After near on a four-hour drive, we check into our shepherd’s hut in West Bexington before heading to West Bay to catch a cab back to Burton Bradstock. With the rain dripping on the windscreen, we nearly turn back to the comfort of our hut!

Head up the hill behind the Hive Beach Cafe and along the path between the cliff top and the farmers’ fields enjoying the view of the little hamlets nestled in the rolling hills divided up by the straight lines of the dry stone walls.

The path descends steeply to Freshwater Beach. Here stands an enormous, but quite neatly laid out, caravan park with the river Bride running alongside. We meander along the picturesque river and up a little to find the wooden footbridge. Nigel reminisces about his stay here as a young child with his family.

Climbing the next hill, sandwiched between the red cliff and golf course, we enjoy watching the sea birds. We can tell it’s nesting season as many of them have mouths stuffed with twigs ready to build their nest in the cliff side.. I hope the cliff stays there long enough for their little ones to fledge as a large chunk of this cliff collapsed only a couple of months ago – rope and pin marks the spot. The guy who pinned that up was very brave!

The pathway or grass and muddy bank descending into West Bay is treacherous and we take it extremely slowly, thankfully staying on two feet, although I do wonder if laying on your side and rolling down would be easier and so much quicker. That’s the five year old in me coming out again!

We wander round the little harbour, which looks like it’s had considerable work done to it recently. An incoming fishing boat pulls into the harbour. On the west side of the harbour are several new apartments built very sensitively to their surroundings, only a few stories high and few straight lines, behind are some mid twentieth century apartments which I’m guessing would have been desirable in their time?

Thankfully we have dodged the rain storms as its time to head somewhere for dinner to celebrate our anniversary, after a false start we end up at The Rise, drinking Porn Star Martinis as the sun goes down!