Emm in London: Dorset

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

The Abandoned Town of Tyneham, Dorset

I love all things abandoned and derelict. When I visited my friend in Bournemouth in September, she asked if I was keen on visiting a little Dorset village that had been evacuated during World War II and abandoned ever since. I most definitely was keen! Following our morning wander around Corfe Castle, we headed up to the derelict village of Tyneham in Dorset.

The story of Tyneham is fascinating. During World War II, the British Army needed to extend their training area and gave the inhabitants of Tyneham 28 days notice that they would need to evacuate the village. They left on 17 December 1943 but were certain they would return. Sadly, that was not the case because the army kept the land in the face of the Cold War threat after the war. The village remains part of the Ministry of Defense Lulworth Ranges to this day but the public are allowed to visit on most weekends and bank holidays.

The Row

The first thing you notice when you arrive in Tyneham is the Row, a line of four tiny little cottages.

The cottage on the end is 4 The Row, the Shepherd’s Cottage.

Next to that is the old Post Office at 3 The Row.

The labourer's cottage was at 2 The Row.

The school house was at 1 The Row and was home to the village teachers and their families.

The Church

The Tyneham Church is located at the top of the Row, opposite the school house.

It has recently been refurbished and is beautiful inside.

You might wonder why the church has been preserved in an abandoned village. It was the wish of the villagers. When they left, they affixed a sign to the church door:

Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes, where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war to keep men free. We will return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.

The School

Tyneham School closed in 1932 but the building has been lovingly restored to show how it might have looked in the 1920s.

The Rectory

The Rectory was home to the reverend and his family and of course it was the most grand building in the village.

The house was sadly gutted by a fire in 1966 and is fenced off, but you can compare the current state of the building with a photo of how it once looked.

Pondfield Cove

It doesn't take long to see everything in Tyneham so we took a long walk afterwards to Pondfield Cove where we climbed the hill and admired the views of the cove and Tyneham. All in all, it was a wonderful day out with magical memories made.

Visiting Tyneham

MOD Ranges
Tyneham
Wareham
Dorset BH20 5QF
Opening times
Directions

A Sunday Morning in Corfe Castle

I'm full of British wanderlust today. I just want to find a little village and explore, take photos and eat cake to my heart's content. It'll be a little while before I can do that, so I'm reminiscing about one of my recent trips instead.

The day after the Bournemouth Air Festival, we decided to take a drive along the coast towards Tyneham (I think you're going to love my next post!)

Our first stop was the Dorset village of Corfe Castle where the ruin of Corfe Castle is located. I've wanted to visit this tiny village for years, since our trips to Cornwall and Lyme Regis, and I'm so glad we finally did so.

We parked off the A351 (exact details at the bottom of the post) and walked up the path past the ruin. We decided not to go inside on this occasion because Corfe Castle was not our final destination that morning but I'd love to visit again one day. We were blessed with wonderful weather for early September, it really did feel like summer was endless this year.

The village is so picturesque, with stone cottages and quaint shops.

We hadn't had breakfast yet that morning so we stopped off at the Village Bakery for coffee and Chelsea buns. We don't often find Chelsea buns that we like - they are huge in Johannesburg with just the right mix of cinnamon and icing - but these were yummy!

After our much-needed snack, it was time to carry on exploring. We left the square and walked past the St Edward King & Martyr Church...

... taking the opportunity to appreciate the views of the castle from the beer garden of the Bankes Arms ...

... before arriving at Corfe Castle Rail Station.

The Platform at Corfe Castle Rail Station | Dorset

The rail station is a delightful step back in time, splendidly preserved with a nod back to the golden age of rail travel. The station opened in 1885 but was closed and very nearly demolished in the 1970s. It is a privilege to see it so lovingly restored today.

"From our picturesque station ideally located for the village you can catch the Swanage Railway trains to Harmans Cross and Swanage, as well as trains heading north to the Park & Ride facility and mining museum at Norden" - Swanage Railway website

The Swanage Railway Museum is located in the old Goods Yard at Corfe station and is open every day that trains are running through the station. You can check the monthly timetable here.

The station ticket office was absolutely charming and full of nostalgia, from the fireplace to the posters to the wooden bench. The ladies waiting area is located just off the ticket office.

We took the foot bridge over the tracks to the other platform. The view of Corfe Castle from the bridge is just incredible.

Located behind the platform to Swanage is the Boilerhouse Gallery, celebrating the work of local Purbeck artists.

All too soon, it was time to go and we took a long walk back to the parking area which really was conveniently located (and free!) as there is no parking at the station. Located just off the A351, next to Corfe River, the Plus Code is JWRR+G7C Wareham and the coordinates are (50.6413941, -2.0592499). There is also a paid parking at the National Trust car park close by, BH20 5DR.

A Day at the Bournemouth Air Festival

I’d planned a trip to Bournemouth to see one of my oldest friends in September. When we arrived, she mentioned that the Bournemouth Air Festival was on that weekend – would I be up for a long walk along the beach to see if we could spot some planes? Of course I would!

Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect – the display started as we made our way from Southbourne Beach towards Boscombe Pier. We spotted the Eurofighter typhoon…

… as well as the BBMF Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane. I think that is the Hurricane in the photo above but it was obviously taken from quite a distance.

I know it seems from my photos that it was a dull day but it was really lovely out (for September) and loads of people were on the beach and in the sea.

The great English summer of 2022 was slow to start but it was lovely, long and glorious in the end.

We finally arrived at Boscombe Pier and stopped off for a pizza at The Wood Oven on the beach – highly recommended if you’re ever in the area. We were exceptionally lucky to get a table on such a busy day and got down to the busy work of eating and catching up.

After lunch, we began to make our way back to Southbourne. Our timing was perfect again because as we were leaving, we were very excited to see the Red Arrows.

They put on quite a show and it definitely makes your heart stop from time to time.

I did wish I’d come out with a better camera but I’d been planning for a long overdue catch up with my friend. Then again, the planes are so fast that I’m not sure my DSLR would have been able to cope any better.

The Red Arrows left us with a giant heart just as we were finishing our walk.

That evening, we decided that poor Stephen hadn’t been tortured enough and we decided to take a long, dusk walk around Hengistbury Head.It’s not that Stephen has anything against walking but 19,690 steps on a day when he was expecting to relax is a bit much for him. Plus, he got to listen to my friend and I reminisce about being 15 again, which he surprisingly didn’t find as interesting as we did.

The views were quite beautiful and it was lovely and peaceful up there too. We could see all the way to Bournemouth.

I spotted some street art and then we decided that it was probably a good idea to head back before it got dark. We’d had a marvellous day and had yet more adventures planned for the next day.

Five Days in Lyme Regis

It seems impossible now but there were five days in 2020 where life almost felt normal. We drove down to Lyme Regis in Dorset and stayed in a fisherman's hut by the seaside. It was one of the most simple yet idyllic trips we've ever taken. Our trip to Lyme Regis was originally meant to be a family holiday with Stephen's parents in June but, like our trip to Lanzarote in March, it was cancelled. We rescheduled for just the two of us in September and our trip took place in the brief window of time between lockdown easing and tier restrictions being announced again. In fact, tier restrictions were announced on our last day in Dorset.

We booked the reasonably priced Fisherman's Hut through Lyme Bay Holidays. We were amongst the first customers to stay in the hut and we were pleased with how clean and hygienic it was. Our hosts were absolutely lovely and made sure that we had everything we needed. The photo above shows the view down to the sea and we spent many hours lying on the sun loungers, drinking homemade cocktails and enjoying the view.

We took long walks every morning. Lyme Regis is the perfect size to get in those holiday steps. We walked out onto the Cobb when it was safe to do so but even then, the winds were fierce and threatened to blow us into the sea.

Naturally, it looked perfectly calm out there without a hint of how slippery and wet the walk was.

Part of the Jurassic Coast, Lyme Regis is fossil country and if you're lucky you can find ancient little fossils on the beach. I didn't find any fossils but will definitely try again next time.

One word of advice: Lyme Regis is popular so if you're ever going to visit, be sure to book restaurants in advance. I only thought to book a week ahead and we only managed to secure two bookings for our five day stay.

Our favourite meal was at the Millside where we sat outside on the dog-friendly patio and enjoyed a dozen oysters and a Fruits de Mer sharing platter for two. We were very keen to visit the Millside again during our stay but alas, weren't successful in securing another booking and were honestly lucky to have secured our Sunday afternoon booking in the first place. We also ate at Mark Hix's Oyster & Fish House but unfortunately weren't overly impressed with any of the food there.

We enjoyed several breakfasts at the open air Beach House Cafe on the Marine Parade. They have an entire menu of different types of shakshouka and their food was delicious and very reasonably priced.

We also enjoyed several breakfasts and lunches at Swim on the beach. We sat outside on the balcony, enjoying the sea views and their excellent coffee. The staff at Swim were excellent at socially-distanced dining and made us feel completely safe, something which was incredibly important at the time (and will no doubt be important again when Britain reopens).