The weather has been glorious for the last two months in the U.K. so I was really excited to being staying with my daughter in Bournemouth, Dorset for a week.

Thoughts of laying on its soft golden sanded beaches and dipping my toes into temperate english waters, whilst being pounded by the sun, always sounds good to me!

Alas, the english weather decided that it would be this week, there would be a change and it would not be as exotic as previously experienced. We decided to continue with our plans and make our way to Studland Bay on the isle of Purbeck.

The car ferry across from Poole to Studland didn’t take long and it only seemed like a moment passed, from getting out of the car to enjoy the view across the harbour, to climbing back in again. (Crossing time is approximately 4 minutes.) Despite my concerns that sitting in the traffic queue meant it was going to take ages to actually take the ferry ride, it was all done rather quickly. The website says card payments are accepted but I would take cash because its quicker.

We decided to park up on the side of the road, as we weren’t rocking up to the beach for a full day stay and our exploration through a treeline pathway, to the sand dunes surrounded by stunning purple heather, led us to a fairly deserted naturist beach.

Much to my appreciation and my daughter’s horror!

Partly due to her response, my reaction which was to get my clothes off and enjoy a naked swim without judgement, did not happen. Neither she nor my husband were enamored with the prospect of mum deciding to go skinny dipping and I bowed to family pressure on this occasion, decided to give it a miss but made a conscious decision, to try it alone another time. The thought of swimming naked in the clear beautiful water too much of a temptation.

We noticed that if you wanted to park up close to the ferry terminal, then you could take a fabulous constitutional along the different stretches of beach, which run into each other, along the length of the bay and enjoy a full day out here.

There are many walks to be had which means you can explore sand dunes, hinterland-world war two history and fossils. I intend to the next time i’m down in the south west.

Alternatively book into one of the hotels in or close to the village and the beaches are just a short walk across the road.

Our road trip home had us driving the loop back to Bournemouth on the A351 and allowed us to enjoy a view of Corfe Castle. Spy the Isle of Purbeck golf course we’d both love to play on and find the route to Kimmeridge Bay which is home to around 750 undulate rays. Has its very own snorkel trail you can follow and many rock pools to explore at low tide with the kids.

There is loads to do on more than one day out. Dorset is a fabulous county to visit in England whatever the weather and I recommend always ending an english day trip with ice cream!

Check out my insta page @janstring1 to view a short video of the sand dune and heather walk to the beach.