Road trips, mountain walks and holidays

There are so many places to visit in Dorset. This is another post about a day out near Bournemouth. One Sunday, we got plenty of sunshine and decided to go to the south-eastern part of the Isle of Purbeck – some 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Poole. It could have been less if we decided to use Sandbanks Ferry (it would only be about 12 miles away), however, we decided to drive by car. Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve We intended to have a little Sunday hike, so we went directly to Durlston Country Park parking. The only way to get there is to drive through Swanage because that is the only road to access the country park and when you reach it that also is the end of that road. The good news is that they have a nice parking lot and prices are reasonable. For example, if you only wish to visit the castle and the Great Globe, one hour would be enough and parking would cost you £2; parking is located next to the castle. If you wish to have a little walk along the coast and o...

Visiting Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset We have visited Abbotsbury Swannery twice; the first time at the end of March and the second time at the beginning of May when new swans and other birds just had the first new babies born. Either of the visits was nice and we would go there again even just to have a nice walk around and enjoy this peaceful relaxing place in the company of these amazing creatures. The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks in the 11th century where they farmed the swans to produce food – how practical! They say that the Abbotsbury Swannery is home to the world’s only managed colony of nesting mute swans, although that is not the only thing you will find there. From the entrance gate, you will have to walk almost one kilometre (about 2,400 feet) to reach the colony of swans; free car parking is located in front of the entrance. On the way to Swannery, you will find other attractions such as a labyrinth and a small ricing arena where usage of pedal-driven mea...

West Dorset About an hour's drive from Bournemouth to the west there is a really beautiful small town West Bay . The trip itself is very nice because West Dorset has amazing scenery; on almost all routes you will drive up and down hills. Sometimes, from the top of the hills, you can see the English Channel and even the coastline. West Bay is a small resort town, located to the south of Bridport, about 15 miles from Weymouth, with its own pier, harbour, marina and tourist attractions for visitors of all ages. There are many guest houses, hotels, self-catering cottages, apartments and camping parks in and around West Bay. The area is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site; the whole length of the Jurassic Coast coastline is almost 100 miles (154 kilometres). The history of the town started when a railway was extended from Bridport to Bridport Harbour in 1884; the new harbour station was named West Bay. Soon after that, they started building villas and houses to attract tou...