Visiting Portland Bill in an Autosleepers Broadway EB 2019 model Day 7

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Stepping into our new Autosleepers Broadway EB

Every time we step into Bryony, our new motorhome, it is an uplifting experience. We immediately become explorers, off to discover new places, driven by our innate sense of adventure and exploration. We are seeking freedom, drifting off where we like, when we like.

As we drive the coastal road from Abbottsbury to Weymouth, time seems to stand still, the pace of life slowing dramatically. There is no place to be in a hurry, no meetings to be done on Zoom, no phone calls to take. We have complete independence in our home on wheels, to branch off anywhere our fancy takes us, at any speed we like. Our thinking truly revolves around ‘where next hun’ and occasionally more fundamental decisions like where to stock up on provisions, water and diesel.

We aren’t at this time, even worrying about daily budgets, such is this new sense of adventure and freedom. Budgeting will come with experience, although when we first bought ‘Bryony, we’d estimated on £35 per day to cover all costs – campsite fees, fuel, food, coffees with newspapers and cinnamon buns! We still have no idea whether that has been a realistic assessment or not. And yes, we definitely haven’t factored into the daily budget things like annual insurance costs, habitation check costs or entry fees to attractions we call in at.

Last night, our last night at Gaston Farm at Burton Bradstock (see https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-south-coast-chronicles-in.html ) we had been acutely aware of nature around us. The wind rocking the van sides, the hoots of Tawny owls and the rhythmic drum tattoo of falling raindrops on the roof top. Carried on the breeze from three miles away, came the faint roar of crashing waves on shingle beaches and the tang of salt. A fox howled; pheasants were startled into flight. It was wonderful.

 

This morning, the spectacular views we saw yesterday are gone.  The coastal road is barely visible, so low is the cloud base. It swirls and drifts in dark grey swathes across road and neighbouring hillslopes, accompanied by the faint sound of waves pounding shingle some half mile away. Ah well, such a shame, for one of the things we have come to greatly appreciate is how high one sits in a motorhome. It gives the occupants such an elevated viewpoint over hedges, your own personal cinematic wide screen, on which a myriad of geographic landscapes and dimensions unfold.

By the time we had reached outer Weymouth, the thick cloud base has risen significantly and Portland and the causeway connecting it to the mainland are clearly visible. We stop off at Lidl for the papers, coffee and cinnamon buns. This really is a habit we are going to have to break. What is the point of having your own portable kitchen if you don’t use it?

We have visited Portland many times to wander quarries and cliff top paths, so this time we cut down the back roads to Portland Bill where we get a shock. The weather is foul. Howling gales sweeping bands of rain, wave spray and foam scattered across coastal paths. Malevolent, violent, dark grey seas with mountainous white topped waves, their crests whipped up and away in curtains of lacy white foam, surge past the lighthouse at terrifying speed, helped on their way by a fearsome tidal overfall in full flow. A shocking sight, it reduces Steve (a small boat sailor) to a hushed awe; a rare event. He conservatively estimates some of the surging waves to be 30’ high from trough to crest!  Eyes straining to make out the horizon, we quickly realise it is impossible to make out, for the thick grey storm clouds mirror the colour of the seas rendering any line between them indistinguishable. Portland Bill, it feels like we have reached the end of the world.

Crab like against the vicious sidewinds, we scuttled back to the café to grab another coffee before clawing our way back to Bryony in the car park where we check that the bike covers are still intact and that rope lashings haven’t come undone.

Our waterproofs had been fully tested and they’ve successfully kept us dry against the odds. Now the only problem is where to hang them so they can drip dry without pooling water everywhere. The shower seems the obvious solution. We mentally note the need to set up one of those removeable extending curtain poles between the shower walls. Then we will have our very own ‘wet locker’ area!

We are feeling weather worn but exhilarated as we head out of the car park and onwards towards Swanage, our final destination on this south coast tour.

 

If you are out and about in your motorhome or just planning a trip in the near future, remember take care, stay safe out there and have plenty of fun. Please do send us a postcard of your trip or one you have just completed - a photo of your motorhome, yourselves or the scenery you have just explored along with a short caption giving details. We will then place it on our ‘Postcards from…..’ page. We love to see where fellow motorhomes have been or are planning to go.

Take care now.

Steve and Maggie.

 

The Portland Bill car park app is ‘Just Park’. At the time of writing, we paid £1 for one hour.

Our route from Burton Bradstock to Swanage via Portland Bill is outlined below.

If you would like to find out more about who we are then visit our blog pages at 

https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/10/welcome-to-our-blog.html

and 

https://wherenexthun.blogspot.com/2020/11/who-are-main-characters-in-our-blog.html

More information about the Portland area of Dorset can be found at 

https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/areas-to-visit/portland

Our day’s route:

·        B3157 to Weymouth

·        A354 to Fortuneswell on Portland calling in at Lidl near the national sailing centre.

·        Easton Lane to Wakeswell and then on to Portland Bill.

·        Portland Bill back to Weymouth via Wakeswell and the A354.

·        Weymouth A354 and relief road to roundabout junction with A353

·        A353 via Preston and Osmington

·        A352 to Wareham picking up A351 to Corfe Castle where we stopped to explore, walk around the castle, buy sweets in the traditional sweet shop (a family tradition from when the kids were young and we used to go to the castle)

·        From Corfe to Swanage via the A351

Approximate mileage - 55 miles.