We’ve had another easy but interesting day here in Dorset. Dawn and I were up early as we wanted to buy some fresh fish for an evening meal. Despite Dorset’s long coastline and seaside towns, it’s not as easy as you’d expect. There’s not as many fishmongers around anymore and some we investigated don’t get great reviews. I mean – what the hell’s an ‘artisan fishmonger’ – apart from a poncy name used to charge you more money? The pair of us ended up going over to a fishmonger’s in Poole. It’s only 15 minutes away from Wareham, so didn’t seem to much of a chore. It was OK, but the prices were far greater than the service levels. Nothing was labelled and they didn’t do anything more than flog you fish. If you wanted it gutting or descaling, that was down to you. Despite that, we picked up four very nice Sea Bream. Which we had tonight with a vermouth, lemon and butter sauce.

On out return we picked up Dee’s parents and headed off out for the day. First stop was Lulworth Cove, a place I don’t ever remember visiting before. I may have been here on a family holiday back in 1970, but memories dim after more than half a century – especially when I’d only have been 11 at the time! Lulworth was a lovely place, even though it’s touristy. One can ignore the people and all the tourist infrastructure that’s spring up to cater for them and simply enjoy the beauty of the cove and the geology that’s created it.

Next stop was nearby Durdle Door, another natural beauty. Whilst the light at Lulworth was lovely, it was mostly dull at Durdle. Even so, I managed a couple of half-decent pictures. Dee and I wandered down the steep path to Durdle but it was too much for her parents – hardly surprising at their advanced age – so we didn’t tarry. Instead, we moved on to Weymouth where we drove along the beachfront and visited the old harbour which took everyone by surprise. It’s a mix of active fishing harbour and yachty heaven, lined with eateries and bars. We all rather enjoyed it as we stopped for a drink and watched the world go by. John (Dawn’s dad) realised that it was here that he caught a ferry to the Channel Islands back in the 1960s. Sadly, the boat-trains, ferry and tramway are long-gone. The railway closed in 1987 but the tracks were only lifted a couple of years ago. Nowadays just a short stub is left in situ.

We’d have stayed longer, but we had other fish to fry. Well, not fry, but gut, descale and cook! However, we’ll be back later – this week or next. Here’s a few pictures from today’s adventures.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312