title From Poole to Portland the Slow Way: a Dorset Odyssey - 18th January 2026 intro After hanging out in New Milton with the "Golden Boys", Nosher and Sean head down to Hannah's place in Portland. For a bit of a change, and to use up some time so that Hannah can pack for a trip to Brazil, Sean takes us the long way round with stops at some of the more interesting places. We head off via Poole to get the chain ferry over to Sandbanks. From there, we visit Swanage for a longish stop, with a look at the heritage railway line and a few parked steam locomtives, followed by a walk around on the seafront. Then it's off to Corfe for a quick look at the castle and some bakery products for a snack, with a look at the other end of the heritage line. Finally, we stop off at Wareham before arriving in Portland. The evening plan - after Nosher has cooked Katsu curry for tea - is a trip to the nearby George pub, but it's closed on Sundays so we end up at the sports bar that is the Punchbowl. As a bonus, not only does it have Wadworth's 6X on draught, but it also has a free pool table, so we play a load of Stick. The next day, we have a short walk around the cliffs in Easton after which it's time to be dropped off at Weymouth station, with half an hour to kill by way of a look around the area near the Esplanade. imgp6149 There's another Fred café, this time in Poole imgp6150 A fancy Victoriam arcade in Poole imgp6152 A hazy view over Poole Harbour imgp6153 Sean waits in the car on the chain ferry imgp6158 Cars queue on the Sandbanks side of the ferry imgp6162 Old ferry chains are lined up by the roadside imgp6164 The beach is quiet at Swanage imgp6172 Work is done on a BR Mark 1 coach imgp6173 A very old VW splitty campervan imgp6176 SR U-class 31806 at Swanage imgp6177 Battle of Britain-class 34070 Manston imgp6179 A Class 33 diesel lurks in the sidings imgp6181 We walk past an old VW Polo imgp6184 A Class 08 shunter on the platform at Swanage imgp6186 Sean roams around outside the closed station imgp6187 Looking up Shore Road imgp6189 Some chalk graffiti is refreshed imgp6192 Sean on the old railway tracks by the seafront imgp6195 Someone fishes off Stone Quay imgp6199 There's a cone up a tree imgp6200 Looking over the derelict pier to Old Harry Rocks imgp6202 A K6 phone box on Swanage's High Street imgp6203 Sean walks under the Mowlem theatre imgp6209 The 1967 Mowlem building in Swanage imgp6217 The broken gatehouse of Corfe Castle imgp6218 A view of a thatched cottage from on the Motte imgp6224 A jackdaw perches on a stone imgp6225 Remains of Corfe Castle's keep imgp6226 A view over the village of Corfe imgp6228 More castle remains, survivors of the Civil War imgp6233 The Fox pub on West Street imgp6235 A level-crossing gate at the railway museum imgp6240 Sean looks at Class 33/1 33053 imgp6242 Corfe Castle and a couple of semaphore signals imgp6245 A 1967 poster, when Class 432 4-REPs were modern imgp6250 The castle behind the Greyhound pub imgp6253 The river's fairly full at Wareham imgp6254 The Old Granary on the River Frome imgp6255 Looking up South Street in Wareham imgp6257 A little alley off South Street imgp6258 Saint John's Hill in Wareham imgp6262 The nave of Lady St. Mary imgp6267 An impressive modern stained-glass window imgp6269 Sean looks shifty wandering around the Quay imgp6271 The bascule bridge is up at Weymouth imgp6274 Sean racks up in the Punchbowl imgp6276 There's a free pool table in the Punchbowl imgp6279 The bar of the Punchbowl imgp6286 The unusual church of St. George's in Easton imgp6288 A digger with an enormous stone-cutting chainsaw imgp6293 Some art used to cover up offensive graffiti imgp6294 Portland's "Cliffs of Moher" imgp6297 Sean walks the clifftop path to Blacknor Fort imgp6299 A look back towards Chesil Beach imgp6300 A gun emplacement at Blacknor Fort imgp6301 A jumble of rocks near Blacknor Fort imgp6302 Sean under the remains of the fortifications imgp6303 Graffiti on an electrical box imgp6304 We help someone with a wheelie bin problem imgp6305 The gold postbox on St. George's Estate Road imgp6306 It's still Christmas in Hannah's house imgp6307 Swimmers near the Pier Bandstand on the beach imgp6309 Dog walking on the beach at Weymouth imgp6313 A shelter and the Jubilee Clock on the Esplanade imgp6320 The back streets of Gloucester Mews imgp6324 A colourful mosaic on the railway station imgp6325 Weymouth's platforms two and three imgp6331 An old Covid sign on the platform at Dorchester imgp6343 Striking tags on lineside signalling boxes imgp6345 Parallel lines formed by railway tracks imgp6350 Wall tags and the Shard in Southwark imgp6353 Giant Helch, Rude and Monkey tags imgp6357 Colourful graffiti on a wall imgp6361 Back at Liverpool Street Station imgp6364 The train is ready to leave from Platform 8 imgp6376 Hanging around at Diss Station, waiting for a lift