May 2018.
It's amazing how the same place can offer so many new things,
new experiences every time you visit there. Swanage trip this year was the
same.
We stayed in the same campsite as last year- Herston,
although a different pitch in a different field. I'm a lot better now at
camping stuff. I did get a sense of achievement after putting up the inner tent
up all by my own after our arrival to the campsite. We spread a bed sheet on
the field outside the tent and laid flat on the ground, the warm sun gave a
comfy feeling after typical English days of dull clouds. We took out our packed
sandwich and poured some coffee from the flask. The trip begins.
After a little refreshment in the campsite, we took a brisk
walk into the town, along the beach, up to the Swanage pier and then up the
hilly mound by the pier. We laid flat on the grass and had our second sandwich
of the day. It was a snoozy relaxed afternoon. After a warm nap on the grass,
we strolled to the Peveril point, the watch tower. Two middle aged women were
selling homemade cakes and tea there. We bought a slice of ginger pear and
rhubarb custard cake each and got ourselves a cup of tea. With our cakes and
tea, we then settled down by the edge of a rocky climb down into the sea. As
hot as it was, the sea water was super cold. Through the sparkling clear
surface of the water, you could see the bottom of the sea floor, its brown
green algae, crabs, shoals of fish. It was tempting to jump into the water. We
went paddling in the sea but I could hardly stand the cold temperature and had
to quickly give up the idea of swimming in the sea. After a lazy day of
strolling and eating and snoozing, we did some grocery shopping for our camping
dinner - tuna veggie pasta! 
Next morning we woke up to the sound of chirping birds,
distant whistles of the steam engine and the increasing warmth inside the tent.
It was a cold night. I made all sorts of wrong choice of cloth wear this time. I
had got clothes that are okay for soothing temperature. But the days turned out
to be super-hot and the nights, quite cold. So my clothes were an absolutely
imperfect fit for any time of the day. After a shivering night, the morning sun
felt nice. We made our breakfast in the little camping cooker. Usual Coffee,
Cereals, fruits, scrambled eggs – Tummy feels fat. We then nipped down to the
town and stocked some Cornish pasty for lunch. With Cornish pasties, some
avocados, tomatoes, bananas, 3 bottles of water and some sun tan lotion, we
were set for a long hiking day.
We walked along the coast of Swanage to the
west, crossing the Durlston castle, the big Globe, the watch tower, the
triangulation points, the Tilly Whims Caves and then pausing at the Dancing
ledge. We briefly stopped there and had our pre-packed lunch and then walked
further to the next bay on the coast. This is the same path we had walked last
year. Last year it was mid-June, and the trees and bushes were all over grown
and bursting in its full volume. This year, it’s still spring in the greens,
albeit beautiful. It was fun remembering the events of last year along this
walk and adding the newness to the memories.
On our way back, a big herd of
cattle blocked our way. Big cows with their babies – funny how motherly hormone
made them look quite aggressive. I had a real bad knee from my last hike in
Italy and on our way back, I felt my knees going so weak that I could fall down
at any moment. Thankfully, I made it back to the town. 
We sat in the beach with
an ice-cream cone resting my knees and let the restless beach entertain us
peacefully. Just when the sun was going down, we returned to our campsite with
provisions for that night’s dinner – chicken veggie pasta! We like variety. J
I woke up very early the following morning. I freshened up,
took a shower and then crawled back into the bed. ‘Wake up Slow’. J
My recent favourite is Jack Johnson. We stayed in the tent, lazily listening to
Jack Johnson songs until mid-morning. I couldn’t have had a more perfect
morning. With a slow lazy pace, we got up and started making our usual
breakfast and packed lunch. It was a different walking route today that I
haven’t done before – the coastal cliff walk to the Old Harrys rock. Last time,
we took a boat ride to the Old Harrys. This time, we decided to climb and walk
on top of it. 
We climbed up the cliff from a little village on the edge of the
town of Swanage and then did a circuit on the top of the cliffs and climbed
down from a further point straight into our campsite. It was beautiful with its
chalky cliffs, pretty yellow flowers, vivid greens, deep blue sea and the view
of the Poole harbour (apparently, the largest natural harbour in Europe) and
the Studland peninsula. 
I absolutely love sitting on top of these cliffs,
amidst nature and have food with such exhilarating yet peaceful view in front.
After lunch, we climbed down. There was a steep chalky bit with loose rocks and
I was a bit scared at this bit with my weak knees and funny nerves. My legs
were almost dead by the time we walked back to the campsite. It was very hot
this afternoon. We cooled down under the shade of a big horse-chestnut tree
with a cup of tea and lazy chats. 
In the evening, we drove to the Durdle Door, a very popular
and very tourist spot. The rock formation and the adjacent coves are very
pretty and tempting and I had planned to swim in these coves but the crowd was
tiring. To get away from so many tourists, we took the un-popular steep road
that climbed up to the top bit of the cliff and walked along that top edge. Smart
move, I would say. View still the same but less people on top – perfect! We
drove back to Swanage again and got ourselves some fish n chips –
quintessential English dinner. We sat by the beach and had our very greasy fish
n chips whilst fighting the hungry sea gulls and looking down at the green-brown
algae through the clear blue water at the same time.
This was the last day of the Bank holiday weekend and when
we came back to the campsite, it was just our tent and another tent in the far
corner of the field. We had the whole field to ourselves to scream, shout,
laugh out loud, drive with open car doors, and do whatever you like! 
Next morning we were due to leave. We took our
time. Soaking into the warmth of the sun and the zing of the greens, having fun
at the wide open field with no one around, we took lazy pleasant steps to take
our tent down, pack things up and get ready to drive off again. On our way back
to the ferry point, we stopped at Studland (a bit of the land that’s sticking
out into the sea). And guess what? This bit of the land is nothing but a sandy
beach – a proper sandy beach! Ah it reminded me of home, of beaches in India. It
had proper sand dunes, cactus-y greens, variety of sea shells and sea mosses,
little crabs and loads of sand patterns made by lug worms. We actually witnessed a particular lug worm making narrow sand patterns as it swiftly moved through the sand. As you follow the curve of the beach, you come
around the pointy turn of the land and see the Old Harrys rocks sticking out in
the distance at the beginning of the other coastal turn.
Ah I loved it. I love this bit of England. The beauty in
this south coast of England is not loud or aggressive. It’s subtle, charming, and
quaint. I know I can never get bored of this place.
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