Crossing the water

We set off on our short holiday in the early afternoon heading for a campsite in Dorset we had found online. We only had three nights but it seemed to take forever to get everything ready, not having been camping for some years. The weather was overcast but there was the promise of minimal rain and possibly some sunshine to follow, but we just wanted to get to the seaside again.

I chose a route which only saved a couple of miles, but did avoid driving through Bath which can be a painful experience. I'd discovered the toll bridge over the River Avon at Bathampton earlier this year when I'd driven down to meet a friend in Wiltshire, and made a mental note to return and admire the scene.

We parked on the south side close to an old mill site, which is now a busy riverside pub, and ambled back over the bridge where another mill building has a water wheel which still functions, decoratively. The main body of the river's water flows over this weir just downstream of the bridge. The Kennet and Avon canal follows a parallel route about half a mile away.

We only stopped for a few minutes but we both agreed that we want to return another time and go for a walk along the banks of the river as the whole valley scene appears so tranquil. Autumn might be a good time for that. Then we headed off down the road again a and only got lost a couple of times as we  ventured across country and encountered the holiday traffic around Dorchester.

The campsite was a delight, and we pitched our tent on a reasonably flat field on Shortlake Farm near Osmington. It had fabulous views over the cliff edge at the end of the field looking across the Jurassic coastline towards Weymouth and Portland Bill.