The children were in a holiday club at school all day, so we set off from Bedford at 4.30. We stopped at a pub on the way (three different flavours of burger, and a pizza for Matthew) and ended up arriving just after 10pm. The Tesco van couldn't find the property, and phoned us for directions before we'd even arrived. In the end Helen waited at the end of the road to flag him down and he gave her a lift down the long drive!
Getting our priorities straight, we headed right to Cogden Beach. Laura went in and Helen paddled, while Matthew smashed rocks looking for fossils. We ate our lunch then walked along to Hive where we bought an icecream before walking back up to the car. We drove to West Bay where we explored the harbour (and bought new water shoes, much needed). People were crabbing, we'll have to go back there. Laura had a little play in the playground before we headed back – there was a cafe in the carpark made out of an actual train on rails!
This morning the sheep were in our garden, and before long the farmer came over with her crook to remove them. She was very friendly.
We drove to Chesil beach, where the waves were huge and there was no question of going further than standing in them. Even that was pretty exhilarating though. We ate lunch there and decided to shorten the original plan (which started with a walk up to a ruin) and went straight to Weymouth for pitch and putt. Both children now have really good "pitch" skills, probably thanks to cricket, and it was lots of fun. Laura found a woolly pompom that said "take me home, I'm here to brighten up your day" so she did and it did.
We got home in good time before the important event of the Lionesses in the Women's Euro final. It was amazing and we were all screaming at the TV by the time the final deciding goal went in. We ate lasagne on the porch and as dusk fell we saw kingfishers flitting about over the lake. Stunning.
We planned a walk-and-bike loop today. After dropping the bike, we walked up Black Down to Hardy's Monument (Thomas Hardy, but not the one we thought it would be). We had lunch at the top, then dropped down along the South Dorset Ridgeway. The views were amazing and it was very warm (though the wind helped). Jeremy left to get the bike and the rest of us dropped down into Upwey where therewas a Wishing Well Tearoom. Unfortunately they declined to sell us cake because we arrived at 4.35, but at least we got drinks. After they closed we waited in the churchyard, which has a lovely notice about flowers that deer won't eat!
We ended with a brief, and completely unproductive, crabbing trip back to West Bay – enlivened only by the very enterprising seagulls.
We decided that today was not a walk day, and would instead be a fossil-hunting day. We parked at Stonebarrow and walked down across the fields to the beach... except we couldn't find the path down! Eventually we decided it was only a right of way and no actual path, so we headed further along the coast to Gabriel's Stairs – and they were permanently closed! Frustrated, we headed back inland to convert our journey into a loop walk (which was much enlivened by playing charades along the way). Quite a good walk for a non-walk day.
Back at the car, we drove into Charmouth to actually hunt for fossils. Except the beach was lovely and the waves were lovely so before very long the children were bodyboarding and having a fantastic time. Jeremy hunted for fossils, with some success, and Helen eventually joined the children in the sea (and had her first go at bodyboarding).
In the evening Jeremy enterprisingly managed a barbecue using the logs provided for our use, and we ate outside in the dusk. Smoky but very good!
We spent the day at Corfe Castle. It was very good: there was a trail which Laura did (writing a minstrel's ballad, declaring what knight-like behaviour she was proud of), and lots of fun thing to do as well as look at / climb on the walls. There were wooden wheelbarrows for pushing people around in; quoits; skittles; hand tennis; and we even did a tug of war!
We walked back past the river (stepping stones) and then drove to Swanage for an icecream. We walked into town for stamps and found an old-fashioned toy shop where we got snorkels; and the harbour turned out to have beautiful clear water so the kids went crabbing. In about half an hour Laura caught three crabs and Matthew one; they also each caught a few shrimp and Laura accidentally got a small fish! We let everything go, of course.
Back at the house, we had some cricket practice after the kids' tea and (despite failing light) didn't quite lose the ball.
Since this was our last proper day, we did what the children really wanted and drove straight to the beach – this time at Hive Bay. There was snorkelling, bodyboarding, and general jumping in the big waves; and we found even better fossils than the previous beach!
As a special end-of-holiday treat, we had fish and chips on a bench at the top of the beach for lunch.
When we got back to the cottage we had a drink and then everyone but Matthew went on a little bike ride. We just went up the valley to Sydling St Nicholas, which is very cute and pretty. We posted the final postcard, looped round a triangle to make it a proper route, and then cycled back to the cottage.
We had to be out of the cottage by 9.30, and we pretty much were – still a bit of bike-strapping and last photos to be done, but nothing more. Once under way, we drove to Yeovilton to the Fleet Air Arm Museum. We've stopped there before on the way back from Cornwall, and always enjoyed it, but this time wasn't quite as good. Some of the more engaging displays had changed and while there was lots to interest the adults, it had lost its edge for the children. We picnicked outside, though, and the playground was very popular.
The drive home was uneventful – we stopped for a drink and cool off at a pub near Reading, but otherwise just kept going; we managed it without needing to charge and got home at about 6.30.