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Published: August 31st 2009
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A good description of Dorset in February - except for the clamour to enter the all new replacement Woolworths store being opened by Chris Evans, which is obviously a big thing in Dorchester. Dorchester made a favourable impression, although is arguably a parking nightmare at certain times. The Hardy plaques of interest are in abundance and no doubt, connoisseurs of the novels will find many buildings and places in town that are of interest. The other plaques of interest in Dorset can be found on the many river bridges, which suggest transportation is the punishment for minor misdemeanours - perhaps this explains where everybody is!
We booked into a renovated cottage for a week near Sturminster Newton - which was a little further from the coast than we would have opted for, but very nice all the same. Chesil Beach was our first day trip via the Cherne Abbas Giant - a chalk carving engraved in the hillside along the lines of the white horses seen around the country. Chesil Beach is an impressive bank of pebbles that stretches from Portland in the east towards Bridport. We skirted the Sunday traffic heading to Weymouth and accessed the beach near Abbotsbury,
a pretty village set back behind the lagoon from the beach. The beach was deserted, save from a few hardy fisherman being battered the wind. The sea was grey and evil and it wasn’t too difficult to envisage the force of the tides pushing up pebbles to add to the existing bank. During one of the brief sunny intervals, we chanced upon a smooth snake sunning itself near the lagoon at the back of the beach - at least I am informed that is what it was, never having seen Britain’s third snake. The size of the pebbles on the beach apparently gets smaller as you head west, so we made a photographic note and headed for Portland.
The Bill is a naval outcrop, that has that menacing look about it as you approach. The beach on the seaward side of the road causeway leading across to Portland is more expansive than at Abbotsford and sure enough, the pebbles were larger. The bay side facing Weymouth was a mecca for wind and kite surfing and if anything the wind was stronger than further down the coast. The organisers of London 2012 have clearly gone for guaranteed wind in choosing
Weymouth as the sailing centre for the Games.
Portland was as grey as the sea at Chesil Beach. A naval stronghold since Tudor times, it wasn’t somewhere we were keen to linger. We drove up to the top of the headland, which was still scattered with disused naval buildings and gazed out into the mist and rain, before descending into Weymouth.
Weymouth was divided into the old fishing port and the Georgian “new town” with it’s sweeping bay of fine golden sands. The once grand hotels that line the seafront appear not to be what they once were, but seem in better order than many a seaside town. The most impressive beach venue was without doubt the Durdle Door area, with it’s massive rock arch formation and white cliffs. The pictures don’t really do it justice and the afternoon was clearly best with the sun coming from a westerly direction. It can be accessed by descending the cliffs from the car park of the caravan park at the top or alternatively, it’s a brisk walk along the cliffs from Lulworth Cove. Lulworth itself is a pretty village - the Cove itself was a major disappointment - the cove
of pristine sand is clearly a thing of the past and an illusion maintained by some careful airbrushing of photographs and postcards. Corfe Castle didn’t disappoint.
Bovington Camp was a good rainy day excursion. The home of the British tank or at least the current home of the British Army’s tank operations. The immediate area echoes to the sound of roaring tank engines and indeed some roads in the locality were closed for the day, due to operations. The sound of tanks firing could also be heard. The Museum was partially closed during our visit, whilst certain exhibits were being remodelled, but there was enough to amuse for a few hours. The collection ranges from everything to the early World War 1 tanks and prototypes to German Tigers from World War 2 and on to hardware from the Gulf War in the early 1990s. If you like tanks, you’ll love it and if you don’t, you might just by the time you’ve wandered around. We just visited on a normal day, but summer seems to bring plenty of excuses for the enthusiasts and staff to fire the engines up and drive them on the ranges in the grounds.
Chesil Beach
Larger pebbles at the Portland end of the beach We spent an hour or so watching the army manoeuvres on the nearby ranges, before visiting Lawrence of Arabia’s grave in a nearby village churchyard. T E Lawrence settled into a cottage near Bovington, after he finished his exploits in Arabia. The cottage is owned by the National Trust. He died in a motorcycle accident on the road between his cottage and the army base.
Tolpuddle
We drove across to Sandbanks to see what you get for £2 million pounds. The reality is very little - a good marketing job by the estate agents! I’d been a few years back and all that seemed to have gone up with the prices were the number of serious motors on display on the local roads. The most impressive houses were those technically not in Sandbanks, but on the western fringes of Bournemouth. Bournemouth feels as though it has something missing. It has obviously developed on purpose to exclude the normal seaside diversions and clutter, which probably makes it a more attractive place to live then visit. We took in Christchurch and Wimborne Minster en route back to base.
There was nothing to write home about from Sturminster Newton and
Chesil Beach
Check out the gradient Sherborne was the pick of the local towns. It is dominated by the private school and has an air of prosperity in the shops down the quaint high street.
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