Not Kew!! a few days in Poole

I have just got back from a few days staying with my lovely friend Lin in Poole. 
Weather was mixed, but managed a fair few photos! 
We started (with just the phone) at Poole Quay

 despite the cloud, it was a lovely warm afternoon - we just sat for a few minutes enjoying an ice cream
as I said on Facebook, you go to the seaside, you have ice cream!

 on Monday, in drizzle, we went to Swanage as Lin had wanted to go since she moved down to Dorset

 it held off raining for long enough to walk along the pier

 and we could see the Isle of Wight so it wasn't too dull!

I am allowed to include this one (version one clearly has Lin saying "no"  as I took it....) 

 as we got back to the car.......



it poured down for the rest of the day...



we decided to head back home

 stopping briefly at Corfe Castle, but the rain was too heavy to do more than get out of the car briefly for a few snatched photos

we'll go back another time...



the rest of Monday was spent doing some crafting..

Tuesday morning we headed to Christchuch and parked in a really pretty car park close to the harbour and Christchurch Priory (more of which later)



better than a concrete multi-storey carpark!

 view of the Priory as we walked to the harbour

 pretty little park

 an old mill (no longer working... when we came back there was an art exhibition on inside so we had a look; some beautiful paintings, highly priced!)

 apparently there are usually black swans too but we only saw white ones today, lots of them, and ducks and pigeons galore.

loved this upturned boat with it's slightly peeling paint look.

 bandstand, and the Priory behind

 I got a bit (ahem) carried away as we walked round the harbour and looked at the boats

 Lin said there were loads more than last time she came...

 I wish I could paint!

 and always over our shoulder, the Priory

 the sun kept coming out too

back at the start, we stopped for a drink

 and as we sat outside a small cafe I noticed a large flock of birds flying towards us.. I thought to start with it might be a murmuration of starlings

 but they were "just" pigeons....

 inside the mill, I took some photos of the workings (excuse the finger!  )

 we climbed the very steep stairs to the upper level and looked down to the water below


there was a sign that said since 2018 the mill can't be used as a mill due to the danger of damage to the building

 but it was a beautiful old building - you can see why they'd want to preserve it

 then we crossed back through the carpark to visit Christchurch Priory

 the walls were amazing. 

the roof inside the porch as we went in.

 fabulous doors



we were welcomed in and told about the Priory, the first church on the site was started in Norman times, just 30 years after the Battle of Hastings

most of the present priory dates from 900 years ago (their website is here) 

The inside is quite plain, as some of the more elaborate decorations were removed in the time of Henry VIII as a plea bargain to escape it's total destruction.  Thank goodness!




we were told we were free to take photographs and wandered around - it was beautiful, and very peaceful despite quite a few visitors around


 gorgeous stained glass windows

 the architecture inside was amazing. 

I am reading Ken Follett's "cathedral" series that starts with Pillar of the Earth, about the building of a huge cathedral in medieval times, and I think that's why it appealed to me so much.

 ancient tombstones underfoot

 light was bouncing around through windows

 more beautiful windows

 

 there were some very old gravestones in the churchyard too.

thanks for looking!



(normal service will be resumed soon with Kew... although as I have the rest of this week off work too, who knows where else I may go!)