The lost village

There is a lovely village, hidden away in a green valley near the sea, called Tyneham. It lies deep in the Purbeck hills (or the Isle of Purbeck thought it isnt an island at all) surrounded by the lovely Dorset coastline - now called the Jurassic Coast and protected.

One day in 1943 the inhabitants were given orders by the government to pack up their belongings and leave. It was the middle of World War II and the army needed the houses as target practice for the nearly tank ranges.

They left a note on the church door :-
'Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.'

They never returned.

These days you can walk the lovely cliff paths and visit the deserted village on weekends in the summer. They have restored the school, and living in an old school myself, I find it very poignant to look at the desks - it seems just as if the children had just gone home for the afternoon.

The church hosts an exhibition of old photos and artefacts from happier days, but has a stained glass window of Mary in front of a weeping willow. Very apt.

The one advantage of the military presence is that the wildlife has been protected and flourishes (unless it is dodging an incoming missile) Prince Harry is at present stationed with the army on a Junior Leaders course, learning to command tanks on the nearby range. Soon to be joined by Prince William.

The village is protected from the sea by a small range of hills, but a smugglers path leads to an isolated shingle bay - where I took the obigatory boot photo.