Tuesday 8th April 2025

 

West Bexington to Abbotsbury.  3.7 miles

It’s another taxi situation – hopefully the last of this trip.  We drive to Abbotsbury.  We are meeting our driver in the car park, but we avoid the charges by parking in the street.

Our driver is Garry, an interesting man indeed.  He lives completely off grid in a horse box parked on an industrial estate in Bridport.  Originally from the Midlands, he went with his parents to South Africa as a child.  He came back as an adult and worked as a machine tool operator.  He then had a serious health problem, which is why he has ended up living in a Dorset horsebox driving taxis.  He seems perfectly happy.  The journey to West Bexington cost £25.00.

It's another easy walk which takes in some Abbotsbury sightseeing.  We pay £27 each to visit the Swannery.  Apparently swans are normally solitary and territorial.  It’s unique for them to all come in a great huddle.  The swannery was started by the monks of Abbotsbury and has been there ever since. 

                                                The Abbotsbury Swannery

We also check out the ruins of the abbey, which must have been big, and look at the surviving great barn.  It is vast but only half of what it was in monkish days.

We are in time for a late lunch in The Swan.  This time it’s ploughman’s. £13.85 each.

Back in Weymouth we fall into the Black Dog again.

Our room has finally been done.  It’s taken three days of chivvying.  The staff are willing, but you get the feeling that they are struggling to keep the old place going.  The Jubilee is tired and needs a lot of money spent to bring it up to a decent standard.  We decide that we have purged our unintended extravagance at ‘Catch on the Harbour’ and treat ourselves to the Rockfish. That’s when we learn we were among the very first customers at Lyme Regis Rockfish.