Hannah's family-friendly trip around the Isle of Purbeck by bus
This summer Hannah and her two children packed their bags and jumped onto the train to the Isle of Purbeck, for a long-awaited post-lockdown holiday. They explored sandy beaches and ancient castles, hopping on and off the Purbeck Breezer bus. The open top deck was particularly popular!
4 days
1 adult, 2 children, 1 room
Starting in Bristol
The Trip
Having got rid of my car (mainly for environmental reasons) I was daunted by the prospect of getting my two small kids away for some seaside fun without it. Byway were so amazingly helpful and booked us a lovely place in Dorset, so we packed our bags and took the train from Bristol to Wareham (try to pack as light as you can!). Once there we hopped onto the Purbeck Breezer bus to the Isle of Purbeck. We stayed in a lovely caravan in between Swanage and Studland, with a bus stop right outside it was the perfect base for exploring the Isle of Purbeck.
The sun was shining so we headed straight for the sea as soon as we arrived - the kids were so excited! Most of our time was spent on the beach, using the open top bus to hop between them. We met a a few very kind old ladies onboard, who happily shared their local tips. Our favourites were at Shell Bay and Knoll beach.
On the second day we went for a wander around Swanage village - the bouncy castle was great fun - and spent more time on the beach. The following day we hired bikes and explored the local hills. We stumbled across the model village, which we loved. It felt great to be exploring under our own steam, and avoiding traffic and car parking hassle! Even after a busy and active day, the children insisted on heading to the beach again in the evening (the buses run until 10:30pm so we didn’t have to worry about getting back before bed time!).
We had great fun on the steam train from Swanage to Corfe Castle and enjoyed fun and games exploring the castle. Watching the trains pass below was also very exciting.
The journey home was smooth - our last bus trip took us from Swanage, crossing Poole Harbour on the chain ferry (a hit with the kids!), to Bournemouth, for the train back to Bristol. The children were very sad to leave. They’re now totally anti-car and pro-train, and we’re already planning next year’s trip.
Byway were so amazingly helpful, giving detailed ideas for fun trips out by bus and making this type of travel more of an adventure, with interesting stops and a different route there and back (instead of an ordeal). I would not have had time to find the public transport routes to the different places we went to. We felt like a team discovering new places by bus and train, instead of getting stuck in traffic jams and struggling to park on a busy half term weekend. Also - no sandy car to clean up!
Top recommendations
The Sandbanks bus stop is the near to the beach on the way to Bournemouth, so is the easiest beach stop en route if you don’t want to walk with luggage
A fun game to play on the bus is a ‘mystery tour’, where the kids choose where to get off and we see what we find
Colouring on the train is a great way to keep everyone entertained
Pushchairs are great for carrying bags