Monday, 5 June. Weymouth

 There were really only two things left on my list for my last day in Weymouth so I was able to enjoy a slower pace.

I had planned to go to the Wishing Well Tearooms at Upwey for lunch but mucked up my booking and went for morning tea instead - a cream tea right beside the water. Upwey is a sort of outer suburb, slightly north of Weymouth, and the source of the River Wey is a spring in the gardens at the tearooms. Had seen this online before my holiday and it is just as astonishing and pretty as the website indicated. The water really gushes out of the spring as it becomes an 8.8 km long river. Further downstream it is collected to supply water for Portland. 

The one thing I should have packed and didn’t, even though I thought about it, was antihistamines. I have been suffering greatly for three days and worry that people will think I’ve got Covid (although I’ve noticed plenty of other people sneezing and snuffling too). The gardens at the tearooms were the final straw, so back into Weymouth, £3 for parking and into Boots pharmacy for some Claratyne. Within an hour things started to improve, thank goodness. Still a bit sniffly but so much better.

The second place on my list was the Tout Quarry Sculpture Park over on Portland. This is an old quarry that has been turned into a nature reserve and sculpture park. As you wander among the huge old rocks you find an assortment of sculptures and etched patterns and pictures. The paths are not very well-defined and there are lots of little side paths with dead ends. I never found the most famous sculpture. By the time I’d gone up yet another dead end I decided I was hot and tired and the sculpture could stay hidden. It was a really interesting thing to do with an old quarry and kids would have a ball finding all the different sculptures. 

By now it was afternoon tea time and I went back to Upwey for a second go. This time I asked for a pot of hot water and was able to make a decent cup of tea, the best I’ve had since I left home.

Back to my hotel and feet up for an hour or so before going down for a bowl of soup for dinner. That was all I could manage after my two visits to Upwey.

Glad to have had a quieter day today as I’m on the road again tomorrow. Will put in a couple of photos of the instrument panel in my car. Some idiot at Mercedes decided to make the most complicated navigation system he could. Even though it gives excellent directions, it has taken me some time, and downloading the owner’s manual, to come to terms with it. And if you’re imagining me looking suave in my flash car, think again. The body has scratches and even a hole in the back bumper. No one would notice if I added a mark or two - which I haven’t! It is very nice to drive though.