Coming from the west, at the top of Abbotsbury Hill, the village is still invisible, nestled
in a valley.
The salt-water lagoon of Abbotsbury Swannery is at the centre right,
with Chesil Beach - one of the great natural wonders of Dorset - stretching to Weymouth and Portland in the east.
St Catherine's Chapel stands above the village, at the top of Chapel Hill.
This is where I go for a walk, nearly every day.
Further down, you can just make out some farm buildings on the left, indicating the start of the village and the Sub-Tropical Gardens
have come into view on the right.
... and you're in West Street, just by our friend Elaine's house.
Most of the houses in Abbotsbury are 17th or 18th century and you can see the unusual mixture of slate and thatched roofs.
Further along West Street, with Abbotsbury Pictures in the centre
of a particularly attractive terrace of thatched cottages.
You can also see, in the distance, the unusual raised pavements.
In the past, the fields on the seaward side of Abbotsbury were market gardens, supplying
fresh vegetables for the area.
These days, only two or three old chaps in the village still grow in any quantity, but selling produce
from outside your door is a village tradition.
Being self-sufficient in vegetables ourselves, we sell our excess to tourists & locals alike,
who prefer to buy local, fresh produce, rather than shrink-wrapped supermarket vegetables picked
two weeks ago.
Now you're in Market Street, in the centre of Abbotsbury village,
with the Ilchester Arms pub down the bottom on the right and our house in the
middle of the terrace.
Our front door is down the alleyway, with our extensive signage (!) directing visitors
to our studio-gallery, where they can buy jewellery and originals & prints of Mary-Clare's art.
