As we cruise in to the final leg of our year long trip around the UK, we’re visiting the South West of England. This places us close to Hampshire ready for when it’s time to swap vans. It also means we can end this chapter of our travels the same way we started almost 12 months ago, by exploring new things close to home!
Our loose plan was to spend a couple of weeks travelling around the area before heading to Portsmouth. However, there has been a slight setback with our own motorhome so for now, we’ll play it by ear. This is exactly why we decided to head South when we did. It means we have a little time to sort any issues. This isn’t the first time we have had to alter our plans but that is whats great about motorhome travel, you can be flexible.
Ready for our Close Up!
We kicked off our South West adventures by spending the weekend in Dorset. More specifically, Wareham. We were also being filmed on behalf of the Erwin Hymer Group for our second and final video. It was so fun hanging out with Luke and Franc again for a couple of days. They are funny, laid back and make you feel totally comfortable. It all got totes emosh though when Luke said at the end ‘Well, thats it, we’re all done. I guess we’ll ever see you again now’.
The weekend was packed with sightseeing. We picked the location as we had a few things in mind we wanted to see. Although, it’s the most we have done in a short space of time, making us realise just how slow our pace of life is now.
On the first day after the interview portion of filming, we headed out to Corfe Castle. Originally built by William the Conquerer in the 11th Century, the castle has expanded over the years with various inhabitants adding to it or altering it in some way. It remained in the Crown’s control until Elizabeth I sold it in 1572. We have briefly been here before quite a few years ago but never took the time to explore it properly.
In all honesty, we both agreed that we probably didn’t appreciate it as much then as we do now. We have travelled the country and seen so many different castles, abbeys and mansions. We haven’t just learnt about their individual histories but how their stories intertwine so now, our visits have a lot more context.
It’s all connected
Corfe Castle is no different, especially as we visited Kington Lacy just a couple of weeks ago. It transpires that the powerful Bankes Family, who built and owned Kingston Lacy, had previously resided at Corfe Castle. They purchased it from Sir Christopher Hatton (Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor) in 1634. During the Civil War, the castle was besieged twice. It was one of a few royalist strongholds left and so was a target in a primarily parliamentarian Dorset. Brave Lady Mary (Sir John Bankes’ Wife) led an extraordinary defence but, eventually, the castle was captured during the second siege.
Parliament ordered the demolition of the castle and what was once thought to be one of the most important castles in England now lays in gnarly ruins. It’s sad to think of the destruction caused here but it’s also fascinating that this much of it remains to be seen today.
There were live craft demonstrations while we were there as well. We got to see how cow horns are boiled and worked in to things like beer mugs and utensils which was pretty cool. They also had a Trebuchet there, a type of catapult used to fire projectiles. We got to watch a live launch and Jon was even involved in helping to load and launch it!
Day 2 of Filming
Day two of filming was purely out sightseeing. Our first stop was Tyneham, a Victorian village evacuated in 1943. The space was used for military training but after the war, the residents were never allowed to return! The remains of the village now sit abandoned, stopped in time. Sadly, the ruins of the houses are no longer open to the public for safety reasons. The school and church, however, have been refurbished. They hold exhibitions about what life was like and there are still storyboards on the shell of each house, detailing who lived there.
It was interesting looking around but then we saw the replica note left on the Church door, exactly where the original had been left by the residents. It read: ‘Please treat the church and houses with care; we have given up our homes where many of us lived for generations to help win the war to keep men free. We shall return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly’.
That was a bit of a sobering moment, reading those words and then looking around at what remains today. The residents left, without fuss and in good faith, with just 28 days notice. We have since found out that there are other villages that suffered a similar fate and we are interested to visit these if we get the chance.
10,000 years worth of stories
With a few rainy spells out of the way, we managed to get to Durdle Door for the final part of the day. It’s still a mystery to us as to why we have never been as when we turned up, we were in awe of the beauty of this spot. Even on a dull day, the contrast of colours between the limestone and chalk stand out and coupled with the light, crisp colours in the water, make for a most spectacular natural display. You can view from up high or walk down to the shingle beach and enjoy this spectacle up close. To the east, you can see neighbouring Lulworth Cove from the clifftop walk.
The archway was created when the sea pushed through the Portland limestone around 10,000 years ago. This is where the name Durdle Door comes from. The word ‘Durdle’ is from an old English word ‘thirl’, which means ‘to pierce, bore or drill’. This in turn is derived from another word, ’theryl’ meaning hole.
The sun did make an appearance in the afternoon and the coastline came alive. We were also treated to a beautiful rainbow in between the spells of rain and sun. If it hadn’t been so windy, we would have got Rosie out for a walk but we were afraid she might blow away. After filming was all done, we opted to chill in the van and admire the views as the light started to fade. It was the perfect way to round off our weekend.
Fantastic blog as always you two. Made me want to visit Dorset 😁
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Dorset is definitely worth a visit x