Jane Dallaway

Latest posts

  • Today’s walk: Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl

    10 October 2026

    Another outing to collect a stamp for Breezy’s Pooch Passport. I’m not sure I’ve ever been to Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl before, and if I have it was a very long time ago. It was a great place for an explore. We decided to do two walks with a cafe break in between. The first followed the Hidden Hindhead Trail. The second was a bit of a construction, following the ROAM 639 Trail for a little while before dropping down to the stream and heading through the woodland to rejoin the trail near the end.

    Looking across the punch bowl, with a lone pine tree on the right

    Seven wooden boards carrying the poem Leisure by W H Davies

    We came across W H Davies’s poem Leisure displayed on wooden boards in the woods. I already knew the poem, but I found it really engaging to see it set out like this. Somehow it made it more impactful. Breezy engaged with it too, and went straight for the board with the mention of squirrels on it.

    A path through tall pine trees towards a view over the valley

    The Celtic Cross at the top of Gibbet Hill, with small stones left at its base

    A view across the valley framed by trees on either side

    All the photos above are from the first walk.

    There’s plenty more exploring to be done, so definitely worth a revisit.

  • Sea and sky

    9 October 2026

    Evening starts to fall over the West Pier in Brighton. There are clouds and the late-afternoon sun is breaking through reflecting on the sea below.

  • Another day trip to the Isle of Wight

    5 October 2026

    We’ve been thinking about having a holiday in Northern Ireland. We’d take Breezy with us, obviously, and getting us all there will almost certainly involve a ferry. She’s never been on one, so we thought we’d give it a try in the name of research and training. We had a fun day out last year when we headed to the Isle of Wight by hovercraft, so this time we tried the ferry. We went over as foot passengers, and decided to come back from Ryde on the FastCat so she got a different method of transport under her paws.

    Breezy, a black and white terrier, sitting beneath a Wightlink sign reading Foot Passengers Wait Here

    Breezy standing on the blue ferry deck, peering between white railings at the sunlit sea

    We sat outside on the sun deck for much of the 45 minute ferry crossing, before heading into the lounge for the last 10 or 15 minutes to see how she did. It was noisier inside, and there were quite a few doggies, some making their presence known. She didn’t react and just sat down by our sides as she would in a cafe. A good start.

    A low tide beach with seaweed strewn across the sand, trees on the left and the Solent stretching away under a blue sky

    Once off the ferry we walked along the coastal path towards Ryde.

    The red brick tower of Quarr Abbey rising above a young apple orchard

    Quarr Abbey's stepped gables and tall brick tower against a deep blue sky, seen over a garden wall and greenhouse

    We stopped off at Quarr Abbey, which was surprisingly busy. A truly impressive building. The cafe was even busier, with a 30 to 45 minute delay on hot food. Breezy isn’t allowed in the tea room (only assistance dogs), but dogs on leads are welcome in the tea garden, so we sat outside. We didn’t want to sit around that long in the sunshine, so we opted for cheese scones. The food was fine, nothing special, but convenient.

    The ruins of the original Quarr Abbey across a meadow, framed by hawthorn branches with the sea beyond

    A little further along the coastal path are the remains of the original abbey. The walk to Ryde didn’t take very long at all and we were there several hours before our booked crossing. After a wander around the town and picking up a few odds and ends from cute shops on Union Street, we had a tea and treat at Chocolate Apothecary before heading down the pier to board an earlier FastCat.

    Calm blue sea from the FastCat window, with the Portsmouth skyline and Spinnaker Tower on the horizon

    This time we stayed inside. We could feel a lot more movement from the water, even though it was a pretty still day, but Breezy seemed unfazed.

    Breezy curled up asleep in her purple harness on a patchwork bone-print mat on the FastCat floor

    She just lay down on her mat and slept.

    Based on this outing a longer ferry journey might well be an option. Time to do more research!