AT LAST……………A chance to get back on the road again with our caravan!

Dorset was our first choice for the first outing since lockdown as it was only a relatively short drive from home and we could meet up with our friends Kev and Val who live nearby in Chideock.

The site was a C.L.  just north of Bridport in a small village called Salwayash. A C.L. is a small caravan site that is only allowed to have a maximum of 5 caravans/motorhomes at any one time, and generally this means you are with like-minded people who are travelling to these spots to enjoy the peace and tranquility, and the view!

We were lucky with the weather and although the beach was busy everyone seemed to be keeping a safe distance apart. The coast path here at West Bay is stunning!

Not only is it stunning, it is very hilly. You certainly know when you have walked a couple of miles along this path……every hill seemed to go up!

We sat down to catch our breath on top of one hill which had a great view of a short par 3.  I found it very interesting to sit and watch the golfers attempt to land their golf balls on the saucer-shaped green but Jane soon got bored and was more concerned about getting back to the car without having to having to re-climb all those hills again! We found a flatter footpath back which took us through the golf course……….great!

The next day I had an early start so that I could meet up with Kev and do a bit of geocaching …………

The tracks and footpaths were great quality and very easy to walk on, not at all overgrown like some I have recently experienced! The views of the rolling countryside were an added bonus to the geocaching !

The section of the B3157 which runs along the coast from Bridport to Abbotbury is amongst the most beautiful that I have driven along. The road is rolling and very windy (as in it winds, rather than blowy) and you get a stunning view of the coastline around almost every corner.

The joy of being down here for a week is that you have time to do the drive both ways !

When you get close to Abbotsbury you get a good view of all the cruise liners that are at anchor in the bay just off Weymouth waiting patiently to go back to work. We counted 6!

I hope it all gets back to normal soon as we have a cruise booked in early January next year, fingers crossed!

We carried on along the B3157 which takes you to Portland. Portland is a place I had heard of many times before on the local news but never visited until now. On one side of the peninsula you get a great view of Chesil beach…………..

…….on the other you get a view of Weymouth bay and the cruise liners.

Our campsite was on a farm and the nearby footpaths led to some very interesting walks either amongst the crops or……………

………amongst the livestock. The only thing I didn’t get to see was anyone else, it was lovely to be able to stroll in peace in the countryside.

We came on this trip with our friends John and Margaret Simpson. They have a motorhome and seemed very professional and well rehearsed when they got it all set up!

On a previous visit to Dorset Kev and Val introduced us to the lovely food of the Hive cafe on Hive beach, so I thought I would bring John and Margaret and let them enjoy the freshly caught sea food for themselves.   Lobster, king prawns and chips….bloody lovely!

On the Thursday evening, which was J&Ms last night, we all got together for a socially distanced BBQ outside our caravan, the weather was great, the food was lovely and the company was very entertaining !