Dorset Fertility Folklore
This is the blog that possibly gets me a suspension.
A new book - Weird Walk - is organised in chapters based on the seasons. We may have slipped into Summer but I've only just got around to the first route - Cerne Abbas, Dorset.
High on the hillside, a strange figure is carved into the chalk. Photo's really need to be from the air to do it justice.
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| Couldn't work out how to blur a photo |
Weird Walk's Description;
His feet twist to the left in the manner of Egyptian figures, while his enormous manhood is flanked by stark ribs and topped with slightly wonky nipples. An elongated arm runs to the right while the other bears a formidable 121ft club. The face is curiously framed, with eyebrows and mouth producing a slightly startled expression, as though you have interrupted the colossal geoglyph in a particularly arousing, yet private, cudgel-wielding session
It certainly holds appeal to tourists. A coach load of Poles taking group selfies stopped me from getting into the last space in Giant's View car park.
The walk is a simple circuit. Through Up Cerne and Minterne Parva before skirting under the Giant and through the Abbey Grounds.
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| Looking down over Dorset on the Wessex Ridgeway |
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| The best view - apart from by hot air balloon - already experienced |
The origins of the Giant are lost in time, but folklore dictates that it is a fertility symbol. Couples who want to conceive encouraged to get busy within the appendage, presumably performing for an audience looking on from the A352. And there's more. Inside the Abbey Graveyard is Silver Well. Its iron rich waters also said to aid conception. All this, and the finding of a 3ft eel in the well, are recounted in the Adventure Lab Cache.
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| Silver Well - Eel Free today |
The final stage of the ALC is simply labelled "Pubs". That will do for me. Cerne Abbas was once a brewery town, supporting 17 pubs. Three remain, along with the Cerne Abbas brewery tap. Alas, not open of a Sunday, otherwise I am sure to have brought back presents.
It's a stunning, timeless village. The sort of place that would encourage Eastern Europeans to travel for days on a bus.
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| One of the first buildings encountered. |
The Royal Oak simply couldn't be ignored. Free standing, ivy clad and with a sign saying "built 1540". Reportedly from materials stolen from the abbey after dissolution.
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| Bench to the right had my name on it |
Perfect for all seasons - outside seating for the warmer months - low ceiling, stone flagged floors for atmospheric cooler nights. The Cerne Abbas brewery wares are found.
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| A half of legless jester |
Over the road is the Giant Inn - a must tick.
The Good Beer Guide may prove a lifetime challenge too big but at least I can say I have 100% of the UK's pubs where the sign contains an erect member.
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| Contained a half of Cerne Abbas Blonde |
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| Art |
Walk Details
Distance - 4 Miles
Geocaches - 2 and an ALC
Walk Inspiration - AA Pocket Walks of Britain, Walk 3 and Weird Walks
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