Distance: 10.6 miles
Ascent: 428 metres
Duration: 5 hours 12 minutes
The island
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There seems to be some confusion as to the spelling of our starting point. My map names the village "Chesil" while Emma's map - and all the local signs - call it "Chiswell". The point isn't worth arguing; we finished less than half a mile from the start, having completed a circuit of the island we've been staying on. (This project would be so much easier if I lived on Portland.)
Portland seems to be an island with no centre. Quarries occupy almost all the uninhabited land. Quarries so deep I worry that the sea will flood the island from the centre.
The most interesting is the labyrinthine Tout Quarry, now a sculpture park. Here in 1983 Antony Gormley carved the first work, a life-size figure falling down the rockface. It was a treat to see, at a time when I'm looking forward to seeing more of Gormley's work soon on the Sefton coast.
The rest of the western coast continued the theme of active and abandoned quarries until finally a wide expanse of common ground opened out and we reach the brace of lighthouses at Portland Bill.
Sadly we can't tell you about the eastern coast: in the space of a minute the clear blue skies vanished as the sea mist rolled in once more.
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