I’m sitting in the Ferrybridge Inn at Wyke Regis, overlooking Chesil Beach.  It’s a very humid evening and I am hoping that the positive weather forecast I saw yesterday is true, as I realise that I have forgotten to bring my waterproof!  Can Britain give me eight dry days on the trot?

Coming down by train, it was fun to travel through some of the stations where I have begun and ended walks – Brockenhurst, Branksome and Wareham being three.  As the train crossed Poole harbour I remembered the chain ferry and a great day with Jane.

The pub is shabby but clean, and obviously popular as I have been warned there will be an hour’s wait for food.  I should have eaten in Weymouth when I got off the train, but that looked pretty busy too.  No problem waiting really as I sip my merlot and pore over my maps. Next to me a very nice couple are explaining to their daughter, who appears to be about six, the different fossils and remains of creatures that can be found on the Jurassic coast.  At present they are discussing a giant centipede, six feet in length!

It’s morning now, and I am waiting to have breakfast before setting off. I do wish guest houses could serve breakfast earlier. It is seldom available before 8am but it would be so much nicer to be able to set off before that, as walking in the early morning is nicer than any other time of day.  From my bedroom window, I can see across to Portland Bill and down onto Chesil Beach.  Apparently, the pebbles are so distinctive on Chesil Beach that an expert can tell exactly from which of the 18 miles of its length it comes.   I have seen some early boats heading out on what promises to be a glorious day.