29th September 2018

Steve was up and out early to get to the Seaton Parkrun – I declined the offer when I heard you had to run a section of it on shingle! I enjoyed a little ‘me time’ – finishing my book, finishing my blog and doing a little yoga – simple pleasures.

Seaton Parkrun – apparently there was a tremendous noise from 300 people running on shingle

So, today’s walk was from Seatown to Burton Bradstock. We hopped on the X53 Jurassic Coaster to take us to our start point. We were excited to find two upstairs front seats empty – great views as we coasted along, spotting hills walked in previous days. It was a bit of a rollercoaster at times as we zoomed up and down narrow winding country lanes – oh the thrill 🤣

The bus dropped us in Chideock and we then had a short walk to Seatown. There’s two things you should know about Seatown – (1) it’s by the sea and (2) it’s not a town! I guess ‘Seacoastalhamlet’ doesn’t have the same ring to it! Pretty little hamlet though and a fair few people milling around on this beautiful weekend morning.

Starting the climb from Seatown beach

It was another day of hills today but I think you could describe this part of Dorset as rolling hills, in that they didn’t always take you down to sea level – so much kinder. They did in places though such as Eypemouth and West Bay – so we were able to fit in a grumble or two! All the Broadchurch fans were out in force, lots of photo opportunities by the big cliff!

An incredibly steep descent into West Bay

West Bay – home of Broadchurch

We had a short ‘toilet break’ stop in busy weekend West Bay and then it was upwards and upwards onto the final destination. The climb out of West Bay was practically vertical – had to take it slowly and lean forward as it felt like you could tip backwards at any time. I felt humbled however by a large Asian group – children, parents and Grandparents who seemed to gaily skip up in flip flops!!

From here on in it was a pleasant walk. Steve enjoyed seeing the golf course that he has played on in the past, especially the hole near the cliff edge.

And we found ourselves in the ‘chocolate box’ village of Burton Bradstock in ample time for a beer and sandwich before our 3.30pm bus back to Lyme Regis. I hadn’t been to this village since I was a child (I always think of the name spoken in true Dorset country tones … Bur’on Braaaaa’stock)!! Can highly recommend the village pub – The Three Horseshoes.

And this was our last walk for now. We’ve covered 60 miles in the last week and a half … 72 miles remaining on our South West coastal path walk … so we’ll be back! In total we have walked nearly 700 miles of the UK coastal path … just 5,800 to go!!

We’re heading down to Weymouth (by car) for a couple of days to catch up with family and friends … fitting in a couple of birthday celebrations.

Then on Saturday we’re flying off to Sri Lanka for 5 weeks. We’ll be moving around the country fitting in some essential sightseeing as well as some England v Sri Lanka cricket. Hope to also squeeze in some lazing around the pool and yoga (my newfound love). Will keep on blogging ….