Hard to believe we arrived here in Dorset last Friday night and we are about to spend our last night before heading north to Derbyshire. It was a great week, and today was like yesterday weather-wise – bright sun and warm (for Britain) temps near the 70’s.
Wanting a relatively quiet day, we ventured into Swanage and took the steam train of Swanage Railways to Corfe Castle on a better weather day than our last visit last. The ride is just 25 minutes through pleasing countryside. Having already done Corfe Castle (which was built by William the Conqueror, we visited the pleasant but underwhelming Miniature Village and then settled in at the National Trust Tea Room for a cream tea: a cup of tea with a scone and clotted cream and jam. Clotted cream should be illegal! A final stop in small unpretentious Corfe Castle Town Trust Museum and it was time to get back to the train station.
After the train ride back to Swanage, we hopped in the car and drove back once again to Shell Bay for lunch at the Shell Bay Café. This was our splurge meal in Dorset. For a starter Elaine had Thai Fish Cakes with Chili and I had Mackerel and Trout Pate with Garlic Butter. OMG! Elaine had a delicious cod filet for her main while I had a delectable whole Plaice with asparagus and potatoes. The bones were a pain, but the fish tasted wonderful. We skipped dessert.
Then we stopped at the Coop for a bottle of wine for dinner and some cold cuts for the picnic lunch for tomorrow’s ride to Derbyshire. Cocktails were on the patio in bright sunshine – windy on one side of the cottage but calm on the other. Dinner was at home: scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and strawberries with a New Zealand Pinot Noir.
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Great train ride and the tea and scones, just my “cup of tea”. I love the miniature village. We have one in Denver and it is like an old Western town and then they have a train that you can ride and the children love it. They go around the whole village. Save travels….love to you guys, Cindy