coast MARINAS
If you’re heading to Devon and Cornwall by sea from Falmouth, you really want a north-easterly wind, which will keep the waters off Portland Bill smoother for your passage. However, the prevailing winds in the Channel are south-westerly (coming from the opposite direction), so sailors can find themselves waiting in Weymouth for a favourable wind. Once you’ve had your fill of pubs, restaurants and cafés, a good day out is to take the coast road to Bridport. If you have no wheels, there’s a double-decker bus that gives magnificent views as you pass through beautiful villages with their quintessential thatch. I’ve been coming here all my life (my granny lives nearby) and it’s one of my favourite places to visit. My ritual on arrival is to drink from a hillside spring in the nearby village of Stoke Abbott. This is followed by my children choosing a balloon from the factory shop, something that started as a lockdown treat but has now become another of our unusual Dorset rituals.
While I love Bridport, at three miles from the coast it’s a little far inland for me. Luckily there is a footpath to Bridport Harbour (commonly known as West Bay); it may not be the most beautiful walk, but it’s well worth it. There’s something incredibly charming about West Bay and I am always drawn to Sladers Yard, a converted art gallery built in an old mill. The pieces they show are far out of my budget (one painting of a campervan was more expensive than my real van), but the work is carefully curated and a joy to behold. The owner’s husband, whose woodwork is
