Discovering Dumpdon Hill. A Spring Walk in The Blackdown Hills

Curiosity has been the downfall of many a cat, yet I’d still place it near the top of the traits worth embracing. Even roads, seemingly dry subjects, reveal unexpected stories when looked at with interest. Take the A303: a giant among arterial highways, the subject of books and even pop songs. It carries not just traffic but possibility, its vistas stretching from Hampshire to the West Country. Like any route we travel often, its landmarks flicker past, half noticed. For me, one such landmark is Dumpdon Hill.

Lambert’s Castle and Fishpond Bottom: The Joy of Wandering Spontaneously

Today’s little slice of exploration took me somewhere I have driven past countless times on the way to Lyme Regis but never stopped to see. The lure of a castle sharing my family name, paired with the childish delight of visiting anywhere with “Bottom” in the title, was enough to point the car towards Dorset …