South West Coast Trail Day 3 June 17, 2021

This morning we took a taxi to Lulworth Cove because the Lulworth Range was closed. The taxi driver told us Lulworth Cove was very popular because it was used as a backdrop for a Bollywood movie, as well as included in various religious rites. I looked this up Internet and nothing came up. Honestly, it was a bit of a disappointment. What was much more interesting was Stair Hole next door.

Next started the real work up a very steep hill to Durdle Door and some more beautiful limestone cliffs. Then we continue very steep uphill/downhill to where I thought was going to be near the end at the Coast Guard Station at Prawle Point. There was also an interesting monument there for Dr. Penle in the shape of a globe. Then we start down some very steep hills and uphill immediately thereafter. It was so steep that the cows at the bottom looked very small. At the top of a hill a bit later there was a nice monument to coast guard dead. Then I thought the map had us going down another steep hill. We see mountain rescue at the bottom and we get lost. It looks like the trail goes further down something so steep that there is a rope to guide. We refused to do this and ended up somehow magically finding the trail going the other way. That said, we follow a reasonable version of the trail, by some sheep and realize that the steepest uphill remains. We are exhausted but trudge up that hill and I think, "now we really must be near the end", but no. We continue to cliff walk, the hills aren't as bad now, at least. At one point along the cliff top there is a beautiful growth of yellow flowers and it is wonderful to walk through them - maybe they are rape or mustard. It seems that the trail must never end and it seems much longer than 10 miles. Finally, we reach a cafe and decide to have a rest. We can see Weymouth way ahead in the distance. The weather is another beautiful sunny day that is very humid, but then it starts to rain while we are stopped. It is a wonderful stop and we have tea with milk and fudge. When we continue we can clearly see the parked cruise ships that we've seen since the start of the day. One of them appears to be moving towards a new mooring. We go down a very steep last section and come into civilization via some sort of fun park. Just afterwards we see a field full of bunnies and we know we are very close to the end of our journey as we walk along the last promenade to, finally, our boutique hotel that is in the middle of town. We have a nice room here and walk further into town for dinner for one of the best Thai dinners we've had. I think it was Mona's Thai food. It was worth walking on very sore feet. We are happy that we were able to find places to stay to be able to take these three days. We got the last room on 2 of the 3 nights. Anyway, it was nice to start this long distance path and I look forward to hiking the rest of it sometime soon!