I’ve just returned from a week in the UK, walking the first (or last) part of the South West Coast Path with my very good mate, Pete. The full route is around 640 miles (1,030 km) long and goes from Poole in Dorset to Minehead in Somerset (or vice versa). Long time followers may recall that the 2 of us and 4 other friends did the other end of this long distance path in 2015. (Though I now see that nobody ‘Liked’ that post, so maybe I should call a halt here… 🤔 … Er, no way…!)
With 6 days available, our ultimate destination would be Abbotsbury, though I had an extra day before flying home, so I also walked ‘back’, away from the SW Coast Path, to Dorchester.
Pete had selected this particular section of the path for 2 reasons*, the first being that he had spent 4 of his summer holidays as a child in Swanage and he was keen to re-live those happy memories from the past. So it was with great excitement that we set off on the short ferry crossing from the Sandbanks area of Poole to Shell Bay, around 1pm, to walk the 6 or 7 miles (10 or 11 km) to Swanage.
*I will divulge Pete’s 2nd reason later in this series. (Oh, the suspense…)
Logistical footnote: Pete had travelled down that morning from York , by train, London Underground and train to arrive in Bournemouth (rather miraculously, on time) around 12 noon. By contrast my journey had been by Postbus, train and plane (by the wonder that is Easyjet to Bournemouth airport), again arriving around 12 noon. I then caught a taxi to Sandbanks, picking up Pete on the way. As George Peppard, or ‘Hannibal’ Smith, if you prefer, often said in the A Team “I love it when a plan comes together.” 😊
Alittlebitoutoffocus 
Wonderful dokumentation, Mike!!!
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Thank you Hanna. More to come tomorrow (and the days after…)
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Had many a nice holiday in Dorset when sprog was young, lovely part of the world.
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I spent a summer in Poole when I was at Uni and one night in Lulworth, but otherwise the whole route was new to me.
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Omg! Look at the weather you had!!!! I’m moving South!!! 😉
We have walked bits of the SWCP and LOVE IT!!!
Beautiful pics!!!!
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Before you put the house up for sale – see today’s post! But thanks for your kind comments. (The weather did improve – before it got worse again!) 😁
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What a nice sunny day, and great photos too….I love this part of the world.
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Yes, it was a nice start. But it got worse before it got better…
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Hah! That’s Dorset (and indeed the South of England) for you. Have you read ‘The Salt Road’ btw? A couple who’ve been made homeless through no fault of their own walk the whole of the South West Coast path, in spite of the husband’s long-standing ill-health. Very interesting.
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No I’ve not read that book, but either Pete or one of his friends (see later post) mentioned it. But there is a book link to come. 😉
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