On to Dorset

 We met up with Siri at Gatwick airport in London.  She had flown in from New York via Dublin.  We picked up our car, a Vauxhall Meriva, which was our magic carpet for the next week.  When the woman at the car rental counter heard what our plans were, to drive from Dorset to North Yorkshire via the back roads, she recommended that we rent a diesel.  A little more per day but much better fuel mileage.  That little car took all 3 of us and our luggage in comfort, handled the windey roads and steep grades without complaint and got 50 mpg.  Can't complain.

Joel took a deep breath and plunged into the traffic leaving Gatwick on the...."other" side of the road.  Siri and I were very still except for an occasional quiet chant of "keep left, keep left".  He managed to get us to our little house in Bere Regis in Dorset without incident although I think he was definitely in need of that pint of cider we had with dinner.

The little house that Siri had found for us was a delight.  Formerly a corner store it had two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a comfy sitting room and kitchen down.  We spent 4 nights there in lovely comfort.

 The idea of renting a house for a number of days was so that we could explore the surrounding countryside and have a place to come home to.  So on Friday we started exploring the Dorset coast at Lulworth Cove.  It's a quiet almost circular bay with a narrow opening to the ocean.  Above it on the hills is a long neolithic hill fort.  People have thought that the cove offered a nice sheltered haven for thousands of years.

 Nearby is Durdle Door.  Joel and Siri hiked and slid down the bank to the little beach that was covered in agates.  Me??  Well, I have a sort of gimpy knee and decided that putting it out on the first day of the trip probably wasn't too wise so I sat at the top of the hill admiring the view.

Along the trail down to the beach were these wild brassicas, ancestors of all our cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, and kale.

 Further west is the town of Lyme Regis famous for its beaches where wonderful fossils are found.  If you don't know anything about the Lyme Regis fossils or Dorset's Jurassic Coast I recommend you read Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures.  We had fantasies about finding a fossil or two on the beach but the tide was high and wind ferocious so I settled for buying this charming example at the Lyme Fossil Shop.

We also fulfilled another of our England trip requirements, a cream tea at a little shop there.  Scones, strawberry jam, Devon cream and tea. 


Then back to Bere Regis and dinner and a pint and free wi-fi at the local pub.