Dorset in a day

My father-in-law has a saying he (perhaps inadvertedly) uses when things take an unexpected turn. "It's funny how life takes you along," he says.

And, as it turns out, it's true. No matter how much you plan, organise and dream, things quite often don't work out the way you thought they would.

I haven't mentioned on Country Den yet that my husband and I now have a baby. I kept that quiet, didn't I? One reason being, I rather like to keep family matters private in this age of ever-decreasing privacy and secondly, because Country Den is first and foremost a blog about life in the countryside and not a parenting blog. Phew, I hear you say!

But, to tell this story I need to give you a little background, which, this time around centres around my daughter.

My husband and I had planned for March a trip to see his family in Sweden - the aforementioned father-in-law lives in Stockholm and we try to visit at least twice a year. As you may have predicted from the intro above, things didn't quite go to plan.

The day before we were due to fly, our little one got poorly. A reaction to her immunisations the week before or a tummy bug perhaps, we're still not sure. Whatever the reason, it was enough to thwart our holiday plans and land us in hospital for a few hours, sick with worry and our trip to Sweden in tatters. Even if she felt better the following day (the day of the flight), we couldn't risk taking her to a foreign country, on her very first flight with the possibility she wasn't quite right.

My husband had the week off, so not wanting to waste the chance of some fun holiday time, we decided to have a few outings closer to home.

Day one and with a much happier little baby, we set off in the car to Dorset. Based in Hampshire, the seaside is never too far from our door and with such lovely weather forecast, a day out along the south coast seemed like a good option.

First stop, Sandbanks, just outside of Bournemouth.

It may look like a still from an episode of Baywatch - golden sands, blue skies and sunshine - but this is the UK. It was cold. With a bundled-up baby and woolly layers for us, we took a stroll taking in the picturesque beach and enjoying the feel of the sun on our faces (baby was under cover, of course). Summer seemed just that bit closer despite the chilly wind.

Moving on, we jumped back in the car and took a very short ferry from Sandbanks over to Studland Bay. This National Trust-owned nature reserve is home to beautiful sandy beaches, heathland and views of Old Harry Rocks. With a young baby in tow it wasn't possible to walk along the entire four miles of beach but a quick stop-off for photos and a trundle in the seaside breeze was a joy.

Just a short hop from Studland is a piece of English history dating back over 1,000 years. Corfe Castle, although a ruin, is a spectacular sight to behold as it stands proud (yet war-torn) over the Purbeck countryside.

*Travel tip... the castle is a very popular tourist destination, particularly in the summer. And, even during March, the surrounding National Trust carparks were full to the brim. So much so that we couldn't park so had to make do with a drive past in the car.

Although, it is on a 55-metre hill so perhaps we were saved having to lug the baby to the top (this time round)!

It really was a whistle-stop tour of Dorset with numerous breaks for nappy changes and feeds ruling how long we could spend at each spot but was still so lovely to get out and about, breathing in the salty sea air, taking in the stunning coastlines and castles. Albeit, it was a little further south than our original intended destination.