Friday 9th – Monday 12th June 2017
Friday
This month’s getaway destination is Swanage. Not a huge challenge distance wise, but soon after we left home we realised we’d left The Dog’s bed and The Man’s phone behind – not to worry, we can make do.
Then after a frustrating traffic jam through Ringwood we got lost within metres of the site after driving through narrower and narrower roads. We mistakenly pulled into Ulwell Farm caravan site and had to un hitch the van to turn it around in a very cramped area. When we finally found the unsigned site we were directed to pitch right next to the chemical toilet disposal – yeuch! We tried to move but were told all the sites were booked – not much evidence of that so I wasn’t best pleased. To top it all when we’d finished pitching up we found that our water pump wasn’t working – so no water! Still never mind, the sun is shining and we have wine.
After our negative first impressions the site wasn’t actually that bad. There was a mobile home site on one side with names like ‘Lazy Daze’, ‘Thyme Out’ and ‘Miles Away’, and there was a fairly well stocked shop and bar/restaurant. The site was popular with campers and there was a large play area.
Once we’d set up camp we went for a walk down the hill towards Swanage town and wandered around pleasant Days Park just past the site of the old Swanage Grammar school, abandoned in the seventies and now appealingly derelict. The evening was warm and balmy and so we had a BBQ and were able to sit out and enjoy the evening.
My evening dog walk chore was a very pleasant walk up on the hills behind the van, giving me a lovely view over the camp site, Swanage and the sea.
It was early to bed as we’d stayed up so late to watch the election on Thursday night!
Saturday
The day dawned with spotless blue skies and gloriously hot, so I didn’t mind having to go to the camp showers due to our water problem. However, the three hook, interval shower that spat out boiling hot water for 20 seconds was definitely a come down from the relative luxury of my ablutions in the comfort of the van! I had to limbo dance against the wall to get wet and wallow in a puddle of other peoples verruca plasters and discarded hair – not nice!
Today we ventured into Swanage which I vaguely remember from a previous trip, but this time seemed so much the better for being bathed in sunshine, vibrant with day trippers and backed up by the Swanage Fish Festival. What a gloriously quaint British seaside town. Bespoke shops, winding streets, friendly coffee stops and dog tolerant – what’s not to love? We had a lovely wander, playing dog relay as we took it in turns to mooch around the shops while the other one was dog monitor on the sunny pavements. We ended up meandering around the Fish Festival buoyed up with half a lager and enjoying the vast array of fishy offerings.
From here we took a short drive to Durlston Country Park and spent the afternoon exploring the castle and gift shop with a very friendly and informed assistant, and then ambled along the cliff walk with frequent stops to take in the glorious sea views, dramatic cliff drops and swooping of sea birds.
George Burt established the Durlston Estate with his stonemason uncle, John Mowlem, on an undulating tract of land along Durlston Head. He built his folly, Durlston Castle, here 1886 using local stone. The ‘castle’ was actually built as a restaurant for visitors to the etstate and played a part in the evolution of telecommunications; early experimental wireless transmissions were made from the roof to the Isle of Wight. The castle became the property of Dorset County Council in 1973.
It was all rather splendid and made me so happy to be British despite the current shambles of our shameful ‘new’ government!
We rounded off the day with refreshments back at the castle before heading back to base to enjoy the last of the day’s warmth.
Sunday
The day dawned a bit more changeable than yesterday so we took the pragmatic decision not to venture on the steam train to Corfe, but do the Studland to Ballard Point walk instead. We had a lovely lazy morning and it didn’t take long to get to Studland’s South Beach car park to start our five plus miles circular walk taking in ‘Old Harry’, Ballard Point and Glebeland Estate.
The rain held off and we had a splendid walk along the cliffs with heart stopping views, and back across country through lush fields, past hedgerows buzzing with insects and thick with birdsong.
We ended the day with a restful meal in the camp restaurant where The Dog was welcome, and was so tired with all the weekend walking he was quite well behaved!
Me, the man, our dog, and a van 