Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 13 | Swanage

Day 13 - Potter in the Town, Hike in the Durlston Country Park & Dip in the Cold Swanage Bay (Swanage)

Crossing a river in a ferry with your car on it is quite fun. Maybe because it's so rare that we get to do it. But also, because of the engineering feat behind it. Especially the chain ferry that runs between Poole harbour and Swanage. It runs on two hardened steel chains anchored on either side. There is a little gap which lets the tide in and out of the Poole harbour.

Swanage bay view on the hike to Durlston

Funny enough, when we reached Poole harbour, the tide was out and the ferry had got stuck in the sandbank ! With tides going in and out twice everyday, you would think this is a common foreseen problem. So anyway, we waited longer than we anticipated. Finally, the moon had its mercy, the tidal water flew in and the ferry was floating again.

Ships and boats lined up in the Swanage bay

Swanage is one of my favourite coastal towns in Dorset in the UK. Everything about it is oh-so-charming - its rich Jurassic heritage, the lovely fresh vibe of the bay and not to mention, its sweet allure to the child in me! I have grown up reading Enid Blyton and all her stories are based out of Dorset. The same picturesque lanes and chocolate boxy postcard scenes that I had imagined while reading the books as a kid comes into life whenever I am in Dorset.

The dog-leg pier

There is ample to choose from in this place and it's bloody hard to pick a favourite ! There is -

• the big ammonite impressions in the Durlston country park,
• the many fossils that are found here not to forget the huge skull of an ancient pliosaur that was unearthed only last year,
• history of Mary Anning, the 18th century born little girl who lived somewhere on this coast and sold fossils to the tourists i.e. the real she from the tongue twister - ‘she sells sea shells on the seashore’,
• the black shale rocks jutting out of Kimmeridge bay,
• the little rock pool where you can swim at the Dancing Ledge (what a sweet name!),
• the white worn out cliff called the Harrys,
• the old Victorian steam railway,
• and not to forget the zesty green of the cliffs dotted with wild flowers against the white chalks and the sparkling blue of the sea.

It is a place of sweet thrills.

Ammonite!

After the early morning drive and the long wait for the ferry, we were more than happy to jump out of the car and stretch our legs. We walked along the coast and up and down the pier, checked out some red crabs, climbed up to the Wellington clock tower, nosed around some of the rescue boats and then walked back to the centre of the town.

Walk in the town

We then hoovered up a big Dorset pasty and finally checked into our bed-n-breakfast on the Victoria avenue near the Rabling road. We had packed enough sandwiches (and mind you, we were fancy too! We had an onion bagel with avocado and a beetroot sandwich each!) with us which we had conveniently forgotten about when we were devouring the huge pasty at the shop. But the food needed eating and we did the needful. Then with a fat tummy, we went out on our afternoon hike along the cliffs all the way to the Durston castle, and then crossed the Anvil point and walked a bit further towards the Dancing Ledge.

A majestic tree on the country hike!

Time is always an enemy. When you have a good time, it runs out quickly. And when you have a bad time, it's the slowest thing ever. The sun seemed to be fading quicker than usual and we brought our hike to an abrupt stop.

Such cool formations along the cliff

It was a hot day and the water in the Swanage bay looked tempting. We left our stuff behind and stepped in the cold water. An instant gush of blood rushed into the feet! Bit by bit, we embraced the coldness of the water and finally, all I knew was, I was floating flat out with arms stretched, blue sky above and not a worry in the world !

Just me trying to take water off my ears!

 

Summer in the UK can be quite tricky as it's hard to guess the time! It was almost past 9 and it still looked like a jolly good day ! We were late for dinner. By the time we were out to get some food, most of the pubs and cafes were shut or stopped taking any more orders. We finally found a pub which agreed to do one last order. It brought us the worst ever chicken & mushroom pie but it did make us full, so can’t really complain!

The pub who agreed to serve us!

 

Back in the bnb later, put the tele on where Liam Neeson was saying he would find him and kill him and then know not when, had slowly drifted off to sleep thinking about how beautiful Swanage has always been !