South West England, UK: Solo to the Jurassic Coast

 

After the excitement of the previous few days, I packed away camp at Norden Farm and resumed my journey along the Jurassic Coast.

 

 

First stop for the day, was Ringstead Bay. Following a private road, there’s a car park at the end that costs £6 for the day. There is a free car park but that is a longer walk so weigh this up.

 

I headed for their shop and paid the fee. The usual beach toys and some snacks, there were also a few pieces of jewellery and nicer gifts available.

 

I wasn’t ready for the huge beach that awaited me. It was bright but windy with very few people. To the right, I could see several dog walkers but, to the left, there was no one. I went left. Changing into my swimwear with a strategically tied towel (easy enough to do whilst preserving one’s modesty), I was finally ready for the sea.

 

Abandoning my belongings on the deserted beach, I jumped in. It was freezing! To the point I questioned if my back had been stung by jellyfish because it stung so much. Fortunately, I hadn’t been stung it was just the sheer temperature drop that my skin was reacting to. After about 10 minutes of vigorous swimming, I began to acclimatise and enjoy myself. The sea was calm and clear, making it deceptively deeper than it looked. I berated myself afterwards for not bringing a snorkel set.

 

As well as swimming and watching the fish, I scrambled amongst the rocks investigating rock pools and seeing what I could see. I found some very soft rock that gave way at the slightest touch. Intrigued, I poked about a little and found some fossils in some of the rock that had already chipped off. I left the area alone after that, it was delicate, and I didn’t want to destroy it. My wild imagination wandered off into the realms of Jurassic Park as I wondered what other fossils lie buried.

 

Ringstead Bay  is just a 5 mile walk to Lulworth Cove if you’re feeling full of beans and want to see more of the Jurassic Coast on foot. It’s a beautiful coastal walk, just be mindful that it can get extremely windy, particularly on the higher ground nearer Lulworth.

 

 

In need of some food and a chance to warm up,  I went onwards to Beer. Once there, I parked in the big car park on the cliff.

 

Once I'd been wind beaten enough, went back and found the pub I’d heard about. I can now say that I drank a beer in the Barrel of Beer in Beer. It wasn’t much to write home about, but the staff were civil enough.

 

After this, I walked down to the beach. There was a little café that I caught just before they closed for the day. Armed with coffee and walnut cake in one hand and a hot coffee in the other, I found a spot on the beach to rest and feast. It’s a clean little beach with some boats about but it was very quiet when I was there.

 

I had planned on staying there overnight, sleeping in the back of my car. However, you cannot park overnight in the main car park as I found out when I was moved on by the police…

 

 

I decided to drive on, continuing my venture further South. It was late, I took a wrong turn, and reached Dartmoor around 10PM. I’ve never felt so uneasy driving through somewhere. Pitch black, random fog patches, and not another soul on the road, I nearly had a heart attack when I came face to face with glowing eyes. As I slammed on my brakes, I realised it was just a flock of sheep casually stood in the road. 

 

After managing to manoeuvre round them, I laughed it off and tried not to feel too creeped out. I also had no phone signal and was hoping I wouldn’t break down. I eventually reached a pub on the Moor, but it appeared to be closed. After what felt like hours, I left Dartmoor and started seeing signs of humanity again. Finding a sensible looking neighbourhood, I parked up, double-checked my doors were locked, and slept for a couple of hours in my car.

 

 

After a few hours of disturbed sleep, I continued my drive South. I was awake before the sun and caught the most magnificent sunrise as I drove round a hill. All in all, not a bad day! I’d certainly recommend Ringstead Bay for swimming and fossil hunting, and I think Beer would be quite nice to revisit, though I’d advise booking accommodation. Next update, coming soon.