point on the Jurassic Coast – to
the west.
Treasure hunters who
don’t find any fossils on
the beach should visit
The Customs House, a vast
emporiumof over 100traders
offering coll ectibles, vintage,
unique gifts and memorabilia. The West Bay
Discovery Centre, set in asmall Methodist
chapel, is a hands-onmuseumthat’s
great for kids (free admission, donations
welc ome).
The fo llowing morning, tocompensate
for waking me up before dawn to take
photos, Terry treated me to another
memorable breakfast at one of the beach
hut cafés set aroundWest Bay’s h arbour. We
ate whilst watching the boats coming and
goin g from the harbour.
A whistlestop tour of the lively market
town of Bridpo rt, ju st two miles fr om West
Bay, followed. The town grew up as a centre
for rope making andthere is a good free
museumand PalmersBrewery, which offers
guided tours.
Before leaving Bridpo rt, we stopped
for suppli es at Morrisons supermarket,
conveniently loc ated close to the A35.
Setting off towards the Isle of Purbeck and
Corfe Ca stle we wished we hadmore time tovisit some of the ot her pl aces alon g the wa y.
Arrivingin Corfe on the A351 from
Wareham you c annot help butbe impressed
with the spectacular viewof the ca stle
(NationalTrust). It dominates the landscape
and, whilst it is now a ruin, its former
grandeur is clear for all to see.
We had chosen tostay two nightsat the
Camping and CaravanningClub’s Corfe
Castle site as it is just a 20-minute wa lk
from the ca stle along the historic Purbeck
Way.The site isnicely landscaped and its
quiet lo cation promised apeaceful ni ght’s
sleep – or so we thought!
Being motorhome novice s we decided
to pitch under the shade of a large tree and
kept hearing large taps o n ourroof. Was it
raining?Yes, butnot water. It was ‘ra ining’
acorns. We swiftly moved so that I could get
my sleep. Another lesson learnt.
Heading tothe ca stle we spent the
afternoon learningabout its history, how it
was built by Willia m the Conqueror in the
eleventh century and was one of the earliestMustdo... Climb up East Cliff inWest Bay;
the views from the top are stunning
US AND OUR ’VAN
JaneBerg man...
and photographer husband,
Terry, have recently combined
their work with their
love of travelling2017 Swift Bolero 684FB
(7.09m) onFiat Ducato 2.3TD.
As it's a four-berth, it
is spacious whilst also
providing enough room for our
family to join us96 outandaboutlive.co.ukSeptember 2019