Category: Dorset

Grottyish forecast so decided to cut and run and avoid the traffic.

Great call – 5 hours to do 160 miles!

Think we decided it was our favourite place.

Morning

Got a bit hot so went back to the cottage to sit in the shade and then back again.

Evening

Nice gentle sightseeing with frequent stops for coffee, lunch and so on.

Killerton

Topsham

And another in the list of Dorset/Devon places we thought we’d visited but have no recollection! Another warm day where sun and blue sky would have improved the pics but not the experience.

How do you top a peak experience? Simply add fish & chips!

making sure you keep the seagulls at bay (which we managed to do).

And a small diversion. This postcard was delivered for Jo as we were leaving

That’s Rothera in Antarctica by the way, so the longest distance piece of mail we’ve ever had.

And back to more prosaic loveliness. Cliffs at Beer

Beer for coffee

Branscombe

Above Branscombe (about 500 feet and quite steep)

Lyme Regis again

And a couple of friends…

That would be Lyme Regis on a beautiful June evening

Hmmm …

Working our way along the Jurassic Coast – this is Beer

Getting to know narrow Devon/Dorset lanes. Where we’re staying (Northleigh) is about 10-15 minutes from Colyton on single track lanes which means the time taken is highly dependent on how many folks you meet coming the other way. And the satnav is utterly hopeless as it doesn’t really distinguish between narrow, very narrow and totally ridiculous (and it assumes you can do 60mph on all of them).

But it’s lovely

We had been hoping for a week in North Wales, but Devon/Dorset looked a much better prospect, weatherwise. We’re getting used to these last minute plans, and Eileen found a wonderful cottage near Honiton. It’s really in Devon, but we’ll probably be back at Lyme Regis more than once this week.

Oh – and it’s scheduled to be 30 degrees at home; quite a bit less here.

M25 up to its usual tricks, and although we had remembered the route to Dorset, we’d forgotten how slow it can be – and this isn’t even during peak time. Anyway, nearly 5 hours after setting off (two stops, though) we rolled into Seaton.

And about the only town in the UK that wasn’t sunny, although actually quite a relief after a long hot car journey.

And another great place to stay.

Wednesday was Stourhead. Again, we had been 4 years ago, but this year was stunning. Not quite “peak leaf” but good enough for us!

House wasn’t great but diverting for half an hour.

And on to Shaftesbury – home of the old Hovis advert.

It’s sunny, but not especially warm. But find a sheltered spot and it’s lovely.

Thursday – back to Lyme before home. Again, it was looking it’s best – we’ve been really lucky given it’s mid-October.

And booked Stonehenge on the way home. I went about 50 years ago; Eileen had never been. Apparently about 400 visitors today – at its peak in a normal summer they get over 10,000 – so it was quiet.

Found some friends at the house …

And went fossil hunting – well, we are in Dorset.

Monday was wet, as forecast. Tried Montacute House which we had been to 4 years ago but had forgotten.

NT can always be relied upon on a wet day – although they do need to open their cafes rather than sticking to takeaways.

A couple of hours in Sherborne which passed the time and a decent dinner at night.

Tuesday was much better weather wise, despite a not great forecast. Off to Seatown which is just down the coast from Lyme with some pretty decent views.

Hmm – not sure about the last one!

And then back to Lyme which we rather like. And it was warm enough to sit on the beach and read which was fantastic.

The theme for 2020 continues to be run away at the last minute just in case we get locked down again. So Dorset here we come. First stop Lyme Regis which was great on a sunny(ish) Autumnal afternoon.

And a decent little cottage just outside Crewkerne.

Rain tomorrow – National Trust always a good fallback!