It’s a classic comment – when you live somewhere you don’t visit the tourist sights. How many Londoners haven’t climbed Tower Bridge or taken a look round Buckingham Palace? As I was not only coming to the UK on holiday but also travelling with Laura how had never visited, I decided to treat my stay in Dorset as a tourist would.

Looking down on Lulworth Cove

Which is how we found ourselves in the cute little village of Lulworth at 10am on a nice sunny English day ready to tackle one of the the most iconic stretches of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. As we were with my parents we needed to stop and have a cup of coffee – it seems that retirement requires a coffee break every 2 hours or so, but I made the most of it and had a bacon roll as well in preparation for the hills ahead.

After a quick look at Lulworth Cove, a near-perfect circle opening onto the sea, we tackled the path out of the village up onto the cliffs. After 10 minutes of huffing and puffing we arrived at the top and were rewarded with a spectacular view as far as Old Harry Rocks to the left and Portland to the right.

Dorset's Jurassic Coast

Back of Durdle Door

The highlight of the short version of the walk is without a doubt Durdle Door, which Laura described as looking like a dinosaur taking a drink, which seems fair enough to me.

Durdle Door

We left Mum & Dad at this point and continued eastwards towards Osmington, 5 miles away. There were 3 more steep climbs as the cliffs rose and fell, but each summit provided you with stunning views and an ever-changing vista. Despite having visited Durdle Door with guests several times, I had never ventured east and was amazed at just how beautiful and tranquil it is.

Towards White Nothe

I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot and have visited some truly beautiful places around the world, but I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this stretch of coast can give any of them a run for their money, and all this only 10 miles from where I grew up.

Who needs the Caribbean?

Looking back towards Durdle Door

Down towards Ringstead