Yes it can, but not as someone from East Anglia, first time in Dorset, knows it. Mid-August, we were on our way back to Suffolk from a mini farm holiday nr Dorchester (including splash in the River Frome, see Joe's entry above, which is just a shallow clear chalk stream in Dorchester).Rather than get caught in Friday traffic, we followed Wild Swim's link to this amazing stretch of the Jurassic Coast, just as the sun was setting and folks were leaving. Little picnic, 2 little boys, buckets and spades.
Brendan (6) chose the Man-0-War Bay side, so we had to hike round on the coarse white sand to be in the last rays of sun under the massive cliffs. Excitement all round, water so clear, but not oh-so warm (about 16-17C I'd guess) . Brendan did some micro snorkelling in his cute wetsuit, but soon started shivering and got out to join Mummy & Brucey (2) for sustenance.
My chance for the swim. The slightly smaller than expected scale of Durdle Door and its proximity to the Bay made it feel safe and manageable to try on my own. The Bay was calm, but sea started to role a bit nearer the Door.
It was a magnificent experience, and just a bit scary at times, as scale changes when you get in doesn't it? i.e. you get smaller, while cliffs, waves etc seem alot bigger. Despite the water clarity, it was so deep that there was nothing to see but...the deep. Right under the Door a slight swell pushes & heaves, some seaweedy rocks comes up at you. I lined myself up, tread water a bit, chose my moment, head down and swam all the way thru and under. Out the other side, floating around, looking up at the grand arch (no tombstoners today, or has it been 'banned'?) - a real moment to savour.
The Door's quite close to the beach that side, could have got out and walked back, but I had that feeling of never wanting to get out, so set off happily to swim back round to the Bay, and that little picnic. 26 minutes to remember.
Man-o-War Bay beach
No comments:
Post a Comment