This morning I decided to explore a bit of the undercliff on the search for the lost T-Rex which has gone amiss from the Time Traveller’s Trail. Dippy the Diplodocus had also gone AWOL but was returned by a member of the public who found him somewhere below Solent Road in the woodland. So that is where I started the descent, and also where I began regretting my decision.
Over the past 48 hours we have recorded 34.6mm of rain at Durlston, making for a very wet, slippery, and muddy park. Here below the coastpath, the slope drops off rapidly. The canopy of evergreen Holm Oaks prevents anything growing below, leaving a bare muddy soil topped with a thick slippery carpet of dead leaves.
I find myself clinging onto various branches and tree trunks, discovering the base of Black Pine amongst the oaks, and a Yew Tree that I had never seen before. Eventually, the slope levelled off a bit, enough for me to turn northwards, where I could spy a glade thick with vegetation – probably suitable T-Rex habitat.
The glade was located below a face of exposed bedrock, that grew taller as I traversed towards the light. Hart’s Tongue Ferns began to surround me, sprouting out of every little crevice in the rocks, and surviving on the water that dripped down from above.
As the canopy opened above me, it began to feel very Jurassic Park; Towering Buddleia 12’ tall above an abundance of Horsetails scattered between the large moss-clad boulders. The rainforest aesthetic was completed by the thick vines of Old Man’s Beard, Ivy, and Wild Madder which tumble down over the rock face. I quickly realised that the ‘path’ ahead was entirely blocked by thorn-covered brambles, that only a machete could take on.
It wasn’t until I fell on my bottom, caking half of my shorts in mud, that I decided to turn back. Unfortunately, empty handed, with the T-Rex still somewhere on the loose. Back towards the office, I enjoyed the colourful blooms of Greater Knapweed, Wild Carrot, and Ox-eye Daisies, whilst I walked on flat ground with two Kestrels flying overhead. Maybe the Meadows would have been a better option.