Jurassic Coast!

Spring has definitely sprung here in England...the weather has been GORGEOUS and Riley is officially on vacation! We decided to make the most of the beautiful weather and 60 degree temps and head off for a long weekend on the Jurassic Coast. We booked a self catering apartment on the Isle of Portland, the southernmost point of Dorset County. The apartment was nice and the location wonderful as a base to do some exploring! Beware of lots of pictures with this post...Mommy enjoyed trying out the new camera and the lessons learned in her photography class!


We arrived on Thursday after a 2 1/2 hour drive and quickly unpacked the car and walked down to the beach to explore! The beach was not quite what we were expecting...giant rocks that were IMPOSSIBLE to walk on! Add in giant hills to climb on the beach and you can imagine why Riley and I actually scooted down to the water on our bottoms (it's okay...you can laugh! Everyone on the beach did!) Once we made it to the water, the view was gorgeous  and we put our feet in the FREEZING water and played for a bit. We then walked down to a great pub on the beach where we had dinner and the girls played some more while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a drink and watched the sunset. Perfection!

Sunbathing on the rocks

On Friday we hit the road early to visit Lulworth Cove, which we learned was formed 10,000 years ago by the river and sea and continues to evolve as a result of erosion. It was a gorgeous place for some photos and a picnic lunch and a great opportunity to gather strength for the long walk to Durdle Door, which is a natural limestone arch in the sea. The path to Durdle Door didn't look too bad but it turned out to be VERY steep. We had to climb up a big path to the cliffs, then down the cliffs and then down a scary spiral staircase to see Durdle Door. It was worth all of the hard work, however, because it was absolutely gorgeous! The beach here had lots of tiny pebbles (like fish gravel) and the girls loved playing in it and wading in the water. It was incredibly beautiful and my favorite part of the trip. Even Riley admitted it was worth the hike (and she was convinced we were wasting our time the entire way there!)

Lulworth Cove

The hike to Durdle Door

Durdle Door

Lyla's hat floated away...luckily a nice lady saved it!

The crazy staircase down to the beach

Sunbathing in the rocks by Durdle Door

The hike back was equally difficult but we bribed the girls with ice cream. Yum! Everyone loved the yummy flavors (honeycomb? toffee fudge? strawberry and clotted cream?) and Daddy even found a shop that sold beer brewed in Weymouth (near Portland, where we were staying). Happy day for all!

That night we headed back to Portland, stopping at a pub with a large outdoor playground only to find out they didn't serve food until 6. Boo! We stayed and had a drink while the girls played and then headed to a pizza restaurant in Weymouth for dinner. The restaurant was nicer than we anticipated (which was disappointing considering we were sweaty and tired after our day of walking and sunbathing) but it ended up being fine since it was early--quick and yummy. The girls slept great that night!

Everyone was up early on Saturday and Lyla was very tired after no nap on Friday. She napped while Wayne and Riley explored the area and stopped for breakfast. Riley had a quintessential British breakfast...toast with baked beans! Then it was time to wake Lyla and head to Lyme Regis, a coastal town about an hour away from Portland. It is a cute town known for the fossils found in its cliffs and beaches. We had booked a fossil hunting tour which turned out to be pretty intense (hence the scary warning sign!) Wayne somehow carried Lyla through the rocky beach and Riley navigated in her crocs (oops!). We had to beware of landslides but did find ammonite fossils from 200 million years ago! Whoa! It was a chilly day but definitely fun and we all learned a bit of geology! Afterwards we found a pub along the boardwalk and the girls enjoyed more ice cream!

She's supposed to be listening to the tour guide...

Yikes!

She found one!

Can you spot the fossils?

Sunday morning meant packing and cleaning and a last minute stop in Weymouth to check out the boardwalk there. It was chilly but sunny so we decided to buy a bucket and some shovels and do some playing in the sand (much to Wayne's dismay since he hates sand in the car and we had a 2+ hour car ride home). We had lots of fun though and even did a bit of wading in the sea. Afterwards we had a quick panini lunch on the boardwalk and got back in the car to Cheltenham. Now it's time to get ready for NY on Thursday. ( : Yay for vacations!

Beach in Weymouth