5-10 May -it was slightly longer than a weekend, but only just. Jane and Mark’s wedding was the reason for the trip and Sue’s teaching commitments meant that the best we could do was fly out Thursday morning and return on Tuesday afternoon.

As usual we crammed in as much as possible – early morning walks around Wareham, a long walk through the Melbury Estate and a day out with the Leightons. Oh, and we went to the wedding!

Unfortunately we didn’t take any photographs of Claire and Jonathan’s new house. Next time! Perhaps by then the finishing touches and unpacking will be complete!

Changing time zones means that it is easy to get out of bed (for Nigel) to catch the early morning mist on the River Frome and the attendant sun rise.

Two nights in Evershot

The Summer Lodge Hotel, Evershot was the venue for the wedding. The Grade II listed building was once owned by Thomas Hardy and provided a stunning backdrop for Jane and Mark’s ‘big day’.

We arrived on Friday with Claire and Jonathan in time for 12km walk in the park – Melbury Estate and Deer Park. This came after poor directions from the hotel doorman led to a several kilometre circular detour before more accurate instructions from the landlady at the village pub sent us on the correct route out of Evershot.

The Leighton’s in Dorset

Ngaire had finally persuaded Barry to get on a plane and visit Emily in London. Serendipitously, the start of their trip coincided with our stay with Claire and Jonathan. So before Barry and Ngaire could get over their jet lag, Emily had them on an early Monday morning train to Wareham. This gave us a whole day to explore a little bit of the Dorset coast – Kimmeridge, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.

Great to meet friends so far from home and a great way to end this ridiculously short visit.