This is a visit to the land of my fathers (or father, at least). Although my grandparents died in the early 60s, I remember snippets of things when they were alive. Dracula, for example, was never mentioned and you did not have to pay to walk up to see the Abbey. Whitby Abbey I presume this is more famous than some of the equivalent post … Continue reading Whitby

More travel, to friends and in search of family history. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could guarantee going to anywhere in the UK by public transport? Although the dog has so much luggage…….. Loughborough A town that used to be industrial but now appears to be mainly occupied by a university, it resembles many others. The main streets are pedestrianised but the shops are … Continue reading Hills of the North rejoice! Me and the dog are amongst you once more!

But before that, off to walk the dog on the beach. At 7am it is peaceful and I am the only person there. There are gulls, some only half grown and still following their exasperated parent about, making desperate ‘feed me now’ noises. There are arctic terns, plummeting into the shallows after little fish. There are swallows, diving over the dunes after insects. And there … Continue reading And off home we go

On the south coast, west of Swanage, is St Aldhelm’s Head (sometimes known as St Alban’s Head) Just next to the village of Worth Matravers (they love a complex village name in Dorset), there is a coastguard office, a row of old coastguard cottages and St Aldhem’s chapel. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Aldhelm%27s_Chapel,_St._Aldhelm%27s_Head). I thought this was worth a visit because St Aldhelm founded Frome, where I live. … Continue reading St Aldhelm’s Chapel

Unfortunately I was not able to because they do not allow dogs. This means that the dog and I were able to chill out on one of the hotel’s many sofas before taking the bus to Sandbanks for lunch. The dog has decided that the hotel is part of her territory. This may have something to do with all the staff and most of the … Continue reading The family visit Brownsea Island

This steam railway runs from Swanage via Corfe Castle and then to somewhere called Purbeck Park. Everything is neat, tidy and painted in British Railways cream and green. It is run by the usual group of retired gentlemen showing great pride in their genuine uniforms and shiny shoes. Unfortunately, owing to the ongoing heatwave, they are not allowed to run steam trains. Most of the … Continue reading The Swanage Railway

A tourist (topless) bus goes to Bournemouth in one direction and Swanage in the other from outside the hotel. Going to Bournemouth, it crosses the bay by chain ferry (my second in a week!) to Sandbanks. This is famous as one of the most expensive areas to live in the country. What was, twenty years ago, a spit of land with 1950s holiday bungalows, is … Continue reading Bournemouth

At the Knoll House Hotel (https://www.knollhouse.co.uk) with family. This was built as a holiday house for a rich family in the 1920s and became a hotel in 1931. It has only belonged to three families since then and not much has changed. A lot of the furniture and decor looks original. They have indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a small golf course and … Continue reading Studland Bay

The day after getting back from Plymouth, to Weymouth for the day. This is doable by train and, as the heatwave continued, off I set, armed with the dog and my old person’s rail card. I have done this journey before and, on a Saturday in July, it was not crowded. It wended it’s way scenically through Somerset and Dorset before depositing me within sight … Continue reading Weymouth

Apologies, some of the next posts will not have the accustomed levels of photographs – forgetting phone, heat exhaustion and inertia – one or all of those. As the country is in the middle of a massive heatwave, all the grass looks like the African Savanna. To Plymouth (the original one, in Devon, for any Americans thinking of rocks…) Saltram house near Plympton on the … Continue reading Plymouth