Sarah, Stewart, Stephen, Rob and Dan went for a weekend of sea kayaking, (intentional) swimming and camping in Dorset on 5/6 September.  

 

We drove down early to the best of the National Trust car parks in Studland Bay where we began a return trip paddle to Anvil Point lighthouse.  On Studland beach we encountered a group from our neighbours, Putney Bridge Canoe Club, also preparing their boats and we engaged in a friendly faffing competition with them to see who would be slowest to launch (they won narrowly).  

 

The sea was very calm as we set off and we passed Old Harry's rocks without incident, stopping for photos, and had an early picnic lunch on the beach just before Swanage.  We then persuaded Stewart that we should change our initial plan (which had been to turn round at Swanage) and we pressed on until we could see Dancing Ledge.  Durlston Bay turned out to be more attractive than Swanage Bay and the unusual geology of the area was apparent even to us (the white chalk turns to shale near Swanage).  

 

Two mackerel sacrificed themselves in order to give Rob his first ever catch and there was some black comedy as he despatched them by battering them on the deck of his plastic kayak.  We also struck up a conversation with two tandem kayakers in Swanage with the largest (and heaviest) kayak we had ever seen.    

 

Our return leg was livened up enormously by the tide race that was running at Old Harry's Rocks.  The wind was too strong to sneak between the rocks and it took some powerful paddle strokes to punch through the standing waves at the entrance to Studland Bay.  This sting in the tail of our trip came as something of a surprise, because it was neaps.  Perhaps the swell was the cause?  However, the water in the Bay was pleasantly warm (for England) and Rob, Stephen and Sarah decided to go for a swim once we had landed our boats on the beach.

 

After paddling we set up our tents in Tom's Field in Langton Matravers.  It is a nice little campsite with rabbits hopping all over the place and some slightly eccentric campers (eg a German had set up his tent on the top of his Skoda).  We then strolled down into the village centre for a filling dinner at the King's Arms.

 

We began our second day by frying and eating the previous day's catch and then clambered down from the campsite to Dancing Ledge where Stephen and Dan swam in the pool cut into the rocks and in the sea.  Various intrepid people were climbing at this location and we were flattered to be mistaken for deep water soloists by one group of climbers (we must have been looking pretty buff in spite of all the pork-based products eaten during the weekend!)    

 

We then drove to Lulworth Cove for a paddle towards Durdle Door.  It was a lovely sunny day and both locations were crowded with tourists including climbers and other paddlers.  Again two of our party swam at lunchtime while the others dozed on the beach or marvelled at the tiny dog passing by on a stand up paddle board (admittedly only as a passenger).  We turned round our own boats at Bat Hole.  Apart from a scary moment where a tourist RIB came careering towards us, the return paddle went very smoothly.  We headed home via the excellent cider pub in East Lulworth. 

 

More photos can be found here.