Day 56 – Bridport to Weymouth

 

 Date: Friday 22^nd October 2010   Distance: Miles 31.11

 

Unfortunately a night-worker in the next room came back at 2 am instead of the time we were told- at 6. He was probably ill as he was coughing very loudly – we hadn’t realised the walls were made of plywood! It was a good breakfast but I wasn’t keen on the lady of the house, who didn’t make you feel particularly welcome but then perhaps she hadn't been able to sleep either.

We left at 9.20, parked the car in the long stay car park, near the police and bus station and we were off, climbing a fair bit but able to ride. There were lovely views of the sea alongside the route. It was sunny with some cloud and below was Chesil Beach which stretches for miles like a walkway between the waves. It was a busy B road but worth staying on it for the views. The milometer jumped off the bike though and it was smashed when we went back to pick it up.

We rode through Abbotsbury, a pretty thatched village and on to the Swannery at the freshwater side of Chesil beach, which had several hundred swans still and was worth seeing for their sheer numbers. We arrived just before feeding time at midday and they were given many buckets full of wheat. It was very cold in the wind and we couldn’t stay long. The ticket was expensive at £9.50 each. We saw several pairs doing mirror dancing and the swans didn’t mind people walking near or through their midst though it was wise not to separate cygnets from parent.

 

A countrified road took us past our second pheasant shoot of the day with red flags, guns and dogs. Further down the road we disturbed many pheasants hiding in the roadside hedges and thinking we were the enemy they made a lot of fuss. Just hope they made it till the end of the day!

 

Stopped at a pub back on a B road about 4 mile off Portland Bill, called Victoria Inn.

It was very quiet but it took a while for the sandwiches to come. Bob enjoyed his beer.

 

We carried on past Chesil Beach again and onto Portland but we didn’t bother going around the Bill as it was full of traffic. All around were eerie sounds of wind through the boat parts, clanking and sighing. There were lovely views across the harbour though and the marina (very modern and up market) was pleasant for a warm drink.

 We had to retrace our journey back to the mainland, watching surfers with kites on the harbour side and the view back to Lyme Regis.

 

There was a coastal cycle path that began at a modern housing estate, which we took to Weymouth. It was an old railway route and became quite dark and lonely under trees in part.

We were exhausted by the time we reached our next stop, another Premier Inn. It was a quick change and then out for the bus back to Bridport, which we ran along the prom for about a mile or so and later found we could have caught it outside the Sea-life Centre that shared the Inn’s car park. We collected the car from the car park at the bus station after a Weatherspoon meal in Bridport( at least we knew what to expect)

 

We had an upstairs room so the bike stayed in the car overnight.