Another enjoyable day exploring.

Our plan for the day was to walk down to the railway station in town and find out when the trains run. These aren't just any trains, these are steam trains. We also wanted to explore more of Swanage and maybe go to the nature reserve. After a very satisfying breakfast we set off. We checked on the car on the way and as we looked out to sea we enjoyed the view. I love the sun on the water and the cloud formation.

We hadn't got too long to wait for a train. There was a train on the other line at the station but it wasn't going anywhere today.

When the train came into the station the locomotive that was pulling the train was going backwards. Several passengers rushed to get into the carriage in front of the locomotive, whilst we walked further down the platform to board. The locomotive meanwhile was uncoupled from the train, went back a little so the points could be changed and headed out on another line. In a short while it was returned on the right line backing up so it could couple up to the train. The children in the carriage were excited to be behind the engine.

On the journey we passed other engines and carriages in the sidings.

 As we got near to Corfe Castle I was able to get a photo of it. Unfortunately the carriage window wasn't very clean.

We had visited Corfe Caste on a previous visit. Our plan was to go to the end of the line and return to Corfe Castle station. This meant we could visit the last station and see the engine move back to the other end of the train. It was a very smooth operation! 

We thought we might visit the castle again because the last time we were here it was raining heavily. However we decided to have coffee in the station cafe and then look round the museum before we went into the village. Whilst we were safe in doors it rained.

Corfe has a model village so we decided to visit it. It was opened to the public in 1966 and depicts the castle and village as it was in 1646 prior to the destruction inflicted on it by Oliver Cromwell's troops during the English Civil War. It is 1/20 scale and was the idea of Mr Eddie Holland. The village took two years to build and the castle was built on a man made mound. Most of the building were made by Jack Phillips from Parkstone and he looked after the village for many years. Also in the village is a model, of the model village.

I like the depiction of the castle although several of the model cows on the bank were falling down the slope.

The model of the model village was fun and the houses were built from local stone. This one was the water mill but you can't see the wheel very well as it was in shadow,

The church had a wedding going on outside and was playing appropriate music.

Within the same setting there was a wildlife pond, a nature trail, a fairy trail that I loved and a fossil collection. We enjoyed our visit.

Next we walked around the village and popped into some of the local shops. As we weren't particularly looking to buy anything you won't be surprised that the only thing we bought was ice cream. The salted caramel ice cream that I choose was delicious.

By now it was time to catch the train back to Swanage. It was a fun but noisy journey back as there were lots of children and dogs on board. At the station I was able to make a short video of the engine that had pulled our train as it switched from the back of the train to the front for the next journey.

Back in Swanage we headed for the sea front. We wanted to walk along the front and visit the pier.  The photo is looking back around the bay as we reach the pier.

The pier is small and doesn't have any shops or fun fair rides on it. There were people fishing and one of them caught a garfish as we were watching.

From the pier we could see the wellington clock tower, except it doesn't have a clock. It was designed by Arthur Aspital to memorialise Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon. The tower originally stood on the approach to London bridge in Southwark but was re-erected in its present location in 1868. It originally had a spire but now has a copper cupola (dome).

Having left the pier we climbed the hill to Peverel Point where we saw birds playing on the rocks before heading back to the hotel.

This evening we had booked a table for dinner in Swanage. The food was delicious but it was cold walking back along the sea front to the hotel. We haven't yet decided what we will do tomorrow but it will probably involve bird watching.

Take Care

Lyndsey