Oh I do like to be beside (Swanage's) seaside (Swanage in general)

Member Name: markysparky

Product:	Swanage in general
Date:	22/06/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A traditional resort which hasn't sold out to the forces of Mammon

Disadvantages: Not for ravers looking for all-night entertainment

Swanage is a small Dorset seaside town with a big heart. It's sandwiched between the mightier Bournemouth/Poole (15 miles by road to the East) and Weymouth (15 miles to the West). It's out on a bit of a limb, near the foot of the Purbeck peninsular, but well worth a special effort to get there. By car, you're restricted to the A351 via (or around) the town of Wareham and onwards through the village of Corfe Castle (amongst others). Other options include the car ferry from Sandbanks to Studland and then driving a few miles into Swanage or picking up a Swanage Railway train from Norden (a private railway with a regular diesel, sometimes steam, train service running the 6 miles to Swanage (check the railway's internet site for timetables, special theme days and fares).

Swanage lies in a lovely little corner of our Isles. It faces out over the English Channel and the Isle of Wight's cliffs are easily visible on a clear day. The sandy beach is narrow and stretches out for about 3/4 of a mile. It isn't as glorious as its nearby cousins in Bournemouth and Weymouth and sometimes is heavily matted with seaweed but, that aside, it is popular with families and has all that you'd expect on an English beach (ice cream kiosks, Punch and Judy, deck chair and pedalo hire, beach huts, shops selling buckets, spades and the like etc, etc.

There is so much more to Swanage than its beach. The sea is popular with divers, sailors, rowers, water-skiers, jet skiers and anglers. There is excellent walking to be had from Swanage - to the north east there's a magnificent coastal walk to the NT's Studland beaches (about 3 miles) and west from Swanage you soon meet up with the delights of the Durlston Country Park (complete with activity centre, cafe, lighthouse, massive rock globe and bird watching and dolphin viewing points). Keep walking and in a couple of miles you can enjoy the delights of the Stone and Compasses pub in Worth Matravers (highly recommended - look it up on squareandcompasspub.co.uk/).

Back to Swanage itself. It does have 2 amusement arcades - modern, well-run affairs owned by the Kays chain - and some shops where sticks of rock and similar can be purchased, but this is not, in any way, an overly commercialised resort. It is generally clean, in good order and prosperous. There are many interesting shops, loads of decent eating (and drinking) establishments - my personal favourites being Beavers restauarant in Institute Road (they do a smashing all day breakfast) and Earthlights in the High Street (wonderful light meals, cream teas and drinks and very reasonably priced).

In the summer months there's a vibrancy around Swanage. It hosts many special events throughout these busy months ( a festival, firework displays, air displays, fetes). A recent visit coincided with a gathering of classic motorbike enthusiasts - over 200 bikes were proudly displayed along the main seafront - a spectacular sight and just the sort of thing you can unexpectedly stumble across on a visit to this town. There's a lot of well kept green space within a short stroll of the seafront (including a good childrens' play area).

As you've probably gathered, I'm a big Swanage fan. I've loved visiting this gem (which is 45 miles from my hometown) since the age of 6 (40 years ago) and my young kids love it themselves. It is a special, friendly sort of place that can get crowded but never feels oppressive. Those looking entertainment of the nighclub, late-night bar variety would be disappointed - Swanage isn't that sort of place, most others will surely find something to put a smile on their face.

Summary: A treat, a delight, I'll never tire of visiting this gem.