Easter in Dorset

For the Easter weekend we went away, for what might well be the last trip in the van, to Owermoigne in Dorset. Taking the bicycles with us gave us the opportunity to visit a few nearby towns and villages and also get some exercise!

The weather was kind to us although a bit cold at night and sometimes rather windy.

Good Friday We set off from home on Friday morning and arrived at the campsite by lunch time. After setting up camp and having a bit of lunch we set off on the bike to Dorchester, about seven miles away. There we had a look around the town and bought a few items that we'd forgotten to bring. Not knowing what the weather would do for the rest of the weekend we chose to have the braai that evening.
Inside the van		John at work on the braai		Sam grilling some hot-cross buns
Easter Saturday After some bacon butties to warm us up for breakfast we set off on the bikes to Weymouth. The road to Weymouth was a big A-road and so we weren't very comfortable cycling with cars whizzing past. So instead of carrying on we turned off at Osmington and took a road down to Osmington Mills hoping to walk a bit of the coastal path and find a good pub for lunch. Unfortunately the coastal path was closed in both directions because of foot-and-mouth and we couldn't even go down to the beach because of a landslide! There was a good pub though, the Smuggler's Inn, so we spent a few hours there enjoying the beer and eating a good lunch.
The Smuggler's Inn			Sam enjoying the beer
Easter Sunday We woke up to the sound of rain on Sunday morning but fortunately by the time we'd finished breakfast it had stopped and there were some breaks in the cloud. We'd heard the the coastal path was open at Durdle Door and so decided to cycle there. It was quite a tough ride with some steep hills but well worth it as it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. once at Durdle door we walked down to the beach and then took the coastal path across to Lulworth Cove where we had lunch. Neither of us was keen to leave the pub after lunch as we had a mile and a half's walk followed by a nine mile cycle to get back to the campsite. In the end it wasn't that bad but we were both exhausted that evening and were in bed by nine.
The church in Chaldon Herring			Durdle Door
another			and just one more
Walking up from Lulworth Cove			and back down to Durdle Door
Making a salad			Coffee and hot-cross buns at night