A little trip

A bit delayed in typing this up, but in September it was time for a change of scenery, and we headed south in the van to the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. I think we were both a bit surprised by what we found on this trip. Dorset has got something for everyone, from military historians, palaeontologists, geologists, nature lovers or just lovers of fresh air and cold sea swimming (and yes, we did, on several occasions).

One thing we have learnt over the last couple of years is that we enjoy our travels more if we stay longer in one spot! That seems to be counterintuitive, but we used to move (and this applies to both the boat and the van) every day or every other day. Now we move to a new spot and stay for at least a few days if not a week  – the benefit of being retired. This gives us the luxury of time to relax and explore each place a little more than just dashing through.

We started in the New Forest, went across to the Isle of Purbeck and then worked our way along the coast to Portland Bill and finally to Charmouth and the Cob at Lyme Regis.

Whilst in the New forest we took a trip to Milford on Sea. We braced ourselves against gale force winds to walk along the spit of land to Hurst Castle. This exposed prominence is under constant bombardment from the sea. There have been multiple lighthouses here giving warning to seafarers. The castle has guarded the Needles Passage that leads to the Solent, the port of Southampton and the naval base at Portsmouth since the 1500s. These fortifications now stand as a tribute to all who have served within their walls from the Tudors to the mid 20th century.

On to the Isle of Purbeck, we headed to Dancing Ledge. The ledge is just one example of the multiple abandoned limestone quarries that exist along these cliffs. Since the Middle Ages, Purbeck Marble (limestone) was shipped around the British Isles to be used in religious buildings from Chichester to York, including the arches and cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral.

If you find yourself in this area, make a detour to the limestone pavement which captured the impressions of a dinosaur’s footprints

 

With the weather improving we jumped aboard a steam train in Swanage and headed to Corfe Castle. This regal ruin dominates the surrounding valleys. It’s dizzying heights and the outrageous angles of some of the remaining walls are rather alarming, but they do make for dramatic scenery and fabulous views.

Lulworth Cove is a well renowned beauty spot, it was very pretty, but much smaller than I’d expected. This is where you can pick up the coast path and scale up steep staircases to find the most dramatic rock formations. The steps were just a bit too much for my knees but provided excellent exercise for the barefoot boater and his dog when they went in search of Durdle Door. This iconic limestone arch reaches into the sea- perhaps trying to get away from the throngs of visitors who flock to see it.

Back to the van and we headed on to the Isle of Portland and a campsite only a short walk from Portland Bill Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it was refitted in 2019 by the mariner’s charity, Trinity House with LED lights. This plot of land also has a very low magnetic field, making it an ideal location to test and calibrate sensitive equipment.

Our last few days were near to Lyme Regis and was my personal favourite. We stayed at Charmouth, and Ian went on a hike to Golden Cap (best walk of the trip) and I went fossil hunting!

Fossil hunting was on my bucket list of things to do, and I will confess to being worried that I wouldn’t find any. So, I cheated and watched a few YouTube vlogs of fossil hunters to pick up some hints and tips. It seems that there are two main types of fossil hunters, those that search through the rocks and pebbles and those that smash their promising rocks to reveal their secrets. My “research”, as a searcher or mud larker, paid off and as I was delighted with my finds. However, should you go hunting and be unsuccessful, don’t panic, there’s an excellent little shop underneath the Heritage Centre where you can sneak in and purchase locally found fossils for just a few pounds. As my finds were quite small (tiny!), we bought a bigger ammonite to give to Grandma!