Pack up and Go!

Following our little RAC adventure, we were very lucky to get our van back the next day, in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.

We hadn’t planned to go camping, as we had tickets to Victorious Festival, but following the wedding excesses, neither of us were really in the mood for a festival… So a quiet weekend camping was much better suited.

As soon as we got home from work, we started getting our chores done at record speed, as well as get the van packed up and ready to go. We were on the road to beautiful Swanage by half past 6!

We arrived at Herston Park just after 8pm, when it was still light so it was easy to find a spot in a very chaotic field of tents and campers. They could fit us in at the last minute because we don’t need electric hook up as we use a solar panel, but even the non EHU fields were very busy.

The next morning, we decided to walk into Swanage for some coffee, some lunch, a look around Swanage Bay and the shops. We really love Swanage, as it’s such a lovely little town that captured our hearts from the start. It was a grey day with thunder and rain threatening all day but it stayed dry, and we got some BBQ bits to take back to the campsite with us for dinner.

Another quiet night followed, with several of our camping neighbours as we were all so close to each other (that campsite really does get chaotic!). We watched the stars, and I saw 2 shooting stars!

On Sunday, the weather had got worse, but we decided to set off anyway. We got the steam train from Herston Halt to Corfe, and had a lovely cream tea near Corfe Castle before visiting the Castle. It’s an impressive ruins, and the village is so quaint. Lovely views all around the country side.

Following our visit to the castle, we spotted the Greyhound Inn, where they were just getting underway with a Cider Festival, and the band was just arriving. The Skimmity Hitchers were playing in the afternoon, and they were brilliant! They sing tunes, many based on famous songs, with lyrics about Dorset and cider. They were so funny! We had a great afternoon enjoying cider, and listening to the band!

The whole weekend was great! We went to Herston Park because we’d been before and it’s in a good location, but it’s not a great site. The fields are too disorganised, with people too close together, and the facilities are always dirty. It’s a shame as it could be a great site, but the state of the showers and toilets is the most off-putting. For our next visit to Swanage, we will probably look for another site.

Swanage, Corfe and Wareham are all definitely worth a visit, and the steam train is a great experience for young and old!