A British beach holiday
We recently went away for a beach holiday on the Jurassic/Dorset Coast as my three year old is mad about all things dinosaurs, and we like being outdoors. The holiday allowed us to combine both and also to explore a little bit the island that we live on. It was also a relatively safe way for us to test how much walking Baby would be willing to do and would help us plan future more active, holidays.
We based ourselves in Weymouth which is at the end of the train line from London Waterloo. Three hours on the train took us in to Weymouth town center and a short taxi ride uphill took us to our holiday apartment booked online via Dream Cottages. We did the reverse journey back to London and the travelling was very smooth. Not driving ourselves meant not having to deal with traffic jams and tired drivers (the drive was predicted to be about 3.5 hours in good traffic). We upgraded to the first class compartment for the train journeys and it was a good decision as a) it is not that expensive to upgrade at the weekend, and b) we had comfortable seats in quiet-ish carriages which meant our little one could roam if he wanted to and there was little danger of him disturbing too many people. The really important thing was for him to have his tablet computer and headphones so that he could play a game or watch a movie if he felt like it. There are charge points by the seat so there was little danger of the tablet running out of juice but we also brought a few toys in his own adventure back-pack to provide some variety. There is Wifi on the train but the speed is not great so it is best to have movies etc pre-downloaded before getting on.
The apartment had a sea-view and we enjoyed waking up with the sunlight and the call of seagulls. The latter was not excessive and we didn't have any nasty encounters with seagulls, as was reported at some seaside resorts recently. Weymouth promenade was good fun for a sunny afternoon's worth of sand castle building, fun rides and a paddle in the sea, and there were plenty of fish-and-chip shops to get a quick dinner from on our first day. Rock pooling and crabbing were also popular activities- our little one was most excited while scrambling over the rock pools and finding shrimps, fish and crabs. The Jurassic bus (X53) which runs along the Jurassic Coast was very useful for hopping on and off at the various beaches along the Dorset coast, and for getting to various parts of the South-West coast path for those who didn't fancy walking the whole length of the path. The SW coast path is a well-signed walking path that covers the length of the SW coast and is great for seeing the amazing coastline. Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door were well worth visiting as picturesque swimming spots. Abbotsbury was a quaint little village great for cream tea and swans. Osmington Mills and Lyme Regis were great for fossils; the fossil walk organised by the museum at Lyme Regis was a great hit and well worth the money. Our little one was so excited to find ammonites and other fossils, he has not stopped talking about it. The Hive Beach Cafe at Burton Bradstock served excellent seafood, locally caught. We took the bus there, had lunch and a dip in the sea, and then walked along the SW coast path towards home. Home made ice-cream and fudge abound in the villages and towns around these parts, much to our little one's delight.
We spent a week exploring the Jurassic Coast. There is still much to see and do and we will definitely be going back for more. The only thing I will say is that mobile signal is rather bad so we learnt not to count on our phone too much while we were out and about. Downloaded maps, time-tables etc or paper versions were necessary.
We based ourselves in Weymouth which is at the end of the train line from London Waterloo. Three hours on the train took us in to Weymouth town center and a short taxi ride uphill took us to our holiday apartment booked online via Dream Cottages. We did the reverse journey back to London and the travelling was very smooth. Not driving ourselves meant not having to deal with traffic jams and tired drivers (the drive was predicted to be about 3.5 hours in good traffic). We upgraded to the first class compartment for the train journeys and it was a good decision as a) it is not that expensive to upgrade at the weekend, and b) we had comfortable seats in quiet-ish carriages which meant our little one could roam if he wanted to and there was little danger of him disturbing too many people. The really important thing was for him to have his tablet computer and headphones so that he could play a game or watch a movie if he felt like it. There are charge points by the seat so there was little danger of the tablet running out of juice but we also brought a few toys in his own adventure back-pack to provide some variety. There is Wifi on the train but the speed is not great so it is best to have movies etc pre-downloaded before getting on.
The apartment had a sea-view and we enjoyed waking up with the sunlight and the call of seagulls. The latter was not excessive and we didn't have any nasty encounters with seagulls, as was reported at some seaside resorts recently. Weymouth promenade was good fun for a sunny afternoon's worth of sand castle building, fun rides and a paddle in the sea, and there were plenty of fish-and-chip shops to get a quick dinner from on our first day. Rock pooling and crabbing were also popular activities- our little one was most excited while scrambling over the rock pools and finding shrimps, fish and crabs. The Jurassic bus (X53) which runs along the Jurassic Coast was very useful for hopping on and off at the various beaches along the Dorset coast, and for getting to various parts of the South-West coast path for those who didn't fancy walking the whole length of the path. The SW coast path is a well-signed walking path that covers the length of the SW coast and is great for seeing the amazing coastline. Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door were well worth visiting as picturesque swimming spots. Abbotsbury was a quaint little village great for cream tea and swans. Osmington Mills and Lyme Regis were great for fossils; the fossil walk organised by the museum at Lyme Regis was a great hit and well worth the money. Our little one was so excited to find ammonites and other fossils, he has not stopped talking about it. The Hive Beach Cafe at Burton Bradstock served excellent seafood, locally caught. We took the bus there, had lunch and a dip in the sea, and then walked along the SW coast path towards home. Home made ice-cream and fudge abound in the villages and towns around these parts, much to our little one's delight.
We spent a week exploring the Jurassic Coast. There is still much to see and do and we will definitely be going back for more. The only thing I will say is that mobile signal is rather bad so we learnt not to count on our phone too much while we were out and about. Downloaded maps, time-tables etc or paper versions were necessary.
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