The traveller's logbook - a photo journey to Lulworth

The Bengali, among his/her other great accomplishments, is also born with an insatiable wanderlust! No matter where you go, you are likely to bump into a group of Bengali tourists, complete with bags filled with munchies and ear shattering decibel levels! 

They are with you in the queue waiting to enter St. Peter's, Vatican, they are there when you are taking a dip in the sub zero climes of the Mansarovar in an attempt to wash off your countless sins, you will encounter them if you hire a boat to take yourself to a tiny island in Lombok with a population of 4, and you will even stumble upon them even if you drive to the remotest of villages in the North most part of Scotland. 

You will bump into them in the Sahara, in the rainforests of the Amazon, in the vastness of the Pacific, in the frozen peaks of the Alps and the Himalayas and I have a feeling that when Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic finally reaches space, his page 6 socialites turned space adventurers might just encounter a noisy group of Bengali tourists, already there telling them "been there, done that"!!! 

Now, like every self respecting member of my ilk, I am a traveller at heart. There is nothing I enjoyed more than travelling to foreign lands, planning my itinerary down to the smallest detail, researching the perfect hotel weeks in advance; and then having arrived at my destination, armed with my copy of the Lonely Planet, with my camera hanging around my neck, get busy soaking up the sights, local flavours and local cuisine while my non Bengali (and thus non travel enjoying) husband tagged along, refusing to get out of the car to enjoy a walk in moors of Glencoe, insisting on sitting in the lobby of the Van Gogh museum, while I spent hours gazing at paintings or with his lips pursed in suspicion and a "what on earth is this look" each time I went berserk ordering local fare. 

But that was when we were footloose and fancy free and so we could travel far and wide, without too many worries. But over the last 2 and half odd years, all that has changed drastically because of the 2 little people in our lives. I was always a hyper, obsessive person to begin with but I became even more so with 2 kids and the resultant chaos all around me. Undertaking holidays with 2 babies in tow seemed about as inviting as jumping into shark infested waters with a cut on my arm! So all holidays were put temporarily on hold till the boys were somewhat older. 

Then my sister came along to visit and watching her and her hubby take their little baby girl without any fear of managing a trip with an infant, got us thinking that it is probably not as tough as we make it out to be! So we decided to be brave, emulate their example and take a trip together! It was going to be our first real holiday (in my honest opinion, trips to meet parents and in-laws can never be counted as holidays) in more than 2 years and I was mighty excited. Now I am the planner in the family and I was given the task of choosing the place and I decided on West Lulworth, home to the famous Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic coast, reputedly around 140 million yrs old. 

After a 2hr train ride, we reached the small sleepy little town of West Lulworth. The weather Gods were in a surprisingly good mood and we were in for sunny days and stunning views - rolling fields, green meadows, azure blue skies and a vast blue sea in the distance.

After a short stop over to fortify ourselves at the only fish and chips place in the market, where we realised yet again why Brit food is considered amongst the worst cuisine in the world, we set off for Lulworth cove.

When we reached Lulworth cove, with 3 toddlers under the age of 3 in tow, we discovered that I had forgotten to check if the place was child-friendly! It was a long, steep climb to the cove, through rocky paths and endless stairs that were created keeping hikers and not buggies in mind. It was an uphill task (pun intentional) pushing the buggy up these. On the other hand, the sheer drops and lack of rails along the narrow paths made it impossible to even consider letting the kids run loose!

Nevertheless the place was so beautiful, the views so breath taking, the air so refreshing, we were filled with a sense of well being and bravado! So like true desis, wanting their money's worth, we decided to make the most of our vacation and attempt a trek to the Durdle door along the cliff path! After an unsuccessful attempt to push the buggies uphill, we strapped the boys to their baby backpacks with the tag along reins (leash is such an impolite word), left the buggies parked by the bottom of the cliff and we started our long trek up! The 3 toddlers stepped up - infact while my sis and I were huffing and puffing along, my 2 boys who weren't even 2 & a half then, surprised us by climbing most of the steps up and down the mountain!!! We witnessed some truly magnificent and breath taking sights and I perfected the art of shooting pictures while balancing my heavy DSLR in one hand while holding V2 with the other! And what's more, a kind trekker even helped me carry V2 uphill when he saw me trying to manage a kid, a camera and myself uphill!!!

But the trek seemed never ending and only half way there after a long trek of an hr and a half and with dusk fast approaching, we decided to give up and go back to the comfort of our beautiful 470yr old B&B! The next day, fortified by a full Enlish breakfast and rested, we decided to try a visit to the relic from the Jurassic era, the Durdle door again!

Mission accomplished!!! Even though it had to be from afar as we couldn't go down with the buggies, we still managed a darshan of the monolith from the Jurassic era!!! I was thrilled and promised myself that there will most definitely be a next time, when the boys are older and we can make the trek down to the bottom pf the cliff and see the arch from up close!!!

Now before I end this post, I absolutely must mention the picturesque little hamlet of West Lulworth and the 470yr old B&B, Amy Cottage, where we stayed. Run by Angela and Gary, it is a heady combination of comfort, beauty, whimsy, rustic charm and loads of warmth and hospitality! I discovered it through Trip Advisor and let me tell you that it truly deserves every 5 star review it gets!!! If you were to ever visit Lulworth, I would recommend this as a must do experience!

So long, till the next trip comes along... and now that summer is on its way, it won't be too far off!