Maria Donovan

The view from Hardy’s monument in Dorset is best known for its breath-taking panorama…

There’s a saying enjoyed by people on the Dorset coastline: if you can’t see the Isle of Portland it must be raining; if you can see Portland, it’s about to rain. On the last day of November we had snow, which only settled on the highest ground.

As we were travelling back from Dorchester to Bridport by the scenic route, we stopped on the top of Black Down by the monument to Thomas Hardy. The view from this angle on a clear day takes in the Fleet Lagoon and Chesil Bank to Portland and beyond, all the way to the distant Isle of Wight. As you can see, it’s totally obscured. It was wild up there, with a driving wind from the North. Beautiful in its own way.

I might have posted this one anyway but it’s also my last photo for November so for once I am getting in early with my contribution to Bushboy’s ‘Last on the Card’ photo challenge. You too can join in: it’s wonderfully inclusive. Surprise yourself by revealing your last photo for the month, unedited. Doesn’t matter if it’s odd or blurry. You don’t even need to comment (I just can’t help myself). To check out the simple rules and see Brian’s photos, and all the others linked to it, go to Bushboy’s blog here.

In case you’re wondering why there is a monument to Hardy in such a high place…Read on.

The main thing to remember is that, where other Counties lack a famous man called Thomas Hardy, Dorset has two. One, the novelist and poet who wrote Tess of the D’Urbervilles and ‘The Darkling Thrush’; the other, Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. He held the dying Nelson in his arms and he would have known whether or not Nelson said the famous words, ‘Kiss me, Hardy.’

This is his memorial, supposedly in the form of a spyglass. It has been a landmark for shipping since it was erected in 1844. It’s also visible for miles around in the countryside – so you can see where you’re heading, as long as it isn’t obscured!

For a view of the monument itself or to know more about its history and the nature that surrounds it, for the many fine walks you can take from this point along the South Dorset Ridgeway or for more views along and beyond the Jurassic Coast (as we call it, since it became a World Heritage Site) check out these links:

Hardy Monument National Trust

Hardy Monument Visit Dorset

Black Down and Hardy’s Monument – Dorset national landscape

And finally: will you take up Bushboy’s photo challenge and share your last photo for November? Have you seen snow yet? Or is it summer where you are?