We really enjoyed the journey to Bellevue, taking in all the wonderful sights and admiring all the beautiful, thatched, Dorset cottages. We drove past the local pub and knew we were not far – approaching the driveway we were just mesmerised at the beauty and elegance of Bellevue! The exterior of this luxury building is one of a kind, the owners have tastefully considered the design, we just love how the property combines modern architecture with traditional Dorset features such as its thatched roof and stone walls.
We stepped inside with excitement and were blown away by Bellevue; we couldn’t believe we had this magical home for the weekend. We had a tour around the spacious retreat - the living and dining area are upstairs and are by far the most striking aspect of this outstanding property. The views are simply breath-taking, you can see rolling countryside for miles through the floor to ceiling windows.
We had a peek in our spectacular hamper full of local, fresh produce and found a bottle of prosecco chilling in the double fronted American fridge freezer, such a kind gesture from the owners.
We perched ourselves in the overhanging glass box and Nick’s face beamed with joy as he rolled down the electric blinds with the click of a button – he loves a gadget! We popped open the bubbles and had a toast to the start of our romantic weekend getaway.
After a couple of glasses of fizz and some time to absorb our wonderful surroundings, we were keen to try the local pub the Weld Arms for dinner. It was recommended in the welcome folder and to be honest, it did look like the perfect country pub! We walked from Bellevue and arrived in only a few minutes as it’s only a stone’s throw away.
The pub was bustling with lots of locals enjoying their after work, well deserved pints. We were warmly welcomed and shown to a table for two by the window. The menu was small but impressive, just what we like. I opted for the hake and Nick had the venison and we were not disappointed; it was absolutely delicious! We couldn’t refuse dessert as our mouths watered looking at the menu, Nick chose chocolate mousse and I went for a pear and almond tart – the healthy start to the year could certainly take a break this weekend.
After dinner we moved to a table in front of the roaring open fire with a glass of Malbec in hand and had a traditional game of scrabble, I won of course!
We then took a stroll back down the country lane as we were excited to choose which beautiful bedroom we would sleep in out of the three – how spoilt are we? It was a difficult choice, we opted for one of the en-suite bedrooms with a large waterfall shower and king size bed. This room had our favourite décor in rich colours of navy and gold.
We were up early after a decent night’s sleep as we were conscious we only had a short stay and wanted to make the most of the precious little time we had. We tucked into some of the welcome hamper goodies – fresh coffee and some local bread toasted with marmalade. The weather unfortunately wasn’t on our side, although we couldn’t complain, it was windy and drizzly so we chose to take a short drive to the iconic Jurassic coastline, there is the option to walk however on a finer day. We parked up at Lulworth Cove, less than three miles from Bellevue and took a leisurely stroll towards Durdle Door. The views were breath-taking, I couldn’t help but snap away taking pictures for lovely memories to cherish.
After exploring Durdle Door we ventured back to Lulworth Cove and had a coffee in the Lulworth Cove Inn to re-fuel. We then took a bimble around the historic cove taking in the panoramic scenery and exploring the ever so popular world heritage site. There are plenty of things to do here all year round; there’s a visitor centre, a good selection of cafes and pubs or for those wanting a more action-packed adventure, there’s even coasteering, which Nick recommends!
We could feel our stomachs rumbling so decided to go for lunch – we had certainly earned some calories after walking a fair few miles. Earlier that day we had driven past the Castle Inn, another recommended pub and it looked picture perfect, so our minds were made up and we set off on our travels. Once again, this traditional and charming Dorset pub exceeded our expectations – we each had a doorstop sandwich which were ginormous and bursting with delicious flavours.
Our bellies full, we were excited to return to Bellevue to simply relax and the hot tub was definitely calling my name. We were rather chilly from our blustery walk, it is January after all, so we were grateful for the toasty underfloor heating and cosiness of our cottage upon our return. We slipped into our swimwear and grabbed one of the dedicated hot tub towels (everything really has been thought of here!) with the remainder of prosecco also in hand. It was freezing outside but the hot tub was heated up, ready and waiting, and just perfect. We relaxed in the bubbling whirlpool for about an hour in the private corner of the landscaped gardens watching the evening draw in, taking some proper time out which was definitely much needed.
Sunday morning came around in a flash and we again were keen to be up at the crack of dawn, although escaping the comfort of the sumptuous king size bed was a little challenging to say the least. I made a fresh cafetiere of coffee which smelt and tasted divine and we watched the sun rise over the Purbeck Hills from the balcony – what a treat! It was unbelievably peaceful, all we could hear were the birds singing in the nearby fields, it really did feel like complete tranquillity.
A quick shower and bite to eat and we put our wellies on ready for our next adventure. Nick loves a bit of history so was keen to explore Lulworth Castle which is just around the corner from Bellevue. The Castle is spectacular and steeped in history, it was unfortunately closed for maintenance but the gardens were open so we had a wander around the beautiful, spacious estate. It was a really quiet morning, we had chosen to visit out of season after all, so it was hard to imagine these grounds hosting 30,000 people in July for the ever so popular Camp Bestival, something we’re definitely keen to try.
After a couple of hours of exploring the gardens and woodland, we took a leisurely stroll back towards Bellevue. There is an old catholic school which has been converted into a gift shop and coffee shop called Past and Presents at the top of the lane. We popped in and ordered a lovely cream tea and had a look around the boutique shop which offers some really pretty crafted gifts and local artwork. Our time was however coming to an end, so we reluctantly returned to pack our things, we were mindful we had a long drive ahead of us. We both felt sad to leave but also thoroughly relaxed and satisfied with our luxury weekend escape. We are getting married in a few weeks’ time and we were both astonished that we had completely switched off from not only our usual routine but the frantic thoughts and planning surrounding our big day; just what the doctor ordered!
Read more about Bellevue here.
