Favourite Places Nearby

Thought I'd catch up with a few places we've visited recently and see if I could add some photos. Three weeks ago we spent the day at Hurst Castle in west Hampshire. Great Castle - strange mixture of a Norman keep with lots of later (especially 19th Century) additions. Kids love it because it's a bit of a maze. Only drawback is it's not very accessible - it's on a shingle spit sticking out into the Solent (great views of the sea out to the Needles). Either a 1.5 mile walk along the spit (which we walked on the way out) or a 15 minute trip on a small ferry boat (which we did on the way back!) The first picture shows my two children at the start of the walk along the spit (they were somewhat less enthusiastic about the walk 30 minutes later...) The second picture show the view from inside the castle. Stupidly I didn't take any pictures of the castle from the outside! Since we're English Heritage members, it's free admittance for us. It was a good day - I hadn't been there for over 20 years! And it has a cafe with OK coffee, which is always a bonus...

Another favourite place is Swanage in Dorset, which is about an hour's drive away. It's got a lovely old-fashioned, unspoilt feel and a nice, sandy beach. There's also Durlston Country park on the south of town which is another good place for walks with kids. Lovely (safe) paths along the cliff, a dolphin observation hut (never seen one in many visits. Dolphins, that is. Clearly I've seen the hut many times...), a lighthouse, and of course a cafe with "OK" coffee (as you may gather I'm a bit fussy about coffee). The third picture shows us at Durlston. It was a cold day, which is why I'm wearing a slightly silly hat. Not sure exactly why Anna is proudly holding a cheap plastic frog with an extendable tongue.