I’ve honestly enjoyed each of my 25 house moves… well, apart from one hasty exit from a London rental after discovering the tenant upstairs kept a venomous snake on his landing.
There’s always been a good reason to move – career paths, trading up, needing more space, needing less space, running out of wallspace for art, recognising potential for a project, converting something or creating something new. My favourite home of them all was a cottage in the grounds of a ruined castle in Wiltshire which we rented between a house sale and purchase. We weren’t there when the castle starred in a major movie but it was great fun to wake up to the sound of battle re-enactments that summer and to fell our own tree in the woods that Christmas. Renting this also made us preferred buyers when the perfect cottage in Shaftesbury came along.
Born and bred near the Dorset/Wiltshire border I moved to London, Berkshire and Somerset never accepting there was anywhere quite as beautiful as the Dorset countryside and coastline. When the opportunity arose to move again, I spotted “The One” and here we still are, on the Dorset coast over five years later and believing it to be the best decision of them all.
Life on the coast is special and I think it’s the combination of a healthy outdoor lifestyle, endless opportunities to get out on the water, imaginative restyling of maritime buildings into bars and restaurants, fabulously challenging walks along the Jurassic coastline and a thriving arts’ and creative scene. There are no motorways or cities in Dorset but parts of Bournemouth and Poole – Westbourne with its pretty arcade and Ashley Cross’s café vibe for example – have a London Village atmosphere with plenty of green space and Blue Flag beaches just a few miles away.
We have eye-wateringly expensive Beach Huts grouped around a great bar at Hengitsbury Head; polo on the beach, the lovely Harry Redknapp and the iconic Ferry at Sandbanks; walks along Old Harry Rocks with views of the Isle of Wight; the lovely old pier at Swanage paved with brass memorial plaques; Weymouth Bay with its donkey rides from where we walked 26 undulating miles for charity via Lulworth Cove to Corfe Castle, experiencing some of the most beautiful views in the county. Our stripy lighthouse at Portland Bill is a beacon to shipping and the countryside from Chesil Beach to Lyme Regis is still fairly undiscovered, although you’ll find some lovely pubs tucked away along narrow lanes and the views from Golden Cap are breathtaking.
There’s so much more to discover in Dorset and there’s a huge range of properties on or near the coast. Whether you’re looking for a sophisticated lifestyle, a rural retreat or a buzzing town location you’ll find it here.
