Photos from Swanage including Corfe Castle, Swanage Railway, and Studland Bay. Coming from London you have drive past Bournemouth. Without a straightforward by-pass this is a long and tedious A Road journey. So you have to really want to go there.
As you wander around the town centre Swanage has some appealing eccentricities about it, as well as a preponderance of fish and chip shops (The Fish Plaice is the most popular). There is a lack of Indian restaurants – but Masala Swanage made a real effort with us. Don’t forget breakfast at La Cuilllere Grasse – with its aeroplane and theatre seats, and movie posters. And a great breakfast.
The town’s biggest influence was John Mowlem. A local boy who made a fortune in the construction industry founding the Mowlem construction empire. With his nephew, George Burt, he set about transforming his home town.
When Mowlem’s were asked to demolish the Mercer’s Hall in London Burt decided that the facia was too good to throw away and so he had it shipped to Swanage and put it on the new town hall that he was building. There are cast iron bollards around the town with City of London markings.
Burt’s own original folly was Durlston Castle. Durlston Castle is a sweet little folly that is more enjoyable for the coastal walks around it than the castle itself. (thanks to David Shacklady).
Studland Bay is remarkable for its tranquility and chalk cliffs. It is less than ten minute’s drive from Swanage but competes with Durdle Door and Lulworth further down the coast.
June 2022
Photos from Swanage Railway, Corfe Castle and Studland Bay
