Camping in Dorset and the Isle of Purbeck

7 July 2014

More camping adventures I'm afraid!
This time we went off to a few favourite places in Dorset. We planned to only go for a couple of nights but we ended up camping for four night at two different campsites.

We went straight to Jim's campsite which was lovely as ever. The next day we went to Lulworth Cove for the forth year running! We love it there, its such a happy place even though it is so busy with tourists.



our kiddo was just about 6 months old when she last came here, but I think she remembered it?

after a lot of stone throwing (she is getting pretty good at it now!) we headed back to our tent to cook dinner.



there is lots of asparagus around at the moment!




the lady who runs the campsite, heard of me through my blog (when I posted about their campsite) so when she saw us there, she brought a big box full of vintage fabric and clothes which she wondered if I'd be interested in buying. I could pick out the ones I wanted. The box was HUGE.



during breakfast I sifted through them and these were the ones I kept. In the plastic bag are two little old handmade pig heads without bodies! I'm going to make some bodies for them ; )

we spent another lovely (and very hot) day at Lulworth where the littlun had a loooong nap, so it was very relaxing indeedo.




I had a gorgeous swim in the crystal clear water.

We went to find the guinea fowl in the evening back at the campsite.




and we bumped into Jim and Jill who were busy harvesting the sweet pea flowers (they grow flowers and vegetables to sell, and run a small garden nursery too).











 it was a very lovely day all round!

the next day we went to Monkey World (ape rescue centre) which is just up the road from the campsite.
The littlun was in a bad 'no nap' mood so it didn't go to plan. But this made us laugh (for about 3 hours!)

a monkey with the same hair as Nao!

hello!

That afternoon we moved on to another campsite we'd been before, on our very first ever camping trip in fact! It's called Norden Farm, on Isle of Purbeck (which is not actually an island by the way!).
We saw the weather forecast for heavy rain and wind, so we didn't put up our tent, and just cooked dinner on the campervan stove instead. It was SO cosy and we had a lovely view of a valley filled with sheep.



the night was so windy and rainy I was worried some of the other people camping would lose their tents!

The next morning we headed off to Swanage to go on a 'choo choo' as kiddo would say. She LOVED it, stomping up and down the aisle of the train.

 I love old trains!  I. am. a. nerd.





On the way back we stopped off at Middle beach on Studland bay. There is a nice cafe there, but kiddo had another nice long nap in the van so we just stayed there looking at the sea.

when she woke up (full of beans!) we went to the next beach on Studland bay, Knoll beach. All the beaches on this strip of Purbeck are owned by the National Trust. 



...I must say I do like a National Trust cafe and shop.


even though it was not very nice weather, that beach was pretty busy. But I can see why, its perfect for water sports and the sand is so soft.


Littlun had such an amazing time there, I have never seen her so happy. Those dungarees didn't stay dry for long.

after drying off and having an ice cream, we went back to the campsite for fried halloumi, asparagus and toms for dinner.






Lucky we had our wind breakers in the van, as otherwise we couldn't have lit a fire.


one salty, smokey, nectarine juice soaked, exausted baby.

(actually this photo is post bath!)
this is our bed by the way...tot sleeps in her pop-up cot at the moment.

The last day, we made our way home in the direction of Lymington (where the ferry to the Isle of Wight leaves from). We stopped for lunch at a beach called Sandbanks beach (or is it Poole beach??). It was very busy and remended me of 'Baywatch' as it has lots of sand, life guards and beach volleyball tournament going on! Anyways, we had a lovely time when we discovered the beach is COVERED with beautiful shells, which we all started collecting in a bucket.


actually we became a bit obsessed, I love the tiny scallop shells.

another wet tot situation!

after that we wanted to see the light house and castle which is very close to the Isle of Wight but on the mainland. I have always wondered what it was like on the 'otherside'. Its called Hurst Castle, and a little ferry leaves from Keyhaven harbour (which is also a very nice place) Lots of little kiddies at the sailing school there in their tiny dinghies.





the original castle was built in 16th century, but the victorians made it into a HUGE fortress. More recently it was used in the second world war, and you can see all the utility areas used by the soldiers

and the perfect view of the Isle of Wight and the Needles lighthouse across the water.



We just about caught the last boat back to the harbour, and made our way to Lymington to eat fish and chips in the van whilst waiting for the ferry back home.
I highly recommend the Purbeck area of Dorset for a very nice way to waste some time ; )

21 comments

  1. Just lovely, my home turf! My nippers go to lulworth school, we had ice cream at the cove after school today, thank you for reminding me how lucky we are....

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  2. Anonymous7.7.14

    Lovely, lovely, lovely!! Jenna, islandbluebird.com

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  3. Exquisite photo's Artemis. Just love the light in the sweet pea shot and the gorgeous study of Pehr looking at the leaflet.
    It seems you had an idyllic few days.

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  4. Ahh, so lovely to see your photographs of Dorset. My partner's parents lived there and we visited often until their deaths a few years ago. We will go back some time in the future, I'm sure.

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  5. Don't stop! Can't get enough of your camping posts- I love them!
    Chris in Canada

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  6. Wow! great photo's. Thanks for sharing:)
    She Adores Vintage

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  7. Your blog is such a feast. I'm new to it but I'm already in love with it, especially your camping posts.

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  8. What a gorgeous time! You're all so prepared, with windbreakers and everything!

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  9. Oh you make camping look so easy, stylish & fun!! Looking forward to our oen campingtrip this summer...

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  10. Pehr will have lots of beautiful memories when she is older. Thanks for making me homesick here in New Zealand :)

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  11. Such sweet pictures. Your camping posts are my favourites!

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  12. Artemis I think I've been reading your blog now for around three years (!!) and it's so wonderful to see how your family has progressed and grown! All the best to all of you!

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  13. Dear Artemis, so lovely to see photos of you and your family and all the fun things you guys been doing. :) love all the beautiful photos and your camping trips. Glad that Pehr had grown up so fast and so much! She is really a lovely little girl now. :)

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  14. This looks absolutely magical! I am so happy to have found your blog. Going camping this weekend and this was some much needed inspiration! As a fellow vintage shop owner, I also have to say, your shop is stunning :)
    Happy to now be following along!
    Cheers,
    Hannah

    http://thebraidedbandit.blogspot.com
    http://thebraidedbandit.etsy.com

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  15. What fantastic photos of such a brilliant adventure! You paint such a gorgeous picture of frolicking outdoors that it (almost) makes me want to go camping! And I'm a girl who won't go anywhere if there isn't an en suite. xxx

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  16. Looks totally beautiful! I have just come back from Cornwall and I can't wait to go back to the coast, maybe Dorset. Love the photo of your little one on the train, so cute x

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  17. Wonderful pics as ever! I lived in Poole for two years before going back to London and I totally in love with the area around. Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are my favorite places!

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  18. Pehr is looking so grown up, I must be behind on blog reading!

    Lovely photos x

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  19. Anonymous12.7.14

    Wow, I've just returned from Lulworth Cove with my two little ones. We stayed in one of the tiny cottages just up from the beach (opposite the information centre). Looking at your photos reminds me of how much I miss walking down to the beach and collecting pebbles with the little ones - So handy having a beach down the road when you're up at a 5am!! We also spent a morning at monkey world. It looks as though you had a lovely time. Pehr is growing up so quickly. I don't have much time these days for blogging ( 4 & 2 year old keep me VERY busy! but I always pop over when I see you have a new post up.

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  20. I don't think I have ever commented here before but I've been reading your blog for ages..now I just had say that I absolutely LOVE your blog. It's amazing and perfect - your whole lifestyle is!! Always waiting for a new post from you:)

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  21. Bellissime foto e bellissima atmosfera!!! Complimenti per il vostro blog di famiglia! Continuerò a leggerlo :)

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