Drying Out

It was my last day in Dorset today!  My friend had to leave today but I extended another day. My other friend - the church friend we were with last night, and who is staying just a few minutes walk from here - came over and we all had a cooked breakfast together. After first friend’s departure, the two of us went off on an outing.

We headed to Durlston Country Park above Swanage. We walked through the woodland, past Durlston Castle and along part of the SW Coast path that goes through the estate. See first Extra photo. The Castle was built in 1886-87 on land purchased by a wealthy miner and builder. He purchased the land to create a tourist destination and to give back to his hometown. The castle had numerous owners until it was bought by Dorset County Council in 1973.

The castle - a folly, not a real castle - played an important part in the development of radio and telecommunications. Marconi engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.

We walked past the Great Globe - it is one of the largest stone spheres in the world and it weighs about 40 tonnes and is 3 metres (10 ft) in diameter. It was constructed in 1887 and was brought to Swanage by sea. It consists of 15 segments and is carved to show the continents and oceans. Around the globe are a series of stone plaques showing quotations from English and Roman poets, and from the Bible.

We continued along the coastal path and enjoyed beautiful views across the sea, and we had a clear view of the Isle of Wight in the distance (bottom right of the collage).  I’m hoping to be there in a couple of weeks!  We didn’t get all the way to the Anvil Point lighthouse - there was a steep path way down and another one climbing back up to the lighthouse. That will be an outing for a future visit!

When we got back to the castle we had tea and cake in the cafe. Very delicious - and that should have been enough, really, but I was hankering after a seaside ice cream as well (!!) so we drove down to the beach and walked along the waterfront. I also am a great lover of beach huts and that’s where I found this delightful scene outside one of them! It looks like a family very much enjoyed their day on the beach! A few more beach huts - with a wide variety of styles - can be seen in the second Extra photo.

We found a really good place to stop for an ice cream where we could actually sit and enjoy the view. It was right below the Grand Hotel. I indulged in a crunchy lemon cone and it was delicious!!

It was a wonderful day out in the sunshine!  We’ve been so blessed by the weather on these 6 days of our holiday!  The day wasn’t over, though. We headed back to the campsite. I had food that needed to be eaten up before leaving tomorrow, so I cooked a simple meal of roasted veggies and couscous. My friend stayed for dinner and we relaxed while the food was cooking, and shared the last of the cake I’d brought for dessert. The diet starts next week!