After a rather rainy weekend spent in Cornwall (you may have seen my windswept posts on my Instagram feed!) The Canadian (my Hubby if you’re new around here) and I felt as though another little road-trip was in order to make up for the lacking sunshine! It was perfect timing that I received an email from Mazda offering us the use of one of their cars for a weekend – I jumped at the chance and we set off to explore the Jurassic Coast in Dorset!
I love showing The Canadian around this beautiful country that we call home and he was excited to travel down south to explore the Dorset coastline. This being his first trip to the Jurassic Coast I knew that Durdle Door was going to be top of (both his and my) wishlist. Although I spent many a childhood holiday exploring the South West I have never actually walked along this famous coastline. Never one to pass up an impressive natural landmark we set our sat-nav for Lulworth Cove and headed off! We had borrowed a rather sporty MX-5 roadster with a soft top (and kept our fingers crossed for sunshine so that I could have that iconic Bridget Jones-style moment!).
The journey only took about two and half hours from Bristol and we travelled along the A-roads which made for a leisurely drive through many a country lane. We arrived at Lulworth Cove by around 4pm on Saturday and even then the beach and shops were busy! We found a spot in the car park (it’s a rather large field which helpfully runs a pay-as-you-go style parking fee – useful when you’re not sure just how long you’ll be exploring for) and grabbed a Cornish pasty for the walk down to the pebble beach. Afterwards we walked along the path to Durdle Door, which as you can see by the photo below it’s quite a steep walk…if you would struggle with an uphill jaunt I would suggest driving around to the next cove and parking at Durdle Door itself (and comfortable walking shoes are a must!).
The views certainly didn’t disappoint! Both the Durdle Door and Man O’ War beaches were still packed with sunbathers, kayakers, and swimmers (it was warm but not quite enough for me to dip my toes!). When we make a return trip I think I will make a point of arriving early and bringing a picnic to really make the most of our time there (and also as the food and drink options nearby were limited!).
After heading back to the car we drove to nearby Weymouth for a stroll along the harbour side. Memories of weekends away with my Grandma came flooding back in this typical seaside town and we loved exploring the little side-streets and stumbling upon tucked away restaurants and cafés. Evening was drawing in so we stopped off for dinner before retiring to our lovely little guesthouse in Dorchester. We stayed at Westwood House – a gem of a find as we made our booking quite late in the day and lots of nearby hotels were fully booked (the owners Tom and Mel gave us a fabulous welcome and a delicious breakfast to set us up for another day of adventure!).
Sunday was spent heading east to the Studland coastline, a pleasant 50 minute drive from Dorchester. A National Trust walking trail (I must admit we purchased an annual membership after this trip – there were so many amazing properties and areas of natural beauty to visit) leads you down to this breathtakingly beautiful view of Old Harry Rocks. We spent an hour or so walking along the path and admiring the epic coastal vistas before heading back to the quaint Bankes Arms pub for a well earned cold lemonade!
That afternoon we happened across the most Instagrammable little village which is home to (and named after) Corfe Castle. The atmospheric mist that happened to set in as we arrived framed the ruined castle perfectly and we felt as though we had walked onto a film set! There was the most quintessentially British village fête taking place complete with a string quartet providing the music, a model village (yes – we couldn’t resist sneaking a peek – apparently they’re not a thing in Canada?!) and a choice of tea rooms providing home-made cakes a-plenty. Of course I couldn’t resist photographing the adorable cottages that lined the main street and stopping off for a scone and an earl grey!
As our trip was coming to an end we made our way home stopping off to view the famous Cerne Abbas Giant along the way. Although only a quick trip to the Jurassic Coast it definitely proved to us that we need to make the effort to explore our local area more in the future. Now with our National Trust membership in hand I think we’ll be encouraged to head further afield and discover famous landmarks and hidden gems alike. A huge thank you to Mazda for providing us with the ideal opportunity to make the most of the (unpredictable!) British summer!
Do you have any recommendations for our next road-trip? Where are your favourite parts of the UK? If you’d like to see more of our weekend you can watch my IGTV video here.
The Blonde x
Although Mazda kindly let us borrow the MX-5 for the weekend I was under no obligation to post any coverage, a review of the car or feature it across social media.
This trip looked amazing ? the beaches look stunning and Weymouth is so pretty!! Hope to visit it soon, my partner’s parents live in that area so have to convince him to do the tour now ?
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Oh the beaches are beautiful and the sea was such a gorgeous shade of blue too! Well worth the trip (especially if you can stay with family too!) x x