Love to be by the sea
Growing up I always wanted to live by the sea, so now that I do I can say I have achieved one of my childhood dreams. Living and working by the sea is, for me, pretty wonderful and is not something I will ever get blasé about. Having a dog means that I get out every day to walk her and more often than not this includes walking on or along the beach (she is not allowed on the beach between 1st April and 31st September). Some of my favourite walks are when it is wet and windy in the winter and we almost have the beach to ourselves.
Wonderful Dorset
Enjoying being out and about locally is a testament to the wonderful natural landscape I have on my doorstep. Poole Harbour and the beach at Sandbanks are popular tourist destinations but I am lucky enough to call them home. Slightly further afield just across the chain ferry at the mouth of Poole Harbour is the spectacular Isle of Purbeck and the Jurassic coast. This is also where England’s longest way-marked footpath starts, the South West coast path, which stretches more than 600 miles along the coast.
Crossing over on the chain ferry from Poole is like entering another country, Studland and much of the coastline from here as far as Bridport in the far west of Dorset is wild, protected and unspoiled. All along the Dorset coast there are amazing views out to sea and picture postcard landmarks such as Kimmeridge Bay, Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door and Chesil beach any of which are good for selfies! Whenever I go walking or biking here it feels like I have gone on holiday and I have to remind myself that I live here! The holiday feeling is further supported by a good number of excellent pubs and cafés that make venturing into the Dorset countryside even more enjoyable!
Embracing outdoor living
Of courses living by the sea has given my family the opportunity to get out on the water, develop a love for all kinds of water activities and really embrace outdoor living. All three of my children have spent endless hours dinghy sailing, windsurfing, paddleboarding, kitesurfing and wakeboarding. Where we live has really enabled me to offer my children the outdoor, active lifestyle that I have always loved and you can’t really get better than that!