Gastrocnemius Workout

Lulworth Cove

We spent this bank holiday generally lazing and then recovering from a long trek in Dorset. I have recently reconnected with my old tuition friend. She is quite the traveller and is a very outdoor physically fit individual. S had mentioned our previous rambling expeditions in Dorset to her and she was quite enthusiastic about trying another day trek . So we decided to go down to Dorset again. I have blogged about the Jurassic coastline previously and it is gorgeous. We have a standard path that we frequent which is rated as moderately difficult. Now I mentioned this at work to Mr W and he suggested we try the walk along Lulworth cove. He promised me it was not too strenuous and the views were well worth it. So I pestered S into trying this walk even though the websites had rated it as difficult. Silly me.

We reached Dorset after a 3 hour drive on Sunday morning. The weather was gorgeous and everyone south of Surrey seemed to have got the same idea as us. Head to Dorset. After a long drive involving discussions on work, economic crisis, country ratings ( both S and tuition friend are economists) we finally reached our destination with my bladder reaching bursting point. It was packed. I was quite certain now this walk would feel more like a pilgrimage given the vast number of cars and people at Lulworth. Boy was I mistaken.

Audience along the way

The walking path was a killer. It was strenuous from the word go. We choose to walk along the coastline as the views were truly spectacular. Most of the walking paths were uphill and the gradient increased as we progressed. We walked 7 miles which is not much but it took us 3 hours given the gradients. After crossing the first gradient most of the crowd gave up. There were many small pebbled beaches along the way which was where most people were headed. We trudged on.

Durdle Door

Tuition friend like a true pro came with a customised 3 litre water bag with an interesting large straw contraption to keep her hydrated and dry fruits for the walk. I came with chutney sandwiches, minimal water, mango juice, cherries and bananas, most of which was left in the car as S refused to carry that much weight up hill. I groaned and moaned through most of the ascents but the views at the end made it worth the pain. The high point actually managing to finish the 7 mile walk. It felt like an achievement. Lulworth cove is truly spectacular, choose a sunny weekend and head out for the perfect gastrocnemius workout.