A Seaside Holiday

With autumn imminent, the number one pick for our next free weekend was the seaside.
There's a sense of urgency to see as much sun and and outdoors as you can before you grab a crate of Tim Tams and a big doona and hibernate for the winter.
We picked Weymouth in Dorset for several reasons. One- we'd never been there, two- it's two whole counties away giving us some new places to see along the way and three- it's not too far from one of our favourite spots from our holiday five years ago, Lulworth Cove.
I've noticed In England I have a pessimistic/optimistic attitude to packing- you pack the stuff you hope you'll get to use (in this case swimwear), and also the stuff you will probably have to use (rain gear). Invariably the weather is somewhere in between and I will have nothing to wear.
We pack up Minty the wonder car and head off down south, with, it would appear, half of England. It's a slow drive but we're heading off on a beach holiday, and so who cares.
We chose a B & B as we often do. It's something I don't think I've ever done in Australia but I love using them here. 90% of the places we've stayed were great. There was that place where we realised upon retiring for the night, that our hosts have given up their own beds...
Usually it's good however. I love coming down to a little pine dining room in the morning the air smelling of cooked breakfast. You sit there at your little table, scooping marmalade out of those tiny glass pots and smile to yourself listening to other folk around you with various accents, plan their days adventures.If you are lucky your hosts are chatty and helpful and full of wonderful local facts and information. Other times they might hide and you can't really blame them.

Our hosts are in the lovely category this time and direct us to some likely places to get a good supper and the most pleasant route there. It probably wasn't the most wonderful route, but bless them they tried.                                
Weymouth is big old town. It sits on a wide bay facing south, with powdery sand at one end and pebbles at the other.It's full of hotels and amusement arcades and like many seaside places looks a little worn in a loved-to-death way. But the beach is pristine and raked daily and the water is great for families being shallow for quite a way out.
There are Punch and Judy shows, donkeys rides, trampolines, merry-go-rounds and ice-cream aplenty. We had fish and chips for dinner and Fil stated it was the best he's had in England- pretty hefty compliment. We strolled along the waterfront, illuminated with all the restaurants and clubs and then back over the swan dotted river to our beds.
The next morning, forecast good,  we head to the the beach early and for a while have it mostly to ourselves. The very brave menfolk hit the water, albeit very carefully, and I sat on the beach admiring their tenacity and being relieved I had none myself.
 An ice cream or two, and several hours later we drive to Lulworth Cove to visit the Durdle Door, part of the very long Jurassic Coast- loads of chalky fossil encrusted cliffs and beautiful beaches.

We came prepared with a camp stove this time and some sausages and had a lovely sausage sandwich lunch. Always hits the spot.

The kids tried to bury each other with tiny pebbles and I admired the scenery feeling very lucky to have gotten the chance to revisit such a beautiful place. The views from any spot, high or low are gorgeous. There was a kite flying above the cliff (the birdie kind) and I couldn't believe how it just sat on the air in exactly the same spot a few metres above the grass, waiting for a careless rodent.

Our last day arrives too quickly and this time it's raining. We don appropriate alter outfits, say goodbye to our lovely hosts and head to Kingston Lacy, a National Trust property halfway back to Winchester. Because we are members of the Trust, whenever we go away now, we look to see what property is in the area and go see it. Always great value.

Kingston Lacy is a jaw-droppingly stunning manor house on manicured acreage. The house is lovely from the outside but inside- ooh la la! The National Trust is doing a lot towards making properties interactive and child-friendly, but this place is still in the midst of child-frowning and really I can't blame them- it's like a palace inside. It's the sort of place you need to spend all day in to utter the appropriate amount of oohs and ahhs. We got at least an hour until enquires from the kids about leaving began, and then a good half hour after that.

                               
The grounds are nice to walk around as well though I was really annoyed to leave the little shepherds hut behind. Some consolation was found in the very nice cream tea that ended our visit. Unfortunately the wasps were just as enamoured with the strawberry jam as I was. Being chased by wasps was an unexpected and  rather exciting end to our holiday weekend.