Date: 20180713
Time: 9:35 – 15:45
Distance: 24.5 km
Stay: B&B Weymouth, Weymouth
Walk
Friday the 13th, today I walk around Portland Island. I start in Fortuneswell, where I spent the night.
It immediately goes all the way up the hill. Here I walk through a surreal landscape of rocks that seem to be thrown down here and there. Here, in the past, many rocks and stones have been ‘harvested’ for all kinds of construction projects.
On the western cliff I walk to the southernmost tip of the island, Portland Bill. Here are three lighthouses. It slowly goes downhill and the landscape changes. I come along buildings and some lost fields.
When I arrive at Portland Bill, it is time for a break. Coffee on the terrace at the Lobster Pot.
I walk back on the eastern side. Here it mainly goes along the cliffs. Until the last part where I go all the way up again. There are many butterfly bushes here. But, unfortunately, only relatively few butterflies.
Along the prison it goes towards the harbor. The prison here, Verne Prison, has a ‘nice’ record to its name. In December 1955, John Patrick Hannan escaped from this prison using knotted sheets (of all things) and he has not been arrested again to this day. This makes him the longest fugitive prisoner ever.
When my round is done, I walk off the island again via the route I walked yesterday (but then in the other direction). At Billy Winters it is time for a break. Now with a pint on the terrace along the water.
A few more kilometers over flat terrain and then I am in Weymouth. I’ll stay there tonight.
Three more walks to go…
Weather
The start of the day was cloudy, but soon the sun came through. The rest of the day was sunny, dry and warm. Occasionally a breeze.
Lyric of the day
Many rocks today, the whole island is rock and rock is also mined. And all because someone once said Let There Be Rock, AC/DC:
In the beginning
Back in nineteen fifty five
Man didn’t know ’bout a rock ‘n’ roll show
And all that jive
The white man had the schmaltz
The black man had the blues
No one knew what they was gonna do
But Tchaikovsky had the news
He said let there be sound
There was sound
Let there be light
There was light
Let there be drums
There was drums
Let there be guitar
There was guitar
Let there be rock
And it came to pass
That rock ‘n’ roll was born
All across the land every rockin’ band
Was blowin’ up a storm
And the guitar man got famous
The business man got rich
And in every bar there was a superstar
With a seven year itch
There was fifteen million fingers
Learnin’ how to play
And you could hear the fingers pickin’
And this is what they had to say
Let there be light
Sound
Drums
Guitar
Let there be rock
One night in the club called the shakin’ hand
There was a 42 decibel rockin’ band
And the music was good and the music was loud
And the singer turned and he said to the crowd
Let there be rock
