Daaaaaarset

After arriving back on the mainland we drove in a leisurely manner to Dorset where we had opted for a small break.

We'd ummed and ahhed over camping for a while but then decided to bite the bullet and just go for B&B.

The drive took us through Poole and down into the Dorset countryside. We drove through leafy corridors and through choccy-box villages, one replete with a ruined castle.

B&Bs aren't what they used to be though and we pitched up at what was basically a four-star hotel with rather nicely turned out rooms and a winery in the back garden.

Before supper we took a drive down the coast and visited Durdle Door, a natural bridge on the coast. There was a bit of a hairy descent down which was too much for Eloise and Nicole but I went down there for half an hour and had a wander around down there.

I'd wanted to visit this place for years ever since seeing a big picture of it at the framers I used to frequent in Ipswich which Nicole later bought me for my birthday (the picture that is, not the framers).

It was as windy as a windy day can be, and the water was icy cold but still some nutters were hard at it, frolicking swimmingly in the waves.

We were a bit worried about making it back for supper as it had taken ages to get there, but it turned out we'd taken the scenic route and it was actually not that far by the main roads.