Dorset delight 2

Whenever J and I go on holiday abroad, we always expect a cat to turn up. They know when they see a soft touch. But we hadn't expected to attract one in Dorset. Until Butt Head arrived in a record ten minutes. He came in each evening to lie by the fire.

Our first shop of the hols was at nearby Washingpool Farm Shop, which stocked a fabulous range of local produce, plus some brilliant seasonal treats like blood oranges. I nabbed some rhubarb to roast with the juice of an orange and sugar. We also bought some excellent sheep's cheese from the Wootton Dairy in next-door Somerset. Then we settled down to lunch at the excellent cafe - smoked mackeral salad for J and a cheese and spinach souffle for me. Tasty and just the thing after a long drive.

Our first whole day was gloriously sunny, and we ended up walking from Seatown, over Golden Cap, down to the beach for Charmouth and then inland to Lyme Regis. The views from the top of Golden Cap were amazing.

And here's the view the other way, looking over to Lyme and Charmouth.

We had a good nose round Lyme, and soon saw signs for a new cheeseshop. After clambering down to the Town Mill, we found it.

The Town Mill Cheesemonger has a fantastic array of cheeses, and specialises in West Country products.

We were on a bit of a sheeps' cheese binge, so we scooped up some Beenleigh Blue and a wonderful cheese from Northumberland whose name I've mislaid. It's a lovely shop and it's now on our list of 'must visits' at Lyme.

Lyme has lots of signs up warning you against fraternising with gulls, but I love the vandals. They just don't care, and why should they.