Breakfast was a lot quieter this morning, instead of hordes of families there were many tables of single people wearing lanyards, clearly here for a work event. We didn’t linger because we had an appointment – we were due to meet Erin at Slough station at 9am!
As it turned out she was a little early and forthunately we were also well prepared so despite pretty appalling traffic around Windsor we were greeted by her smiling face a little after 8.30 am.
After a short stop in the Slough Tesco supermarket to stock up on a few snacks we set out to drive southwest, after a couple of hours we arrived at Corfe Castle which towers above the quaint little town of Corfe in Somerset. ·One of Britain’s most iconic and evocative survivors of the English Civil War, it was partially demolished in 1646 by the Parliamentarians. We parked at the National Trust information centre and walked the winding pathway to the castle entrance. Neil and I had joined the National Trust in anticipation of this trip and as Corfe is one of its properties we enjoyed free entree. The castle ruins wind up the hill to the very high rocky peak above the village. There were lovely views across the area from the top.
We tossed up about eating lunch in the village but decided instead to head on to Lulworth Cove in Dorset. Lulworth Cove is famous for its beautiful secluded beach and clear blue water surrounded by unique geological landforms including Stair Hole. The cove is one of the highlights of the Jurassic Coast, a designated World Heritage Site. Under today’s sunny skies it just glowed! There were plenty of people enjoying the view down over the cove from the headland above and also the fish and chips and ice cream in the tiny village. We enjoyed them too!
From Lulworth it was a short drive to the car park for Durdle Door, a stunning rock arch on the sea edge that is one of the most photographed sites on the coast. We walked down the path to see it along part of the Southwest Coast path. The path is England’s longest waymarked long distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for 630 miles (1,014 km), running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devom and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset.
We were headed towards Axminster for the night but took a detour to see another famous sight in this part of the country, the Cerne Abbas Giant. This huge chalk figure is of unknown origin but National Trust archaeologists have concluded the giant was probably first constructed in the late Saxon period. He certainly dominates the landscape.
the afternoon was getting late as we headed towards our stop for the night. River Cottage , near Axminster was made famous by a series of TV programs featuring chef and foodie activist, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. We’ve all loved the programs and as the farm is now available as accommodation we couldn’t resist the chance to stay here. They run many cooking classes and other foodie events here as well, there was a 4 day class underway while we were staying. The driveway down to the farm is a rough track so we needed to pile ourselves and our luggage into the farm landrover to get a lift down to the cottage. We’d picked up supplies for dinner on our way so after we settled in and had explored the garden we set ourselves up for an alfresco meal overlooking the hills below. It was a magic experience.
