NOTE: (Throughout the week, we were disturbed by a number of barking dogs several times, and this went on for a period of hours (and only stopped when it was raining). When we returned home, we discovered that there have been many complaints about a nearby traveller site with regard to noise from dogs and loud music. The site staff are reluctant to complain for fear of repercussions, but they do offer to move campers to other parts of the site if space is available. This would have disturbed us more if the weather had been better and we had been sitting outside.)
We drove down to the site in Dorset from Northamptonshire. The roads were again quite quiet and the weather was fine. The caravan site was also very quiet when we arrived though we are anticipating that it will not stay that way as we are heading into a Bank Holiday.
The site is in a countryside location with lots of trees and hedges. There are two toilet blocks on the site, and the shop on site is run privately. We chose a pitch at the far end of the site, away from the road. We have a serviced pitch this time which is ideal for Kevin as it saves him dragging water back and forwards, especially if the weather is not very nice. We arrived in sunshine, however this did not last long, and we were soon listening to the rain pounding on top of the motorhome. This continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening so we were glad to be inside – toasty and self-sufficient!
The rain continued overnight, and neither of us got a truly restful night’s sleep as it was very heavy at times. I actually love being in the van when it is raining though – it reminds me of when we hired a motorhome for the first time, and went to Scotland. It rained most of the time, and I remember sitting at Glencoe waiting for a break in the clouds so that we could go for walk. All we could hear was the rain bouncing off the roof of the van but it was great fun – and then, despite that, we went on to buy our first motorhome!
The rain continued off and on all day so we had already decided not to venture out but to have a rest day today after all of the travelling over the last few days. The wifi has been a problem, and we decided to move the van to a different pitch to try and get a better signal. The rain had also caused a problem for the site, and there was some flooding on the road where we would have had to walk to the toilet block. We moved to another pitch later that morning and, although we still had some wifi issues, it was better. We have enjoyed out quiet day, reading and watching TV. We have noticed a bit of military aircraft movement in the area including chinook and puma helicopters, as we are close to Portsmouth where the aircraft carriers are stationed, and other military bases along the south coast. They can be heard flying over at night too.
Today we drove to Poole as we have booked a 2hr boat trip which will take us out of the harbour and to Swanage. We found a place to park within walking distance of the harbour so it was easy to walk into Poole. We had a wander along the quayside which Kevin enjoyed as there were many luxury yachts moored. Sunseeker, the manufacturer, was situated on the opposite side of the quay, and there were many more yachts being built there. The quayside is full of eating places, from traditional pubs to trendy Italian restaurants. The buildings are a mixture of old and modern, including a pub dating back to the mid 1600’s. There were also a huge number of charity shops! Dan rang as we were walking along the quayside so we caught up on his news too, as he has been so busy this year already.
We got onboard at about 12.45pm, and left the harbour at 1pm. The weather was fine with some sunshine and blue skies, but the wind made it quite cold. As we left the quayside, we could see Brownsea Island on our left where Henry VIII build a castle to defend Poole harbour from a French attack. In 1907, Robert Baden Powell took a group of 20 boys to the island to pitch their tents, and planned activities such as fire-lighting, cooking and studying the wildlife. This was the start of the Scout movement, and there is still a campsite on the island that can be booked by groups including scouts and guides. As we began to leave the harbour and enter the English Channel, we could see the white chalk cliffs to our right, and the start of the Jurassic coastline, a UNESCO world heritage site. The sun was shining so the white cliffs looked even more spectacular. There were a set of three chalk pillars which had become separated from the main cliff by erosion over millions of years. Trips like this make geography and history come to life, and things you have learned as a child become far more interesting when you can look at ‘real-life’ and not just pictures in books. It is really interesting to observe how sections of the chalk cliffs have moved over time by looking at the direction of the striations in the rocks. We sailed to Swanage dock which was under the pier. Unfortunately, we could not explore Swanage as there was a quick turnaround of only 15 minutes by the time people had left the boat, and the timetable for sailing back to Poole. It would have been nice to spend some time here as we could have visited Corfe Castle, and explored the town a bit more as we always have to investigate parking in the motorhome before we visit any of these types of areas.
We headed back to Poole, and learned more about the mansions to our right which apparently have price tags of between 8 and 13 million pounds. Famous names have either owned the ones you can see today, or have rebuilt on the sites including a stunning glass property built on the site of a bungalow previously owned by John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi (and regularly visited by John), as well as property owned by football manager Harry Rednapp, and script writer, David Croft (famous for many 1970’s and 80’s comedies including Dad’s Army, Are you being served? and It ain’t half hot Mum.) We also learned that Enid Blyton, one of our childhood authors, had visited Dorset many times during childhood and adulthood, and had stayed at hotels in Swanage as well as owning Manor Farm close by. Kirrin Castle in the Famous Five books represents Corfe Castle at Swanage, and Brownsea Island and the surrounding beaches, Kirrin Island. Local villages with their thatched rooves and beautiful countryside were also described in her books, and influenced the settings for her Noddy books, and more magical stories.
We returned to Poole Harbour, and went for a walk around the town before heading back to the van for a late lunch. We drove back to the site for the evening, and the weather is expected to be better tomorrow after a mixture of cloud and sunshine today.
Today we took a short drive to a private stately home called Athelhampton House. The oldest part of the house, the Great Hall, dates back to 1486 – Tudor times. It was built by Sir William Martyn, a landowner and wine merchant from Poole and, when his son Robert inherited the property, living quarters and separate areas were added to carry out domestic tasks such as cooking and eating. Robert’s son Nicholas then inherited the property, and the family are buried in the Athelhampton chapel in St. Mary’s Church nearby.
After Nicholas’s four daughters inherited the property, and each of them married, the ownership of the property became more complicated. It once had a thriving farming community, but as the house passed through the generations, it was visited less and less, and became neglected and in a state of disrepair. In 1848 it was sold to George Wood to clear a family debt. George Wood worked with author Thomas Hardy’s father to repair the roof, and later Thomas Hardy, who was an architect before he became an author. It again passed through many hands until, in 2019, it was bought by the current owner, Giles Keating. He has carried out major restoration work, and has created an interesting place for visitors to come.
The house was interesting to look at, and the rooms were set out to depict the different eras. The Great Hall is the oldest part of the property, and upstairs the rooms are decorated in the art deco style to represent the visitors who came here such as Noel Coward and Douglas Fairbanks. There was a large library with a full-size billiard table in the centre. The range of books on display included old historic volumes and modern-day books. There was a large collection of Vogue magazines too. Giles Keating has updated the property by restoring rooms, and buying authentic artefacts to tell the story of the house. The original Tudor kitchen was also brought back to life. It has visitor entrance and facilities and can be hired for functions. Giles has also written two novels based on the characters who have lived in the house, and has more plans to encourage visitors including concerts, art events, and a food festival. The gardens are pretty, and there are clearly more plans to enhance these overtime. The setting though is perfect for the house, and we enjoyed our visit.
We decided to take a trip to Weymouth, and to have lunch there, but this was a mistake as we got stuck in a huge traffic jam on our way there. It took us almost two hours to travel less than two miles until we could exit the road and turn round. Fortunately the weather was good, but it was frustrating. We headed back to the site for a very late lunch, and enjoyed the early evening sunshine.
It was overcast today, and our plans for a woodland walk in the nearby Wareham Forest were scuppered by intermittent heavy showers. There has been so much rain in the UK over the last few months that the ground is very wet and boggy. After the heavy rain on Thursday and Friday last week, we were reluctant to get wet and muddy as there is not much space to dry out clothes and boots in the van. We initially abandoned the idea of a woodland walk, and planned just to have a pottering day instead, but we did venture out later in the afternoon. The bridal path was muddy, but we persevered until the ground became really boggy and wet. It was a bit dangerous to continue, just in case one of us slipped, so we turned back after about 20 minutes.
Hopefully there will be less traffic about after tomorrow’s bank holiday, and we will be able to get out and about again. We are planning to take the van over to the Isle of Wight later in the week as the weather is looking better on Wednesday and Thursday.
The weather has again been a washout today, but the forecast is better for the rest of the week. We have made plans for the remaining days of the holiday, but today we are spending it at the van. The one thing that we both enjoyed today is that we were staying when a lot of people were heading home after the Bank Holiday. Previously when we were tied to the school holidays, we were always envious of the people who did not have to rush back to work or school, when we were packing up and heading home. We had a very relaxing morning – no rushing to pack up – and watched others leaving to head home.
I don’t mind having a day in the van. It means I can wander over to the shower block just after they’ve been cleaned, and have a nice long hot shower – and this is exactly what I did! I then picked up the cardigan I have been knitting and reknitting for ages for Aurora, but I think it will now be too small again as she is growing so fast. I will wait to see if we get another granddaughter, and keep it for her instead. It has been a real labour of love because I have left so much time between when knitting that I forget where I am up to! I’ve already pulled it out and started again because the size I was knitting would have been too small – but I’m not giving up until I finish it!
We are looking forward to getting out and about for the rest of the week, and hopefully enjoying some sunshine.
Today we are heading to Corfe Castle near Swanage. We are planning to park at the Park and Ride car park and then take the train to the castle. When we arrived at the car park, we noticed that there was a walking route to the castle and, as it was such a lovely day, we decided to walk there instead. The route takes you alongside the steam railway line which travels from Norden to Swanage, stopping at Corfe Castle. It is a fairly flat route with the added bonus of seeing the castle on top of the hillside as you are walking. What I hadn’t realise was that Corfe Castle is a borough, and that the castle is just part of that. The village is very pretty, and was part of a huge bequest made to the National Trust in 1981 by Ralph Bankes, descendant of Sir John Bankes who bought the castle in 1635. We were also interested in the fact that Kirrin Castle in the Famous Five books, written by Enid Blyton, was based on Corfe Castle, and this can be seen clearly in the illustrations of early editions of the books.
The castle is steeped in history with evidence of a Bronze Age settlement and burial mounds at this location. The Anglo Saxons built a fortress here almost a century before William the Conqueror ordered castles to be built along the south coast, including Corfe. The Keep most likely dates back to 1105 when William’s son Henry I was on the throne. When visiting ruins, it is almost impossible to imagine how grand they would have been in their heyday. A drawing of a cross-section of the Keep about 150 years after it was built, and it would have been very impressive with its’ banqueting hall, King’s chamber, and chapel. It was also one of the most fortified, and when it was first attacked by Parliamentary troops in 1643 when occupied by Lady Mary Bankes, the siege was unsuccessful and they failed to take the castle. On the second attempt in 1646, the Parliamentarians succeeded but this was only due to a betrayal by one of Lady Bankes’s own garrison, and she surrendered. The ruined castle was later returned to her after she paid huge fines to recover her property and rights.
The castle ruins were left to decay further, and local farmers began to use the land to grow crops and graze animals. The Victorians became enchanted by the romantic ruins, especially when the steam railway was built, and they began to visit Corfe Castle. Shops and inns and small hotels encouraged tourism, and guidebooks were published about the area. The Bankes family continued to own Corfe Castle, the village, and many acres of land including vineyards, farms, and mills.
This was a very interesting place to visit, especially on such a beautiful day. We walked back into the village to have some lunch at a lovely little café next to the National Trust Visitors Centre – lunch was delicious, and all homemade. We took a stroll around the village then walked to the railway station to catch a train to Swanage. The steam trains and station are run by volunteers, and it must cost a lot to maintain the line. Return tickets were expensive at £40 return for a 20-minute journey but it was all part of the experience of the day. You could imagine the Victorian families arriving for holidays at Swanage, and travelling to Corfe Castle by train as you went on your journey.
Swanage is a pretty resort with a pier (where we docked on our boat trip earlier in the week), beach huts, sandy beach, and many café’s and individual shops. The sunshine enhanced our view of it of course, especially as we walked alongside the beach with a delicious ice-cream. We had a nice stroll around Swanage, and picked up a couple of gifts to take home. We walked back to the station, after visiting the supermarket for some bits and bobs, and took the train back to Norden. We then drove home for a nice relaxing evening after lots of walking.
After our visit to Corfe Castle yesterday, we decided to visit the home of Ralph Bankes - Kingston Lacy. This was part of the bequest to the National Trust that was made in 1981. The Bankes family rebuilt mansion 500 years after the original house was demolished. It remained in the family until it was bequeathed to the National Trust. The Bankes dynasty started with John Bankes (1589-1644), and he lived at Corfe Castle with his wife Mary. Mary was living in the castle when it was besieged by Parliamentarians as we discovered yesterday. The keys to Corfe Castle, that were given to Mary, now hang in the library at Kingston Lacy.
The mansion is very impressive, with beautiful gardens, and surrounded by woodland. The house has gone through many changes, but the interior reflects perhaps the most influential member of the family, William John Bankes (1786-1855). His vision was to create a building in the style of a Venetian palace. In 1841, William’s private life left him facing the death penalty for having a relationship with a male soldier, and he fled abroad, spending 14 years in Italy. It was from there that William sent letters to his sister detailing his plans, and giving her instructions for implementing them. This included having items of furniture, paintings and other decorative items delivered to Kingston Lacy to be placed as per his instructions.
The rooms were very grand, and included a stunning Spanish room containing paintings by Spanish artists, and they reminded me of the Zurbaran paintings of Jacob and his twelve sons that once hung in the Bishops Palace at Bishop Auckland. I also liked the ‘tented rooms’ in the attics which were designed for male visitors. The ceilings and walls were decorated in navy and white stripes, with plasterwork that looked like fabric blinds that had been pulled up by red braid.
We had lunch in the van, and then returned to stroll around the gardens which were full of colourful trees and shrubs, as well as interesting obelisks reflecting William John Bankes’s love of Egyptian artefacts.
Our visit to Kingston Lacy was made all the more enjoyable by the excellent guides that we encountered in each of the rooms. They were only too willing to share their knowledge and love of the property, and were a credit to the National Trust. We have visited many, many National Trust properties but we both agreed the knowledge of the guides was outstanding and made the house and people who lived there memorable for us.
We drove into Wimborne to pick up some groceries on the way home, and we had hoped to visit the Minster but we were too late as it had already closed. We had fish and chips (the van calls at the site on a Wednesday) and settled down for a relaxing evening as we have an early start tomorrow.
Today we drove to Lymington to catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight. We decided to take the van rather than going as foot passengers, as we would be able to get around the island more easily. The drive down to Lymington took us through the New Forest National Park where we saw many wild horses, cattle, and sheep roaming freely. As a driver, you had to be very vigilant as the horses were able to gallop across the moors onto the road and could appear from nowhere. It would be fascinating to park up and sit and watch the wildlife (we also spotted deer on the way back).
The ferry docks at Yarmouth which is on the north western part of the island. The trip takes about 40 minutes and was very pleasant on a bright sunny day. We drove towards Newport and I couldn’t help but think back to my first visit to the Isle of Wight, aged 7, when we visited my Uncle Stan and Auntie Maureen. Uncle Stan was a prison officer at Parkhurst then. It was very exciting to travel there by train and then ferry as we didn’t often go on holidays to new places as children. We were heading for Osborne House at East Cowes, which I vividly remember visiting as a child, although the significance of the property was lost on me then. I was excited to be going again, and for Kevin to see it too.
When we arrived at Osborne House, I started to feel unwell, so our day didn’t quite go as we had planned – I was so upset that it affected our enjoyment of the day, especially for Kevin. We managed to tour the House itself although I have to admit my heart wasn’t in it as I was feeling so poorly. We began walking to see the bathing machine and then on to the Swiss Cottage but Kevin had to leave me and continue on his own. We returned to the van for a bite to eat (I couldn’t face anything), and I had a little sleep before we left.
We drove onto Ryde in search for a cheese scone which was all I wanted to eat! We found a good place to park overlooking the Solent. I felt a little better after my sleep, and it was such a beautiful day, so we had a gentle walk along the pier, and up the High Street (no cheese scones to be found).
We spent a couple of hours at Ryde then drove back to Yarmouth to catch the ferry back to Lymington. Again the journey back was calm, and it was a beautiful cloud-free blue sky. The drive back to site was uneventful, and it was nice to pass through the New Forest again where there were a number of people parked up to watch the horses. We passed through some pretty villages too so this is another area we will need to return to in the future.
Today we drove to Weymouth. It was a beautiful day – warm and sunny. Weymouth Bay is vast, and the water is very shallow so it is perfect for families to spend time there. As it was Friday, we noticed parents and children in their school uniform coming down to the beach later after school to spend time in the sunshine, and to enjoy and ice-cream.
I was still feeling unwell and, when we arrived in Weymouth, we walked to the pharmacy for some advice. We were advised to call 111 and, after a brief discussion, were directed to Weymouth Urgent Care Centre (not exactly the best place to visit on holiday). After a short wait, I was given a prescription for antibiotics and sent on my way. It was a relief to get some help but frustrating that we had had to spend part of our holiday doing this – I felt sorry for Kevin as it did restrict what we could do. The good news is we did manage to get some cheese scones from M&S! We spent a few hours at Weymouth enjoying the sunshine, and then we drove back to the site as we will be heading home tomorrow.