Purbeck Vignettes -- 4: A Prospect of Studland

We knew of the long, white sand beach at Studland -- I'd been there as a boy -- but our principal interest was Studland Heath nature reserve, a dune-based heath habitat which is home to all six of Britain's native reptile species and would also host a number of different butterflies and beetles as well as the rare Dartford Warbler. The map provided by the National Trust, the Heath's owners, at Shell Bay at the north end of the beach -- coincidentally the official start (or end) of the South West Coast Path -- showed that there were a number of routes through it; our intention, therefore, was to progress along the beach as far as the naturist section, then veer off into the Heath and follow the paths to the bird hides at the southern end of the Little Sea before calling in at Studland village's Bankes Arms for a late lunch.

None of this really went to plan. Walking on sand is always slower than walking elsewhere; it therefore took us longer to get to the veering-off point than we'd anticipated (where we stopped for half-an-hour or so for Judith to sketch Old Harry Rocks). That was also the point at which we found that the signage on the ground was poor to non-existent: we could see the markers delineating the limits of the naturist area, but where were those to direct us onto the paths across the Heath?

Undaunted, we struck off into the dunes. To encounter no signs or waymarkers, but a number of slightly startled naturists doubtless wondering what these two "textiles" were doing blundering around in their midst. Asking for directions brought only the information that the Little Sea was a long way "in that direction", which was of no help. So we gave up and returned to the beach, our chosen path taking us past two young men behind a canvas shelter whose demeanour suggested they may have been interrupted while engaged in a manipulation of such frightfulness that it cannot possibly be discussed in a family blog such as this.

So we slogged on south towards Middle Beach, abandoning the thought of a lunch in the Bankes Arms (and a sampling of the local beers that would have provided), aiming instead for an ice cream at the NT Visitor Centre. And noting, as we went, that the Studland naturists have three principal characteristics: (1) they are nut-brown all over, presumably from their exposure to the sun; (2) they are all old and mostly overweight; and (3) when not lying down with their legs apart are striding boldly about displaying their, er, "equipment". Most unnerving!