First I should explain the year of the swan. It has nothing to do with gliding serenely along but paddling madly beneath. It is simply that we have first holidayed in The Mumbles, which is on SWANsea bay, now we are in SWANage.
Definition of Swanage: an ancient tax levied against those who owned swans.
Anyway, to the events of day 1. The journey was uneventful, or perhaps I should say was amazing. We did not get held up at all. The Grand Hotel is situated on top of the cliffs about a mile outside Swanage. It has fantastic views of the bay. Being a Victorian edifice it is full of light and has high ceilings giving it an open airy feel. There are downsides though. The shower was a real disappointment, the pressure and temperature are VERY variable at time of high use. "WiFi ís available in public areas" the publicity says = WiFi is detectable and occasionally usable in the lobby.
Definition of Swanage: an ancient tax levied against those who owned swans.
Anyway, to the events of day 1. The journey was uneventful, or perhaps I should say was amazing. We did not get held up at all. The Grand Hotel is situated on top of the cliffs about a mile outside Swanage. It has fantastic views of the bay. Being a Victorian edifice it is full of light and has high ceilings giving it an open airy feel. There are downsides though. The shower was a real disappointment, the pressure and temperature are VERY variable at time of high use. "WiFi ís available in public areas" the publicity says = WiFi is detectable and occasionally usable in the lobby.
Once we had settled into our room we walked along the the beach, in front of the beach houses into town. It was a lovely day and I was concerned about sun burn, but I survived. There is little going on at the theatre - just a film that neither of us are interested in. We visited the TI (tourist information) and got some leaflets. It looks like most of the things we are going to do are dog friendly - but we did not bring the dog. We did meet a 7 year old greying chocolate Labrador bitch who was very friendly. After wandering around the town we returned to the hotel, had a drink in the conservatory, and then a shower before hitting the restaurant - dress code duly applied. The food was good, but the portions not great although I did have to help Jo finish the apple cake. Most remarkable thing though was the service - poor. Our starters were delivered after two couples who arrived a quite while after us, and the apology was grudging.
The bed is standard size, so my feet stick out the end. We had a rather disturbed night, partly because of the heat and partly because the TV decided to blink its bright LEDs at 3:15am for about 5 minutes.
Breakfast is in tomorrows report. Now we are headed to Old Harry's rocks.
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