rainbows and missed opportunities

...plenty of sunshine this morning, though there was a chilly wind and some ominous clouds skirting along the Purbeck Ridge. Noticing that the best of the sunshine was along the coast, we set off for another walk from Lulworth Cove.

Even before we reached Corfe Castle, we discovered that those ominous clouds were unleashing their moisture in the form of heavy hail. It was at this point that I missed my first opportunity. Corfe Castle was beautifully lit with a backcloth of deep black sky decorated with a stunning rainbow. I pulled over as soon as possible but the moment had gone.

North of the ridge, the weather was even worse and the hail on the road up to Stoborough looked like snow but, by the time we got back to the coast at West Lulworth, the sun was shining again. We didn't have too much of a plan as we set off towards Durdle Door again, however any plan that we might have had did not include the sudden rain and hail that drenched us from head to foot. Worse still, we had to walk into the cold wind, with soggy trousers stuck to our legs, as we retraced our steps. The consolation was seeing the beautiful rainbow that was rising out of Lulworth Cove. Despite the rain, we rushed up past Stair Hole to capture it before it disappeared.

We drove home with thoughts of a warm shower and a hot mug of tea. As we approached Swanage, the Isle of White was looking amazing, crowned with a bank of heavy black cloud above the sun drenched chalk cliffs of Tennyson Down. Nowhere to stop. Missed opportunity number two...