Swanage Railway/Corfe Castle
In our family we love a steam train. Yogi not so much, and Lauren is also a bit iffy with the noise/vibrations from the steam engines as she's partially deaf. Aside from that, we love steam trains, the aesthetic pleases us and the engines are works of art that we struggle to comprehend. Steam trains are time travellers, whenever you see one it transports you back in time.
When we originally sat down and planned our roadtrip, aside from the Arthurian aspect we wanted to fit in as many railway visits as we could. This was because the likelihood of coming this way again while it was just the 3 of us was slim and so we wanted to do as much as we could while we were still young enough and baby free enough to do so.
The plan was to visit Swanage Railway, Launceston Railway, and Bodmin Railway. The latter was holding a spring gala the weekend we were in Cornwall too so it was all coming together. Sadly, Launceston was closed on the days we were able to go, and Bodmin had requested we email ahead to see if we could bring Yogi as on some Gala events dogs are not allowed. We were promptly ignored despite having emailed 3 weeks in advance and decided not to bother.
Swanage Railway was the only bit of the original plan to survive and as it was the one out of the three we most wanted to visit, it turned out okay. Our determination to visit this particular railway stemmed from Lauren's tendency to watch Railcam on rainy days. One of the Heritage Stations is Swanage Railway where you can watch Corfe Castle Station in real time. It has always seemed so peaceful and old fashioned and the ruins of Corfe Castle in the distance had always seemed appealing. It was just a picturesque site and to have the opportunity to go just seemed too good to miss. With this in mind, we dedicated an entire day to the railway and took it as it came.
The second day of our trip started out very warm. We drove from our apartment in Salisbury to Swanage in Dorset and boarded the train at Norden Station. Not 5 minutes later we were getting off in Corfe and taking photos of the beautiful station. Just as we were trying to figure out how to get Yogi up the steps to cross to the other platform the wonderfully kind station master offered his help. A self proclaimed dog person he offered to allow us access to the direct foot bridge across the tracks instead of taking the actual bridge. This allowed Yogi to cross calmly and safely and was such a help! The same man helped clear a path for Yogi to exit the station when Jamie had to pick him up as a large family screaming and stomping were crowding our poor boy and stressing him out. The station master saw this and leapt into action opening doors wider and clearing our path, he needed no justification as he had witnessed the cause for our nervous pup and couldnt do enough to help. This man is an angel and we have emailed the station to praise him heavily as on our return journey he came over to us to offer further assistance should we need it.
Anyway, so off we went on our adventure, we'd just left the station and had ventured into Corfe Village. Up the small hill we went where we handed over our National Trust memberships and were shooed off into the castle grounds.
Corfe Castle is a royal castle originally owed by Elizabeth I. She sold it to her Lord Chancellor despite it having been passed down as property of the Crown since Henry I started construction on the keep. In 1635 Sir John Bankes bought the property and it was his wife and 5 other loyal people who defended the castle against 100+ Parliamentarians during the English Civil war. The people of Corfe were threatened and supplies to the castle cut off but Lady Mary continued her hold and not only did she source supplies, but gained a force of 80 to stand with her. By this time at least 500 of the enemy began a siege, only 2 of her 80 fell while they killed 100 of the opposition.
After an infiltration akin to the Trojan Horse debacle, Lady Mary's defence fell but she was allowed to leave as were her people. The castle was taken and slighted which is why it remains a ruin today. After defending the castle for 3 years during the Civil War, Lady Mary clearly felt the castle remained her duty to defend all these years later, it is said her ghost remains at the castle, mostly seen on days of celebrations. We'd like to think that she tends to appear on these days as she wants to revel in how her castle has survived and remains important.
Having reclaimed their estates, the castle remained in the Bankes family until it was gifted to National Trust in the 80s. Sir John and Lady Mary opted not to repair the damage and instead moved to one of their other estates in Dorset thus the remnants of one of the grandest royal castles remain in pieces.
Despite being the very picture of a Medieval castle, it was uncommon for royal fortifications to be pride of place on a hill. Of course we have Dover on the clifftop, but Corfe was uncommon in its expensive and luscious design, the monarch of the time usually preferring a location in a valley or near transport.
We stood in the courtyard and were blown away by how stunning the remnants were up close. An entire intact wall had fallen, evidence of the brutality from the slight, but aside from the obvious damage the whole thing looked like it had fallen only yesterday. The site was calm and rich and glorious. We were spoilt in the sun and the rays danced off of the stones that were left. Despite the bloodshed the castle no doubt saw during the English Civil War, we had nothing but happy vibes as we wove in and out of the sights on display. This place held good memories and a sense of community. We felt welcome here.
Despite the good vibes we had and the gentle yet fierce spirit of Lady Mary haunting the grounds, Corfe Castle has quite a few ghosts who call the site home and not all of them are nice. It is said that those who died during the English Civil war remain here and wander as lights akin to Pixies or Will-o-the-wisps. Perhaps this is why Lady Mary remains too?
Then there is the ghost of The Starved Child in the Cottage. Held prisoner at Corfe Castle by King John in 1210, young William and his mother Maud de Clare were starved to death as punishment for William de Braose who fell out of favour with the king, fled the country, and died in exile.
Finally is a castle really a castle without a white/red/or grey lady? Corfe Castle boasts its very own White Lady, but this one is headless. For some reason speculation names this figure clad in a white dress as Brave Dame Mary Bankes, or to me and you, the same Lady Mary as named above. However, she died fully intact and was not beheaded, so why this spector is named as she and headless we dont know. It is likely this headless figure in white is another poor soul who's tragic demise is lost to history, especially as Lady Mary is said to appear whole and in her own right on happier days. Spooky for sure!
Seeing the steam train puffing past below and the inviting sight of the village was enough to stir a hunger in us, not to mention all the walking we had done that day. So we ventured off into The Greyhound for a spot of lunch. We treated ourselves to a Ploughman's, not quite as big as that one we had at during our visit to Bodiam Castle, but it was tasty. We then had the most delicious puddings, Jamie had apple crumble and Lauren had 'The Neat & Tidy' which was a beautifully crafted Eton Mess.
Lauren: What I adore about this castle is the fact it served as the inspiration for for Kirrin Castle in Enid Blyton's Famous Five series. I was obsessed with these books growing up and Enid Blyton was the author my Grandmother had chosen in order to teach me how to read, it is her who gave me the love of books I have today and I also have Enid Blyton to thank for the start of my personal library and being so engaging reading became a passion.
The three of us ventured back into the village feeling rather full (Yogi had eaten a little cheese, some Ham, and a dentastix), and explored the castle giftshop which was located in the village instead of onsite at the castle. There was nothing here really of interest, only gardening tools, jams, and handcrafted jewellery. We had hoped for something more castle related, like a wooden keyring to add to Lauren's collection. She's got one from all the English Heritage sites that have giftshops, she had hoped National Trust did something similar, Jamaica Inn did!
After wandering around the cute village for a while, we dipped in and out of shops before the other tourists became too much for us. The pathways of Corfe are very narrow and it seems certain tourists do not respect either young people or dogs. There were lots of physical pushing from other parties and stepping on toes. It was safer for the three of us just to head back to the station and try to put the negativity behind us.
Having arrived back at the station we had a refreshing bottle of local apple juice while we waited for the next train. We had decided to travel on a loop from Corfe to Swanage and then all the way back to Norden where we would then go back to our apartment. The train journey was smooth and almost lulled us to sleep due to the warmth of the day combined with our full bellies. The scenery was gorgeous as was the interior of the carriages. We felt like we had stepped into the 1950s!
The history of this railway is the usual story of mainlines coming in to steal traction from more traditional routes through villages and what are now known as tourist hotspots for holiday makers wanting to visit the coast. With the introduction of the diesel/electric emotionless hauled trains having connections to bigger cities such as London etc, the little existing lines became obsolete resulting in many closures and the extinction of steam due to cheaper methods. Luckily, the revival of what is known as Heritage Railways mean that the age of steam has not completely been eradicated and a portion of the Swanage line was reopened, with difficulty according to our research, and thus we still have this beautiful look back into the past today.
We cant recommend this railway enough and this day out was such a lovely memory for us to cherish. It had really kicked off our little holiday following the negativity of our first day in Salisbury. Dorset was a much calmer area and much much greener!
We ended up going back to our apartment happier, tired, and eager for our trip to Devon the next day. We decided to go back to The George & Dragon for dinner a second night in a row. We had gone the night before as we had liked the sound of the pub and the food was amazing. As it was only a 15 minute walk and short uphill climb on the way back from where we were staying it was a no brainer. A few drinks, some amazing food, the best frickles we've had (fried pickles), later and we were off to bed ready for Jamie's birthday the next day and the continuation of our roadtrip.
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images our ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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