Swanage is a picturesque little seaside town set in a sandy bay a few miles west of the Bournemouth/Poole conurbation. Compared to its cosmopolitan, busy neighbours, Swanage is a peaceful haven, partly due to the relative inaccessibility at the foot of the Isle of Purbeck.
There’s one road in and out of this corner of Dorset which means:
- No big out of town supermarkets or retail developments
- A lack of national chains in the town
- Queues on the road during the summer
So there’s no Costa Coffeee in Swanage, but to bemoan that would be to miss the point of Swanage; the sheltered waters of the bay with it’s sandy beach, the steam train taking tourists up to Corfe Castle, and the collection of gift shops selling ammonite and fossil styled ornaments and jewellery, playing on the Jurassic coastline. Life is taken as a gentler pace here. Jump on the nearby Studland Ferry to Bournemouth and Poole, then escape back for life at a slower, more relaxed pace.
