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Southwest England - Focused on Wilderness Experience/Hiking - Part 2

Day 10: Corfe Castle. On the way from Chagford to Corfe Castle, met friends at Charmouth Beach to go fossil hunting. Good thing I had someone to tell me what to look and to keep me away from the dangerous cliff face. Actually found fossils. We felt like 5 year-olds spending hours playing in the sand. This was the day of the Queen's funeral, so we were surprised to find the pubs open but were where glad they were.

Day 11: Corfe Castle. Corfe Castle is a gem of a town. Took the steam train to Swanage, got supplies at the grocery stores and poked around in a few shops, then returned by train to tour the ruins of Corfe Castle.

Day 12: Corfe Castle. Drove to Lullworth Cove, parked, and started hiking West, past Durdle Door, to a point past the Obelisk where we could see Weymouth in the distance. Chatted with a whole crew of locals at the Obelisk, although none of them could tell us why the Obelisk was there. Returned the same route and stopped on the beach at Durdle Door to put our feet in the water. Returned to Lullworth Cove after all the tour buses had left for the day, had a hardy dinner (lunch was a cliff bar), and walked around Lullworth Cove and Stair Door. About 8 mile hike. Drove after dinner to the footpath for Old Harry Rock. Did the 2 mile round-trip hike there and back to see Old Harry at Sunset.

Day 13: Runnymeade on Thames Hotel and Spa. After a nice morning eating a big breakfast and sitting in the Garden at the Challow Farm House where we stayed, we started heading toward London. We stopped at a few view spots in New Forest National Park and then in Lyndhurst for lunch. I had never actually seen a Ferarri dealership before, but they had a large one here. Poked around in the shops and had a great lunch. After lunch, began our final wander to our pre-flight hotel.

Day 14: Drop of Rental Car at Heathrow. Back to Boston on 11am flight.

Hope you find this information useful.

Bob

Posted by
3938 posts

We did some of these wonderful hikes in August along the South Costal Path. Our base was near Studland and we used the Purbeck bus system to get between towns. Thanks for your report. I’m so glad you found some fossils, a dream of mine but I spent more time on cliff tops than on beaches. My visit afterwards to London’s Natural History Museum and the Mary Anning Wing was my reward.

Posted by
53 posts

Hi Mona,

Glad you got your fossil fix. There was a nice museum at Charmouth Beach that showed some of the incredible finds they have made there. From what I could tell from reading the placards, the best time to find the larger ones is the day after a big storm has battered the coast. I had to settle for the smaller finds but found it all simply fascinating.

The hiking on the coastal path was just fantastic. History, beautiful scenery, and wind-swept quiet away from the crowds. Glad you enjoyed it too!

Posted by
3719 posts

Excellent trip report!
We enjoyed reading it.
Thanks for all the details.