Fort Nepean walk

Wednesday 14th

The morning was fine, so I drove up to Gunner’s Cottage to park the car, then set off on foot on the path to Fort Nepean. I felt very aware of the isolation, in a way I never did at King Island. I was quite pleased when a friendly cyclist came past – at least there were others using the path. I could hear the sound of fierce wind and waves over the cliff, and supposed it was best I was set back a bit on the path as it was still pretty cold there.

I think it was Fort Pearce that I came across first, and explored with a little trepidation. There turned out to be so many rooms. I took a lot of photos of the beautifully aged and crazed walls, as they can make beautiful backgrounds when working in photoshop. Also some for the more military minded.

On the road now, I continued on to the next fortification, where I caught up with the cyclist. I ascended the ramp to go through the tunnel, and got about five steps in before I heard some whistling. Great, I thought – someone is warning me they are coming through in order not to startle me. I hung back waiting for them, but nothing happened. I could see the end of the tunnel, and could see the light shifting as though something was blocking it out. Still no-one came through. Thoroughly spooked, I headed around the side of the tunnel and approached the other end – nothing. There was absolutely no-one out there. A ghostly soldier, then? Feeling duty-bound to continue right out to the Engine House, I can’t say I was upset to find the track closed, forcing me to turn back. I’ll admit I was a little spooked, and ended up holding my knife, just in case….

I looked behind me several times as I returned down the road, but could see nothing moving at the Fort. I took the path instead of the road for a bit, and got some photos of the wild tree branches. Unfortunately when out and about like this, taking photos is a bit less of an art than I’d like, as it’s so bright I can’t see that well, even with my glasses, and it’s often a case of guessing settings and just making sure the horizon line looks level!