Tuesday, 6 June. Weymouth to Calne

Said goodbye to Weymouth and headed northish to Cerne Abbas to see the Cerne Giant. He is 

60m high, 31m wide and very well endowed! No one knows his origins but he’s believed to be a fertility symbol.

Found a car park and followed a path past someone’s barn and to the edge of a field but you could only see part of him so returned to a higher car park where a bus had been and got a better view there. He was not very clear though, don’t think the light was right. He gets rechalked about every 10 years, so perhaps he was due for a cleanup.

Next I set the GPS for the Westbury horse. It was quite a long way through many tiny villages with narrow roads and front doors that open straight onto the road. Thought I’d arrived in Westbury and stopped at a pub for a pit stop and a cuppa, but I was in Chalford, the village just before. Got chatting to a couple as I ordered my coffee and asked where to view the horse. They invited me to sit with them and we had a great conversation. Can’t remember her name but she was lovely and he put in an occasional word. In the end they offered to lead me to the best viewing spot as it was on their way home. She is very proud of her new campervan and gave me a tour of it.  Anyway, Malcolm, her husband, drove the van and she hopped in the car with me so we could continue chatting. After a slight detour through a supermarket car park we found the right spot, said goodbye and they drove off while I got my photo.

The Westbury horse is the oldest of the Wiltshire horses (left Dorset this morning and am now in Wiltshire). It is 182 feet high and 108 feet long. It has been known since at least 1742 but may be older.

I decided to aim for the closest horse to Calne, where I am staying for the next two nights. This is the Cherhill horse and it took me a while to find the viewing place which is almost completely overgrown, with no proper car parking spot. It amazes me that they don’t make a bigger deal of these horses as I think they’re terrific - obviously, or I wouldn’t be driving all over the countryside to find them.

The Cherhill horse dates from 1780, when the turf was cut away to reveal the chalk hillside underneath. He is maintained by volunteers who weed him and rechalk him every couple of years.

Calne is a big town an my hotel is an old coaching inn on the main road. There is no car parking at the hotel so I drove around for ages looking for somewhere to stop. This is not easy as there are one way streets going up and down and only just wide enough for a car, as well as heaps of traffic and roundabouts. 

Finally found a little car park and walked to the hotel, where the receptionist advised me of the best spot to park. I’ll have to be up and out early as you have to pay during the day but can stay free overnight (and for the first two hours). Took a couple of things out of my case as I didn’t want to lug it all the way to the hotel and up the stairs. This is the only hotel where I’ve booked a room with a single bed and it’s a very pretty room right above the front door of the hotel.

Had a cuppa and lemon drizzle cake in a cafe over the road, then went for a bit of a walk. Watched traffic in a spot with one lane. There is a sign which indicates who has to give way. Usually the cars going downhill give way to the ones coming up.

A map of the historic centre of town showed a wharf right beside the town hall, which is next to my hotel. Went to investigate and it is the end of an old branch canal. The water is very shallow now as it has long been abandoned but there’s a nice path beside it.

Meals here are pretty expensive these days. Beef and mushroom pie with fat chips and buttered greens (cabbage) was £20. That’s about what I’ve been paying each night and I’m not going anywhere fancy. A G&T is about £4.50. I’ll be glad when I have an apartment and can have beans on toast if I want to.