sunday lunch with friends

we do have friends in nottingham: had a lovely late sunday lunch with lou and ian today. caught up on all their news, including the very envious 'buying a wreck in italy to do up' thing.... nice!

happy birthday dad

happpy birthday dad... hope you have a fun day!

dorset 07 - heading home

final morning in west bexington. we leave the cottage, pick up some fresh veg from the farm and hit the road. scenic route back north with a stop off at the shopping village in street for some bargains.

traffic is mad so its a very windy route home through the cotswolds. get back to beeston before rush hour and have a relaxing eavening unpacking.

dorset 07 - day 7

another beautiful blue cloudless sky and more compote and berries. another walk today from burton bradstock taking in an old mill and a couple of iron age hill forts. fab views out to sea and back across dorset whilst we eat lunch on top of shipton hill.

back to the cottage after lunch for sunbaking, reading and packing.

our final stroll down to the beach in the evening to catch another great sunset.

dorset 07 - day 6

we're out of porridge! so its berries and apple compote instead - home grown apples from back in essex. we catch the coast bus into bridport for the market however it is the 'normal' market rather than the farmers market. still we pick up some odd bits and bobs including a very tasty salad and pasty for lunch. a stroll down south street and we are at palmers brewery for a quick sample - good beers! we jump off the bus early on the way back and walk from hive beach.

back at the cottage for a doze and more reading, then down the road for food at the manor. crab with beetroot then mussels for al, hot chilli duck parfait then oven baked plaice for me. great great food washed down with wine and a fine wheat beer called ammonite from dbc.

dorset 07 - day 5

more porridge and berries! a sunnier day so a bit more walking. it was meant to be a short walk, but the combination of some very muddy bits, some electric fences (thanks mr farmer!) and un clear paths means we have a quite a long walk around pilsden pen. but it is worth it for the fab views and being out in the sunshine.

back to the cottage for some more sunbaking. then down to the manor for a quick pint.

dorset 07 - day 4

a cloudy morning which means its great walking weather. a gentle 7 miles or so to abottsbury; great views out to west bay and down to portland. abottsbury is a quaint village, although its probably aweful in peak season! back along the shore to west bexington and a quick pint and the biggest cream tea ever at the manor.

back to the cottage for a freshen up, reading, sun-baking, food and beer and bed after kath and kim.

dorset 07 - day 3

a lazy morning with more porridge and hand picked berries. its not as sunny today so we head for the bright lights of bridport. lots of charity shops and not a lot open really. onto west bay - a quaint little harbour with stunning cliffs and loads of seafood - yum!

bakc at the cottage we have managed to miss the welsh rugby so its just chilling and paper reading - life is tough!

dorset 07 - day 2

a gentle start to a gloriously sunny morning - blue skys and no clouds. fresh picked berries for breakfast then a day on the beach. lindsey catches us 5 fresh mackeral, so its back to the cottage, via the manor for a quick pint, and an evening meal of fresh fish and local salad - zero food miles!

in the evening we take a stroll down to burton bradstock beach for a charity samba night - a couple of great bands and only £1 a pint. a stroll back along the road in the dark being amazed at the stars and the glo-worms!

dorset 07 - day 1

its a very early start to try and beat the traffic... and we do - down in dorset in plenty of time. we meet up with lindsey and nerys and hit the beach whilst we wait to get into the cottage.

our cottage is fab - great view over the sea and fantastic sunset. a great meal at the manor in the evening then back to the cottage for star gazing. you forget how much the big city lights hide the amazing stars!

life on the edge - holiday in beeston

it another roller-coaster of a day off in beeston... we get a new matress delivered, alison has her hair done and we choose the glass for our new stained glass front door!

then it is off into the big town of nottingham for some shopping and a great meal at le mistral.