This is the final post sharing photos from my holiday to Dorset, I can't believe it was nearly two months ago. A lot has happened since then and the holiday was a good test to see if Martyn and I would be able to live together. We hadn't spent seven days in a row with each other before that and we managed to cope with each others bad habits and living together is going pretty well so far. 

During our holiday we went to the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth and got to see some wonderful creatures including this lovely little Humboldt penguin.

I said I had plenty of photos to share from my holiday and I meant it, I've posted about Lulworth Cove and Corfe Castle so far but here are my photos from my afternoon at West Bay. The last time I visited they sky was a dull grey and 70mph winds made it impossible to get on the beach let alone go for a stroll so it was great to return on a sunny day and make the most of it.






I can honestly say that in the sun this was one of the most beautiful posts I've had the pleasure of visiting. I do love a holiday abroad but you have to admit that the UK has some lovely beaches.


I'm now back in work with no major leave booked until September, dreaming of another holiday in Dorset. Sob. I do wish I was sitting on that rock looking at at the sea right now.

I posted some photos from the first day on my holiday a few days ago but I've still got plenty that I want to share. These photos were all taken on the Sunday when Martyn and I headed to Corfe Castle on the Swange Steam Railway.



The line from Swanage to Corfe Castle was closed in the 70s but a group of enthusiasts have worked hard to re-lay the tracks and restore the train stations along this line. You can read more about the history of the line here. The train engine we had that day actually came from South Wales and used to transport coal from the pits to Barry Docks.


Towering over Corfe Castle station were the magnificent ruins of Corfe Castle, it was certainly an impressive sight. One of my favourite views appeared on my old commuter line, the Rhymney Valley line. I loved leaving Aber station and being able to see wonderful views of Caerphilly Castle and this reminded me of that.


Corfe Castle was built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates back to the 11th century. It was one of the first to be built of stone instead of wood. In 1572 Elizabeth I sold the castle to Sir Christopher Hatton and Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces in 1643 and 1645. In March 1645 Corfe Castle was demolished on Parliament's orders and it is now owned by the National Trust.



The ruins were beautiful as was the surrounding town but the rain and wind meant that we couldn't take the long walk that we planned. We headed back on the steam train from Corfe Castle to Swanage and had an early night with plenty of pulled pork, tea and a good film. My pulled pork was lovely but using the holiday let oven which was super hot meant that the outside didn't fall apart as much as I had hoped but it still tasted divine.

I must apologise because this will be the first of many posts about my holiday. Dorset is such a beautiful area, I ended up taking hundreds of photos of the beautiful beaches and attractions I visited and wanted to share lots with you so will be splitting my holiday into a few posts.
The first night we arrived at the barn we just relaxed, had some nice food and watched a DVD as we were both tired after a busy week in work. We stayed at the barn at the end of last year (post here) and loved it so much that we headed back for a longer trip.

I spent Saturday morning with the lovely Rosie and her fiancée Tom in the historical town of Dorchester and I scoffed a huge slice of chocolate cake. After getting loads of tourist tips from Tom, Martyn and I headed off to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door and wandered around in the sunshine taking in the wonderful sights.

Looking at these photos is making me very sad indeed. It's been over a week since I returned from my jaunt to Dorset and the company I booked my trip with just sent me a brochure for 2014 to rub it in even more that I'm not near the coast in the lovely barn, sigh. I posted about the first two days of my trip on the weekend but here are the photos from the final day when we visited Lyme Regis.


Anyone want to come and be a library assistant in Cardiff for a few days so I can head back to Dorset? No? That's a shame...

I wouldn't stop talking about my trip to Dorset in the weeks building up to it and moaned for a week after because I was so sad to be back home. I'm going to stop sulking about not being in Dorset to bore you with loads of photos from my trip.

I stayed in a newly converted barn near Bridport which I booked through this site, I would highly recommend a stay at here because it was really idyllic. I will definitely be returning in the new year for a longer trip. I spent the weekend with my boyfriend (thanks for driving all weekend Martyn) and we explored as much of the Jurassic coast as we could during our short time there.