Days 37-38: July 27th & 28th

It was wet. We went for a walk up the village after breakfast and then to one of the pubs for for a light lunch. Not that we needed much as the breakfasts are included with the accommodation and are very nice, but we have got much better at reducing our intake. The village has 4 pubs that we know of and the Fox did a nice Ploughman’s.

These were across the road. They’ve done a remarkably good job of replacing the thatch on one side.

We played cards for a couple of hours and then set off for a walk as the weather seemed to brighten up. There is a walk along the cliffs and Old Harry Rocks nearby near Swanage, which is just 2 miles away. The walk was great and although windy it was not wet. Again the views were spectacular.

On the ridge looking south towards Swanage

Looking north towards Bournemouth. Pity about the cloud.

We had dinner at the Greyhound on our second night. Mike and I had fish and chips for the first time this trip. It was excellent but we all struggled to do justice to our meals. No one was able to manage dessert.
The next day we set off for Pauline’s house here in Finchley in London, going via Sandbanks. Sandbanks has a very nice beach (even by NZ standards) and is the location of the UK’s most expensive houses. It is near Poole and Bournemouth. We had a walk down the beach and a very reasonably priced coffee at a cafe neat to Rick Stein’s restaurant.

Sandbanks looking towards Bournemouth. The sand is very fine a bit like silt but is clean. There were larger beach huts here that you can rent for £2500 for 4 months which seemed remarkably reasonable given the location. Having said that they are just large sheds!

These ones look a bit like stables but there were others that are two storied. I think they have power so you could make a cup of tea. Quite a lot bigger than the ones at Lyme Regis.

We certainly passed some mansions on our way through Sandbanks. Evidently popular with footballers!
We had to return our car to Heathrow which is not too far fro Pauline’s. We hadn’t seen a petrol station so decided to drop it off empty and just pay the charge but the Hertz guy who checked the car encouraged us to go to a petrol station as they would charge £4 per gallon which would be £126. He even set the navigation on Mike’s phone to the closest garage. We were very glad of that encouragement as the petrol was only £46. If I’d had cash I’d have given him some but we didn’t and I honestly don’t think that’s what he was after. He didn’t do the vehicle check when we returned and when I thanked him, he just asked what the total was and nodded. Yay for Hertz.
We got to Pauline’s by about 5pm and have now met Mochi. (That’s Princess Mochi). She is very cute.