Dorset Holidays Part ::4

Hello Lovelies,

I've skipped over Tuesday, which was nice enough but I'm aware you might be getting holiday overload!
I need to record Wednesday though as it was another highlight for me.

I woke early and decided to go for a little run before breakfast.
Past the pretty flower boats around the harbour........

And old stone buildings...........

Back round the harbour and past my favourite boat with it's lovely early morning reflections........

Past the ice-cream coloured houses on the beach..........

and along the pier...........

To see the sun is rising over East Cliff.............

and the tide is high, waves splashing over the wall...........

The coastline looks wonderful in the low sun...........

I've run far enough now and head for that short cut back to our caravan, but then I decide to take a little walk up the West Cliff..............

It's such a beautiful morning and I'm not ready to go inside just yet..............

The path is mostly well away from the edge of the cliff, I'm happy about that.

After a while I squeeze through this narrow gap..........

and I'm rewarded by the glorious view............

I walk along the path a little further and I'm so tempted to carry on to Eype, but I think the boys will be wondering where I've got to, so I take one last photo then turn around ............

The views inland are gorgeous too..............

I go "home" for breakfast.

We had a week of sunshine and showers. It did make it rather difficult to plan the day but it didn't spoil our holiday. The weather was mild when it rained and hot when the sun shone.

But by late morning the clouds had rolled in so we decided to walk up the East Cliff.........look at it.....a beautifully curved hill, chopped clean in half by the sea as it raises  straight up out of the beach

It's steep, really steep............

But that gives a wonderful view from the top...........

I zoom in on the harbour and I can even make out our caravan in the background..........

We walked along the flat top of the cliff, but wary of getting drenched in another downpour, decide to turn around when we get to the dip............

Back down in the village the boys are amused by an enormous egg in the food store...........

Once again the day turns out to be lovely in the afternoon and we head back to Lyme. It may not be very adventurous but the children love the beach here and if they are happy we are.

This visit there are colourful boats sailing around the bay.

and look, you can see the distinctive shape of East Cliff in the distance........"we were walking along the top of that earlier" I tell the boys...............

I'm very happy that we are getting more  time in this pretty place....and happy that the sun is shining today.............

Everywhere I turn there are more beautiful pictures...............

and the atmosphere is relaxed and happy on such a warm day. Lyme has some pastel coloured beach huts (that I didn't photograph) and I loved this collection of things outside one..........

Look, they are painting pebbles on that dinky fold out table.......I love this place.

In one shop I came across some old post cards for 20 pence each. I bought this one....looking at the cars and the fashion I'd guess it was from the seventies............

And here's the scene today.......hardly any different...........

I was surprised to see the same hardware shop on the right. I went inside and bought a Dorset tea towel :0)

Lyme is so pretty, and very busy on this sunny day. I'm sure you can see why............

After my little exploration I wandered back to the beach. I could see the boys and their cousins in the sea and decided to join them.

I try and have a swim in the sea at least once every year, but it's got to be a nice warm day to tempt me. The late afternoon sunlight and the beauty of Lyme bay made this years swim a memorable experience. Just a bit of breast stroke......I'm not a very good swimmer, but the added buoyancy of the salt water helps.

The best bit of this dip was actually standing in the water holding my boys, like I did when they were little. They are too heavy for me to do that any more, but in the water it was once again possible.......such a happy moment.

I love the light on the beach as evening arrives. The long shadows make everything look special. we loved this sand sculpture some clever people had made..........

We really didn't want to leave, so  ate an alfresco meal that was DELICIOUS...........

Another day FULL of simple pleasures and happy family times in a gorgeous part of the world.........how lucky I am.

Jacquie x

Dorset Holidays :: Part 3

Hello Lovelies,

on Sunday night I slept much easier and the next morning... Monday, we woke to sunshine.....that's one of my favourite things on holiday....opening the curtains and seeing a bright new day.

Eldest and I headed off to the shop straight after breakfast. The harbour looked as lovely as ever in the early morning light............

and we found another short cut...this one was super cute..........

when we passed the play park it was empty so I took some photos to show you...isn't it great..............

This part is my favourite. I may have joined eldest, swinging back and forth while standing on the thick rope at the bottom............

it was great fun.

Behind the harbour at West Bay there is a river where you can hire rowing boats for a gentle paddle. it wasn't open when we passed early in the morning, but that gave me chance to take some pictures of the cute little hut where you pay............

Wow, those hanging baskets are really something, and I loved all the sweet quotations...........

I was also intrigued by this building. It's lovely that the area still has some of the buildings linked to it's maritime history..........

The sign says that this was a salt house, used for storing the salt needed for the local and Newfoundland fishing trade. It's now a community hall.

 Our caravan is on a large site just behind this building. The vans are rather packed in, but there are nets for privacy and I can just see the top of East Cliff through the kitchen window.....that makes me happy.

It's clean and cosy....and I brought bunting and crochet to add a homely touch..........

The children are keen to head back to Lyme Regis as they loved the beach there so much on Sunday.

Yes, of course we could go.....I'm longing to explore a little further anyway. We set up on the sand and Mr BM and I headed towards the shops.........

Trying hard to ignore that ominous black cloud

We climbed the steep path thorough the lovely gardens and gazed down upon the beach and harbour looking pretty in the sunshine............

At the top of the hill, all short of breath, we came across this pretty corner, with a resting cat.........

and beautiful Dahlias..........

The shops here are all individual and the buildings are delightful...........

Yikes, that sky is really black now.

We gazed at cheerful pottery.........

and the super pretty, bunting festooned high street...........

with blue sky and the sea in the distance.

But then the rain came......a real downpour. Mr BM and I stood in a doorway with lots of other people. We wondered how the rest of our group on the beach were fairing...............

After a few minutes in eased and we continued down hill.....past shops laden with stripy goodness......

And yummy cakes.............

Through this cobbled passage we were almost on the seafront............

But then the heavens opened again......I wonder if the rest of the U.K. had rain like this.......maybe Bertha was not letting us of as lightly as we thought............it was freakishly heavy..........

Bouncing of the ground and making rivers everywhere.........

We were forced to wait again........hoping our group had found shelter too. They had actually decided to go in the sea initially, as they thought it was just a shower!
 Then the thunder and lightening came and we knew it was time to make a dash for the beach and then the car........grabbing armfuls of wet stuff and running as fast as we could with drippy wet shivering children.

The drive back to West bay was horrid....rivers of water on the road, more thunder and lightening  and even hail.

Then, early afternoon, the sun came out. Time to try and dry off all our wet clothes and beach stuff...........

I did spend that sheltering time enjoyably though.....browsing and buying this post card in the first shop........

It's by Janet Bell....I love her work.....and though it's actually of Looe in Cornwall it reminded me of Lyme.

Then in the second shelter I visited the National Trust shop and bought this coaster of the Harbour in Lyme.

Sadly I can't find any info on who the artist is, but I love the use of patterns and bright colours.

By mid afternoon we were wandering West Bay harbour again. The children had seen lots of folk crabbing and were keen to give it a go too.

In the past we have had lines with little bait bags that were OK, but you often lost your catch before you could land it.

This time we bought THIS type from one of the little cabins around the harbour. They worked brilliantly with a bit of ham in the bottom to tempt the crabs.

Within minutes the boys and their cousins had caught the first specimen. He soon had LOTS of friends in that bucket.............

We were crabbing from the pier and walking back to the caravan after a happy couple of hours ( all catches safely returned to the sea ) I loved the late afternoon light on the harbour.............

West bay was turning out to be a perfect holiday destination.....It's even got a visiting T.V. crew to watch across the river. Those super bright lights were for the shooting of the latest series of Broadchurch......

see a close up HERE

We generally eat picnics or simple meals in our caravan whilst on holiday....but this evening we enjoyed the treat of a yummy meal in one of the pubs around the harbour. I loved the stone floors and huge fireplace. I'm sure it's a wonderfully cosy place in the winter........

And who can resist a thatched roof.

What a roller-coaster day that turned out so well in the end.
Jacquie x

Edited to Add :-
Thank you Sarah for letting me know who the artist behind my coaster is. It's Caroline Tucker. Find her HERE