A Day by the Seaside (The South Coast Seaside)

Marion’s parents live by the sea near Poole. So I took the opportunity of Marion taking her mother out shopping to have a long walk and explore. I have this aversion to John Lewis you see. So I have had a long and varied day. I caught the bus nearby to Swanage, now this is no ordinary bus ride as it takes the chain ferry across the mouth of Poole Harbour. So for a time you are on a bus that is on a boat.

Being on the top deck of the bus allows you to look into the gardens of the exclusive properties in this part of the world. The pity of it is that the traditional houses built in the 1930s are being pulled down to make way for ultra-modern glass and concrete monstrosities. It was ever thus with the rich and taste. What they are buying are the views across Poole Harbour, reputedly the second largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney. They are spectacular as the neck of the harbour that we are passing across. Here all sizes of shipping are dodging the ferry going back and forth.

The object of the trip was the small seaside town of Swanage, as I wanted to visit the preserved railway there. The line was closed in 1973 and now runs a few miles through the Dorset countryside. It has preserved the ambience of a Southern Railway seaside station in the 1950s. I was quite impressed with the overall harmony of the effect. The trains had green coaches and were pulled by Southern Railway engines. Where I volunteer on the NYMR the rolling stock and engines are much more eclectic. However the stations are faithful to different periods in the history of the railways of the region. It did seem marginally less commercial than the NYMR.

So after a look round I caught the open top bus all the way back to the centre of Bournemouth. Again it was a great opportunity to look at property and the commercial developments. Bournemouth was crowded, as you would expect at this time of the year, this however was not my destination, as I would take a walk along the promenade back to Sandbanks. It was great to see a great many people enjoying themselves on the beach. Activities varied from the traditional sandcastles to the more modern wind surfing. It was also interesting to see much softer sand than in Scarborough. In Scarborough the sand is solid lending itself much more to beach cricket. The games here on the South Coast were much more constrained by the problem of the ball not bouncing after it hit the sand.

Then after an hour of walking I turned back along the side of Poole Harbour to Marion’s parents flat. In all I had made 17,000 steps and felt well ready for a fish and chip tea!