Holiday Memories 2015 - Dorset Beauty

When the weather isn't that brilliant and we're still in winter mode, it is so good to think back to our most recent holiday, part of which involved travelling through Hampshire and Dorset to get to our destination, a log cabin in Devon.

Except this time, we didn't just drive through Dorset. We stayed for a few days on our way there and back. And what a surprise that was.

For more years that I care to think about, I have driven through Dorset, the usual thought being 'Oh, this is a pretty county - must stop and have a further look,' only that was about as far as it went. I can also remember seeing signposts for Corfe Castle and wondering what it looked like. So when Alan mentioned a stop in Corfe Castle, courtesy of the Camping and Caravanning Club site, I was pleased to have the chance to visit what, in my ignorance I thought was just a small village.

First Glimpse of Corfe Castle

Imagine my surprise to see us following the directions to the campsite and to find an immense hill with the remains of a castle on top, looking broodingly down at us. I was thrilled.

2nd Glimpse of the Castle

The camp-site was about 20 minutes walk from the town and on our way down we were treated to the teasing sight of Corfe Castle, which dominates the whole town. On the day before we left we visited the ruins of the castle itself. An impressive structure even ruined as it is, with amazing views of the Purbeck countryside as well as the steam railway going down to, Swanage and the town itself.

Even better was the public house right at the foot of the castle which produced the most mouthwatering food!

On our way back, we had booked at a different Camping and Caravanning Club site, based at Moreton in Dorset. We must have enjoyed it because we had originally booked for 3 days and stayed for 6, meeting lovely people and seeing some fantastic sights.

The Church at Moreton

Visiting the church at Moreton itself was an experience. Bombed in the 2nd World War, as a result of which all the stained glass windows were smashed, it had been decided to renew the windows with etchings by an artist called Laurence Whistler. The result is a bright and light church interior. When we first visited, the sun was streaming through and the first impression was 'Wow!'. I found that the more I looked at the windows the more I was struck by the detail of the designs and how it matched in so well with this old church. Incidentally, the funeral of T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was held in this church and we had the privilege to visit his grave in a cemetery a short walk away.

Stair Hole at Lulworth Cove

Finally, we visited the Jurassic coast and Lulworth Cove in particular. For someone like myself who was brought up in St Ives, Cornwall, I was in my element. I love being beside the sea and seeing all those rock formations was awe inspiring, thinking about the energy and time taken to produce the 'lulworth crumple'. What was interesting was that my dear husband was not so enamoured with coastal views, having loved all the things we had seen inland. Well, we're all different, aren't we?

It is wonderful having such beautiful memories to look back on, and even now I'm transported back there by reviewing the photographs today.