My 4 day trip to Dorset - (Day 1 afternoon and evening) - On the way to Wareham ; Wareham - Along the North street heading towards the quay; the church of Lady St. Mary - The 21st of April 2016

I made my way to the Bournemouth train station which I reached following a twenty minute walk to soon find myself on a train heading to Wareham just a few stops away.

Once I got to the Wareham train station I had to walk along the greenish pasture land beside the river Piddle, close to which I sighted the North Mill residence I would be staying at for three days.  Having reached the little bridge over it I continued up hill towards the town centre on its main street. I felt tempted to visit St. Martin's church, the oldest church in Dorset, which stood on the left hand side but it was closed by then, so I continued walking towards the Anglebury house where I would be staying the first night, said to have been frequented by T. E. Lawrence (whose regular seat is still marked by a plaque).

 

 

I dropped my backpack at the Anglebury house, where I was given a huge room and headed towards the quay still on the North street. The former Saxon founded town ows its name to the words wer (meaning "fish trap, a weir) and ham (homestead) or hamm (enclosure hemmed in by water), though it wouldd make no difference to the growing feeling that I would certainly like it because of its calm atmosphere.

On the way back from the quay by the river Frome I turned right in the direction of a tower I could see behind the two storey houses and soon found myself  near a thatched house in front of the Church of Lady St. Mary. I had the priviledge of having the priest as my personal guide in the church. I was particularly drawn to the South chapel at a slightly lower level, which according to my guide dates back to the 12th century.  

 

 

 

South Chapel

 

The one hour visit was quite interesting, despite not having been initially noted in my to do visits. As I left I decided to go back to the quay area, though towards the Granary side where I had seen a tile I had forgotten to photograph and which would later provided me with precious indications as how to reach the North Mill.

I came across some mural paintings I found particularly interesting and more so when I found out what was behind them as a communal project involving the school and the children, which is something we don't often do in Portugal - to get the children involved (at least with the level of committment I have seen in other countries).

I was finally able to hug my daughter whom I hadn't seen for a while on the back yard of the Red Lion, where I had a nice cup of tea to seal off the rather tiring (yet interesting) day.