Dorset delight 3

Last Monday we had a wonderful walk from Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door then inland via one of Dorset's many caravan sites. Ever since arriving in the county, we'd been amazed at how nice people were, and we decided that these so-called caravan sites were actually re-education camps for people who weren't nice.

After our hike, we returned to the bay to soak in the sun and get our faces round the excellent Purbeck ice creams. This being a holiday, I had a serious chocolate with a scoop of clotted cream on top. J went for the Honeycombe Hash. Very very good.

Our roast on Sunday evening was a lovely chicken from Washingpool Farm - it did a fine job of furnishing us with two suppers, a lunchtime noodle salad and stock for a rissotto at the end of the week. Lamb wasn't on the menu, but we did admire this cutey in a field on the way into Lyme. The kerbside was awash with the first wild garlic leaves.

By midweek, we were running low on bread and on a visit to Weymouth we were thrilled to stumble on Aidan Chapman's Phoenix Bakery.

The yeasty smells in the shop were fantastic, and we picked up a warm loaf of sunflower seeds and spelt. Perfect for J who's not eating wheat at the moment. It really was a fantastic loaf, and stayed moist until it was all gobbled up. Aidan runs a bakery school - now that's a seriously good reason to return to Dorset.

The other brilliant bakers that I already knew about is Leakers, in Bridport, where Aidan used to work. We did visit it was were on our way home - my cider and cheese loaf got nibbled all the way back to Tottenham, and the apple cake was a natural with clotted cream.
All in all, we had a brilliant time. Food, weather and people all great, and I've fallen in love with Dorset. I hope I can return soon.