photos were all taken on the south hill, nearest Christchurch. The south I refer to in the subtitle means roughly the southern-most part of the south hill.

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These two photos are zoomed in equivalents of the preceding (taken on a different day).

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For a closer look at the church on Millhams Street whose spire protrudes from behind the Travelodge to the left of the priory tower, see Miscellaneous photos, Christchurch part 1. (That page also includes the priory and its surrounds, as does Miscellaneous photos, Christchurch part 2.)

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This is the ‘new’ (circa 1969) firing range, the original being below the triangulation point on the east side of the hill (from where I took the photos of the Priory and Hengistbury Head, and the Isle of Wight).

Central

The graffiti decorates a cylindrical concrete water container with a domed top. An older rectangular one is behind it and out of view here (thankfully).

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This sandstone overhang is in a disused quarry. See how the place has become crowded with plants over a half century…

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When I first came here in the 1960s, there was a rusting crane and corrugated iron shack at the edge of the pit just to the left of this view. This sand and clay pit was a great biking area — bearing in mind that we used ordinary road bicycles with the fenders removed. Sammy Miller’s drop is hidden by trees/bushes below where the low sun is glaring on the right. See Off-road bikes for more, including Richard J ascending a sandy near-vertical climb to exactly the point from which I took this photo.

North

This track led down to tunnels through a jungle of bushes that, in places, resembled my idea of a primeval forest. In winter, the valley floor was marshy, but in summer you could ascend to the north part of the hill overlooking Hurn Airport (now Bournemouth International Airport). Then they built the A338 ‘spur road’, which cut the hill in half. Standing where I took these photos, the distant sound of traffic is constant, day and night.

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The north-east facing slopes, out of view to the right of this point, are where I taught myself to fly a hang glider in 1974. The slope had many fewer and smaller trees in those days. (See Hang gliding 1974.)

These two photos are dedicated to Emily of the British Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The heather is not purple at this time of year, but the rhododendrons are.

West

This is back in the southern-most part of the hill, but to the west of the firing range sand pit.

Related

Scenery in Miscellaneous photos.