If you need to take a vacation away from your vacation then Swanage might be your cup of tea. As vacation towns go Swanage is busy and bustling. It reminded me of Sauble Beach, Ontario (Canada). It has a long sandy beach, gaming establishments, lots of fast food restaurants and other tourist traps along the main drag with cheap merchandise. Further away from the main drag you can find pricey, yet high quality food.

We arrived Sunday afternoon, parked at the Youth Hostel and set about exploring. We squeezed into a bare patch of sand on the crowded beach and the kids splashed away in the shallow water. We explored the town and pier so we would have a better idea of where things were the next day.

Dinner in Swanage the first evening was at The Parade- Fish and Chip. This was mainly for the scientific research I am conducting. It was a solid third out of all three places I’ve surveyed. I think Swanage is where we realized that the British either don’t pre-salt or they under-salt their chips. I guess this allows you to over-salt them on your own. That wasn’t the most earth shattering “Ah Ha!” moment that I had in though.

Try not to judge me harshly on this. The biggest eureka moment for me in Swanage is that British chips are not fries. Chips are larger chunks off of the potatoes. Not at all like the skinny limp North American fries we eat. We knew the naming difference beforehand but it is clear now that they are different in more than just name.

International Youth Hostels are probably going to save us a fortune on this trip. We stayed at the Swanage Youth Hostel on the Sunday evening. These hostels often have private rooms that will accommodate 5-6 people and they are also competitively priced. In our upcoming stay in Caen I have to rent two hotel rooms for the five of us. The room with two single beds is €98, the room with a double bed and a sofa is €118, and it includes breakfast. In Canadian dollars that is $282. That puts us over budget for that day. Swanage a major touristy town only set us back $218 CND at the hostel. This is why we do WorkAway so we can off set the over budget days with the practically-free days.

Saturday morning had us up, eating, and boarding the Fortuna. We sailed North towards Poole past The Old Harry Rocks. On board there was bad coffee and fun banter from the captain. He shared details about that section of the Jurassic Coast and gave out tidbits about the expensive properties along the entrance to Poole’s harbour. We were hoping for more Jurassic facts and less David Beckham gossip, but it was a fun tour overall.

After the boat tour we went to a lovely café called LoveCake. Madeline had searched this one out after reviewing many menus. One thing we’ve appreciated about the U.K. is that there are often plenty of vegetarian and vegan options wherever you go. Bravo U.K.! I had my first Welsh rarebit and the rest of the family had halloumi salad. I will be having Welsh rarebit at every opportunity that presents itself, regardless of heart health.

With our batteries recharged from lunch we went back for more beach time. It was just as jam-packed as the day before. We only stayed a few hours in the scorching sun before getting blue slushies and driving up to Studland.

Hiking there gave us a different perspective of The Old Harry Rocks. Of course the kids also INSIST on getting as close to the edge of the cliffs as possible. My heart palpitations we not a result of the cheesy Welsh rarebit from lunch. It was from the thought of losing a child over the edge. At one point Lydia wanted to walk on a narrow path with plunging cliffs on both sides. Thankfully there was a dead seagull there to dissuade her. I think they enjoy stressing me out. I walk away. It is my main coping mechanism when it comes to potential children-falling-off-cliff-problems.

We climbed quite high up past Old Harry Rocks and were rewarded with a view of Swanage from high, high above. We weren’t alone in our hike there were plenty of cows and sheep with us. Being able to walk through pasture land is still odd. I appreciate that the farmers allow it or perhaps that they have to let us. It has allowed us to see so much of England’s countryside. This hike was a tough 6.2 km with lots of elevation gain.

After our hike we made our way home (Cerne Abbey) for a later supper. It was spaghetti and it was good. It was a great vacation away from our vacation. Except for the cliffs, that was not okay.

If you have advice for dealing with children-falling-off-cliff-problems please drop me a note below. And no, tethering them to ME is not a solution.