A return to Vivi's Swanage

Corfe Castle

9 - 12 July 2025 (Wednesday to Saturday)

Wednesday morning, and we were up early as we were off to spend a few days in Swanage with Vivi (of Vivi's Kitchen Garden) at her Cottage by the Sea.  Again, a trip seemed to be coinciding with another heat wave over the days that we were to be away, so I was down at the plot to do some really early morning watering; I thought it sensible to get as much deeply watered as possible. 

After breakfast, and packing our bags and making a few snacks for the journey, we got into Fenella and after a quick pit stop at our local garage to check tyre pressures, we were on our way, soon wending our way down the M3 and onwards through Surrey, Hampshire and into Dorset.  We had a necessary (for me) toilet break at Winchester services, where on the way out I couldn't resist a Greggs vegan sausage roll which we ate in the car; neither roll was as warm as we’d wanted it to be but the taste was rather lovely.

Post stuffing our faces, a beautiful butterfly landed on Richard's bracelet as he was sitting in the car with the door open; it just stayed on his bracelet licking his skin, possibly taking either moisture or salts. Even with some gentle blowing encouragement the butterfly didn't want to move, so eventually Richard got out of the car and moved to an area of trees where there was lots of shade, and the butterfly decided it was time to move on… just as we then did, continuing our journey down to Swanage. 

After much motorway and many country roads, we were greeted at Vivi’s front door with many hugs.  Happy Huggy Days!!

It was time to unpack Fenella, ensuring she had nothing remaining visible to curious passersby, then we drove up the hill a little bit further and parked in free parking a few streets away. Back at Vivi's Cottage by the Sea and after a cup of tea and much chat, we had lunch which Vivi had already prepared which was a fantastic Greek salad which we had with bread and dips of my hummus which Vivi’d made and also an edamame hummus which was new to me and absolutely delicious - I got the recipe from Vivi straight away, and as it’s just a few swap outs of my own is another easy one to do.

Lots of table chatting and garden talk, and then at the end of the afternoon, we popped down to walk along the seafront, had an ice cream and sat down and watched people enjoying themselves, sitting quietly as the Swanage world went on around us. As we sat, I was somewhat surprised to hear some rousing Chairman Mao style music, with a host of voices singing along to galvanising Chinese music… it took me half an hour to realise it was actually British sea shanties emanating from the pirate and Jurassic Park themed Sante-Fe Fun Park behind us, landside of the main promenade road!  How our mind plays tricks with us…

In the evening, we had one of Vivi’s delicious mild curries outside in Vivi's fabulous cottage garden.

The growth rate of the garden since our last visit in May has been phenomenal, with tomatoes way way higher than my own at the plot and growth on plants that I’d given Vivi much stronger than I have at the plot myself.  I think the soil must be really good, though also, and MOST importantly, all the genuine hard graft that Vivi’s put in turning a tired overgrown back garden space into a flourishing veg patch with lots of flowers and LOTS of wildlife.  Sitting at her wonderful table, the hard graft has to be admired and applauded.  When Vivi says she's going to do something she certainly gets on and does it, and with her garden, or rather her producing garden I should say, the effort is really paying off, and in so many ways.

We sat out chatting and laughing until the light had gone, and even after this Vivi brought candles out, so chats and star-gazing continued. At the very end of the evening we went in and sat down in Vivi's living room for half an hour or so before getting off to bed… and of course, a few pages of my book. 

After the first swim in the sea...

Thursday saw me up early, and at the kitchen table having a cup of tea. I didn’t have the knack for the back door, though Richard was up soon after and then Vivi joined us and we sat out at her garden table chatting away, and Richard and myself having a breakfast of All Bran.

After breakfast, it was down to the beach again, this time walking farther than we'd walked before, right across the promenade and in front of the beach huts, and then over the groynes which are there to reduce the impact of the waves on the beach huts and cliff, and then to a space on the sand where the nearest person was 200 meters away. It had been very hot on our walk, and I decided immediately to do something that I hadn't really expected to do, and that was to go for a swim in the sea… even though I wasn’t prepared for one!

As Vivi was getting her dress off, bending over to undo her shoes, she looked to the side and saw that I was already down to my knickers and vest and pacing off towards the lapping water.  Very soon Vivi followed in her bathing costume, and in we both went… cautiously at first, just feeling the temperature of the water on our toes and ankles and shins and knees and thighs and, well, other bits…

Once I was up to my waist, and with my face turned towards Vivi in the shallower waters and Richard sitting on the beach, I let myself lean back and fall into the water… and then immediately started swimming as it felt rather chilly… After a few moments, my brain began to realise quite how delicious this whole experience was… and a few metres away there was our Vivi, fully in too and we were both swimming, each finding warm patches, or making our own… 

We stayed in swimming and chatting and laughing and in my case crying for about half an hour or so.  

The last time I'd even seriously paddled in water was 10 years ago with mum at Rocquaine in Guernsey, a few days after dad had died… memorable in so many ways, especially it being my 50th birthday. Mum was in her bathing costume and I was up to my thighs in water and we were just walking along the shoreline looking out at the fabulous view of the sea, and then looking back at the fabulous view of Guernsey.  It was a moment to reflect, and a moment to treasure. Now, a decade on, and with mum now gone, I was having my first time in seawater since that moment, so not surprisingly emotions rose to the surface… just like my blubber-filled body did as I quietly laid back, floating on the surface of the silently whooshing waves.

I hadn't really come prepared to swim, as I hadn't hugely expected to be swimming, but Vivi had come prepared and she and I sat on a towel she’d brought, drying off in the warm breeze and sunshine, chatting away with Richard. We sat there for half an hour or more, with the sun beating down and the salt crystals forming on our skins, and then we packed our things up and started walking our way back to Vivi’s Cottage by the Sea. For both Vivi and myself, this first swim had been special and emotional and essential in so many ways… and we had done it together… which was bloody marvelous!  Happy Days indeed!!

Back home (note the use of the word home - as it already feels like a home away from home), and still flushed with the joy of having swum, it was time for lunch and Vivi heated up some of her delicious Courgette & Potato Soup, added some grated cheddar, and we had leftover dips and bread with spread for lunch, again sitting at her table out in Vivi's lovely cottage garden, chatting and watching the wildlife fly by… butterflies and hummingbird moths, and bees and wasps and hoverflies, and then of course seagulls and town pigeons and country pigeons and doves and so much else, all with the occasional backdrop of a hoot and a chuff chuff from the railway line, and tinkly chiming bells of the local church striking the hour and half hour.  Bliss!

In the evening, we decided we’d go out and have chips so we went to Vivi’s favoured chippie, ordered a portion of chips for Vivi, cod and chips for Richard, and haddock and chips for me.  With wrapped paper bags filled with goodies in our hands, we made our way along the front to a short pier, which is actually called Stone Quay as it's where local small ferries dock.  A bench was free, so we sat down to eat our seaside suppers, with seagulls keeping an eye, and one dive bombing my chips though not quite getting away with one… it's only when a seagull is close up to you and literally flying over your lap and have a wing bashing your shoulder as it passes, that you suddenly realise quite how big, how strong and how heavy a seagull can be!

A labrador helping out at the seaside... Photo courtesy of Vivi of 'What Vivi did next' and 'Vivi's Kitchen Garden'.

After our fish supper (a very rare thing for Richard and myself now as we only ever have when we’re at the seaside, as fish never features in any shopping basket) and chippie supper for Vivi (Vivi eats no fish), we watched all around us, enjoying the water, and the sun and the sumptuous air that only a seaside town like Swanage can do; suntanned kids jumping off piers into deep water, others on inflatable paddle boards being dragged out of the water by a tugging labrador, and water lapping calmly and endlessly against any surface it wants.

A little walk along the front to Banjo Pier, and then it was back home and back to the table in Vivi's cottage garden at her Cottage by the Sea, and time for a few rounds of Yahtzee.  Happy Days!! 

An influencer at work!

Corfe Castle Battlements

Friday morning, and we’d already planned to drive back up the valley to visit Corfe Castle, which you cannot NOT see as you pass by on your way to and out of Swanage.  Imposing… ruined… majestic.  Richard had wanted to visit it on our first trip to Vivi's Swanage, though there just wasn't time, so this time we made time.

So, after breakfast we walked up the remainder of Cardiac Hill that Vivi lives on, across and then up Cardio Hill, which is even steeper.  Fenella was patiently waiting a short distance away on the next crossroad, and we piled into her and began our short journey to Corfe Castle.

Now, Richard and I are members of the National Trust though we’d forgotten that Corfe Castle was a National Trust property… and also forgotten our membership cards! Despite this, we decided that if we couldn't get in with our membership numbers it was worth the cost just to have a walk around this magnificent castle with so much history. 

Parking up, and going into the Welcome Centre, I asked about parking and membership and the lovely lady immediately said it was not a problem and that our membership could be looked up at the Ticket Office, which was a 10 to 15 minute walk away. She also gave me a slip of paper with the date of our visit specified, so back to Fenella I popped to put the gifted slip on Fenella’s windscreen, to ensure that we wouldn't get charged the penalty fee for not paying for parking. Delighted, I walked back to the Welcome Centre, met up with Vivi and Rochard again… and in the short time I’d been away Vivi had been scouring the shelves of secondhand books for sale… so back off I went to Fenella to fill her boot with Vivi’s wordy gems.

Crossing the road carefully, we made our way along the incredibly white chalk path, glistening with sunshine and shadows, over a brook and then wound our way up around the castle battlements to the Ticket Office. Sure enough, they were able to look up our membership and give us tokens which would give us free entry to the castle… technology can be a boon!

The walk was pretty rough underfoot, and the castle always were too, though we had such a fantastic time; sometimes walking and chatting the three of us, sometimes in twos, and sometimes just individually wandering around taking pictures and video and watching the train coming in or leaving Corfe Castle station. Also, there are peregrines nesting at the top of the battered battlements which seems so apt, and two of them were happy to show themselves during the time we were there, both looking down on us and occasionally making the noises that are now so familiar over my allotment.

I think we must have spent about an hour and a half wandering the castle, and then meandered back down through the huge gateway and into the cafe garden, where we ordered a cream tea, a savoury cream tea and Vivi had a quiche of some sort, I think it had red onion marmalade in it which also came with the savoury cream tea.  We hoped that we'd be able to sit in the garden, in the shade, though there was a Wasp Alert on which was signalled on signs and that we were told about at the time of ordering… so once we had sat down and the jam for the cream tea was noted by the wasps, we decided to move inside and have our food and drink in the cafe rather than in the wonderful garden… even so, a wasp followed us in and stayed with us, flying and feasting on a little bit of jam that had somehow made its way onto Richard’s bag.

After our little repaste we had a wander of the little village of Corfe Castle, window shopping, visiting the little museum, then crossing over and visiting the rather fabulous railway station. The station itself is a throwback to yesteryear and I think manned completely by volunteers. The train that goes through is powered by steam and goes down to Swanage and up the other way a stop or two.  It always amazes me how the time and generosity of a few individuals has ensured that these historic railways and stations and railway lines remain intact, something I think we often forget, sadly.

Walking back along the chalk path to Fenella, who was quietly waiting in the car park, we then drove back to Vivi’s for further chats and laughs and games and fabulous food (Vivi's delicious Fassolada) and an evening outside, at her table, in her cottage garden of her Cottage by the Sea, with candles burning and under the crisp starry sky… listening to various jazz sessions glistening over Swanage as part of its annual Jazz Festival at the start of the British summer holiday season.

Swanage Bay

Saturday was another planned day in many ways, mainly as it was the day that we were going to be leaving and driving back to a rather hot and sticky London. However, we’d decided that we’d go for another swim, so after some bran flakes we all got ready, which for Vivi meant putting on her bathing costume and for me and Richard meant just dressing like we normally do… no, I’d not bought any swimming shorts yet as I hadn't seen any that I really fancied… though to be fair, I hadn't really looked either!

Off we went again, down the very short journey into Swanage town, and then left along the beach front to Ocean Bay and then just a bit beyond. It was still early in the morning, around 8:30 or 9 and there were already loads of people bundling onto the main beaches of this fabulous resort. However, and thankfully, where we went it was still pretty quiet; there were a few people between the groynes that we chose to swim from, and some of the beach huts were open or being opened by their owners. As with Thursday, I went in with my knickers and T-shirt and Vivi in her slinky bathing costume.

At first, the water seemed a little bit cooler than on Thursday; maybe because it was early in the morning and the sun hadn't been beating down for several hours warming the top few inches or more. However, we were both soon fully in and again paddled and swam away each to our heart's content, literally as swimming is such a good exercise and gets the heart pumping.

It’s only on occasions like this, filled with deep joy, I remember how much swimming was a part of my life growing up. From a very early age, as a baby mum would leave me in a pram or pushchair outside the front door of mum and dad's B&B, and if mum went back at 9:15 and I was gone she knew that she had the day to herself to get on with washing and cleaning and making dinner for all the guests that evening.  A visitor or visitors would have taken me off to the beach or to town or to wherever they were going for the day. Most often, it was to the beach and for many years the beach was just an intrinsic part of my life… sand, sea, sandwiches, smiles - even then always a sanctuary too. Maybe one day it will be so again, though just now, for these precious moments of Vivi and I being in the water, it felt so right, and so good, and so joyous. 

Again, we sat on a towel on the sand and dried off a little bit, and then walked back along the seafront where by now the beaches and walkways were just bustling with folk, and buckets and spades and float boards and sandwich bags, and windbreakers and little shelters, and many smiles with the hope of a fun day out. 

Back at Vivi’s Cottage by the Sea, Richard made toast and the three of us sat at the table in Vivi's cottage garden, enjoying proper toast topped with a spoon or two of Purbeck honey from a pot that Vivi had bought specifically for our visit… it was totally delicious, and another slice or two was had by each of us. 

The rest of the morning was leisurely chatting and packing and washing-up and watering the plants in the garden and filling watering cans and doing 101 things, and then it was time for the final feast of this visit which was a cheese and tomato sandwich made by Richard.

Sitting at the table, with the smell of salt in the air and seagulls above it once again took me back to being a kid, eating cheese and tomato sandwiches on the beach at L’Eree, almost six decades ago; a cheese and tomato sandwich when there’s salt in the air will always bring memories back off the perfect fodder for a beach.  The only difference with our sandwich today was that it hadn't trundled its way down to a beach in the Tupperware and sat sweating under a towel in the shade for an hour or two, so our fabulous sandwich was cool and crisp and just the right temperature, rather than warm, and floppy, and tasty and welcomed as was often the case when we were kids on the beach.  Happy Days!!

It was soon time to wend our way back to London, and with lots of hugs and a little planning for our next visit, I walked up Cardiac Hill and Cardio Hill to collect Fenella, drove her down, pulled in outside of Vivi's Cottage by the Sea and then we packed our bags back in, had more hugs, and started our relatively uneventful journey back to London, where things would begin getting back to normal… including a visit to the plot in the evening to check on how things were doing and to give plants a water if needed, and recording Sunday Chat on Sunday morning… an event in itself!


Weather:  Sunny throughout, with a slight breeze, and very warm… though quite a few degrees less than the heatwave of 34° in London!

Wednesday
Breakfast:  All Bran and oat milk
Snack:  Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll
Lunch:  Vivi’s Greek Salad (with Feta), hummus, edamame hummus, olives, and bread
Supper: Chickpea, Cauliflower & Mushroom Curry with bread

Thursday
Breakfast:  All Bran and toast
Lunch:  Courgette & Potato Soup, Edamame Hummus, Bread, Olives
Supper:  Haddock & Chips

Friday
Breakfast:  Bran Flakes and All Bran and toast with cherry jam
Lunch:  Savoury Aft Cream Tea (Corfe Castle Tea Room)
Supper:  Vivi's Fassolada and bread

Saturday
Breakfast:  Bran Flakes and toast with Purbeck honey 
Lunch:  Cheese & Tomato Sandwich
Supper:  Broad Bean & Basil Pesto with wholewheat spaghetti and a tomato, cucumber and basil salad