We don’t want to linger long at home after our Cornwall trip, so we’re soon off again- and again in a westerly direction within our own county of Dorset.

The village of Wool, near Wareham is a small community, but has a railway station, two pubs and a convenience store, plus a camp site. The site is across the road from the railway, which must be crossed before accessing one of the two pubs [which Husband has deemed the better from his exploration of the village]. The snag is that there’s a barrier to climb over and a bridge with a lot of steps. Still…

It’s surprising to see so many permanent units on the site, with people coming for the weekend and leaving again- most arriving to caravans by car; most with dogs. Wool village is not especially characterful and has little in the way of visitor attractions. Having said this, there is a well known tank museum nearby at Bovington and also ‘Monkey World’, a rescue centre for all manner of apes, which had its own TV series at one time.

This is a very doggy site, with dogs the main topic of conversation. One man for whom his golden retriever is clearly the centre of his life stops to chat as we loll about outside our van, wanting to relate their experiences of a local dog show that was on this weekend. ‘He came second!’ he boasts, as the dog cocks his leg against the refuse bins. Once he’s realised that our interest doesn’t stretch beyond polite he moves swiftly on.

Husband sets off walking [with camera] and I settle to a book. Later I tackle the challenge of getting to the pub, breaching the barrier and mountaineering the steps up and down the railway bridge- which I do.

The pub here [The Ship Inn] has a good looking menu. The food and the beer are splendid and although the garden is bathed in sunlight, we choose to sit inside in the shade.

It has been a pleasant couple of days but we’re moving again, for a return visit to Chickerell, near Weymouth. It’s a huge site, once a huge farm. It’s a fairly extensive operation with many staff, a well-stocked shop, a bar/restaurant with basic pub grub and access to the wonderful coast path which also fringes gorgeous Chesil Beach.

We get tucked into a spot by a hedge with a view down to the sea. Husband can meander down and along the path [which, to be fair, I have walked before when my legs worked] and we can take advantage of the barn bar. There’s also a couple of paddocks with amiable donkeys, gregarious goats and noisy geese. While Husband is off on his wandering, I hobble along to the enclosures and sneak a couple of carrots to the donkeys and goats. While a sign says it’s not allowed to feed them, it isn’t chips or anything unsuitable.

The weather has turned a little overcast, but nothing too unpleasant so we just need to find one more site for a couple of nights before we return home. But it’s easier said than done.

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com