All of us have “special” physical places where we feel more at home and find it easier to relax and reflect. One such area for our family is the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. An Isle that is not island, this is a small peninsula west of Poole Harbour that embraces rolling hills, sandy beaches, rugged sea cliffs, some of the oldest rocks in the world (Lulworth Cove is famous for fossils), and an almost totally unspoilt (and protected) coastline which is now a World Heritage Site. I have so many happy memories of the area stretching back to my childhood that every time I return, I feel as though I’m being supported by an old but ever youthful friend.
It’s not only the natural beauty of the area that draws me back. There is a palpable sense of man’s connection with the landscape here. Many epochs in man’s development are visible. The Neolithic burial chambers on the aptly named Nine Barrow Down to the medieval Corfe Castle, the Swanage steam railway which runs from Corfe Castle to Swanage (the melodious whistling of the engines echoes round the valley all day in the summer months) and the Purbeck stone quarries still in use today which produced much of the stone and marble for Salisbury Cathedral.
We’ve often camped at Downshay Farm adjacent to the railway, which is set on a hillside overlooking the majestic ruin of Corfe Castle that fills a natural gap in the Purbeck Hills. The camp site is basic, consisting of two fields with simple washing facilities. The children have acres of space to play in and explore safely. I will always treasure the impression of my two older sons running and skipping with delight in the fields back to our little tent to cook supper outside on a warm summer evening whilst watching the swallows swoop and dive over the grass with the sun going down behind the castle.
There are many footpaths and cycle trails in the area. One of our particular favourites starts from a small village called Worth Matravers from an unspoilt pub called the Square and Compass. This has been run by the same family for over 100 years, with spectacular views down to the cliffs of St.Aldhelm’s Head and the sea. The remains of Neolithic farming terraces on the surrounding hillsides are clearly visible from here. There is an easy track that winds through the village and then down to St. Aldhelm’s Head – the southern-most point of the Isle of Purbeck. Just before the path ends above 300 foot cliffs, the walker is confronted by a tiny square Norman Chapel – the Chapel of St.Aldhelm. Measuring barely thirty feet square, the simple stone building has only one tiny window facing East which has recently had some beautiful stained glass installed. It’s unclear who built the chapel, although the grave of a Norman woman, possibly a prioress was found nearby in the last century. The atmosphere there is peaceful, surrounded on three sides by the sea crashing on the rocks far below and walking here seems to take the traveller back in time.