Swanage and history, 2026

Hardy called Swanage Knollsea. In this photo there's a concrete pillbox, crab and lobster pots, and a folly from London. The ships that took Portland stone to London were ballasted with odds and ends for the return journey - bollards, etc.

This "Great Globe", on the edge of Swanage dates from the 1870s. It's about 3m in diameter and was made in Greenwich.

Dancing Ledge is a terrace of rock that's covered at high tide. A cuboid hole was cut into it to make a swimming pool. My mother's school used it to teach the children how to swim. I never saw my mother swim.

When this shop was Woolworths there was a ballroom on the first floor. My parents met there. My cousin owns the shop now. Their storeroom is upstairs.

These Dinosaur prints are in a field far from anywhere.