A trip to Dorset
Since moving to the UK, I have had a few solo trips in the country. The recent one was Dorset, the coastal area in Southwest England. Even though it was just a trip, I did have some takeaways for my life.
The trip started with the cancellation of a connected train due to a point failure. After confirmation with the staff on Twitter I took a bus with my ticket instead, and at the same night Trainline emailed me to apply for Delay Repay. A few days later the train company approved and refunded all the outbound fare.
The Airbnb I stayed was an en-suite room with a balcony as well as separate entrance. All I had to do was to focus on enjoying and taking care of myself, as you didn’t need to meet and talk to the host (even though I didn’t mind). Just followed the instructions and took the key. The host just made sure everything went well through Airbnb app, and always opened to your enquiries in case. She had provided clear guidelines and sufficient information around Pool, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Swanage. I didn’t plan much before my trip but always came up with ideas here.
The main purpose, or the top priority of my trip, was to meet the sea. Because I really missed it when I spend most of the time in the inland London. Forest bathing does cure me but I found that ocean is still better. That's why most of the short trips were along the coast, i.e. Hastings and Brighton. Maybe the ocean view is so minimal that I don't have to face anything complicated at the moment.
Let's talk about the coast between Poole and Bournemouth. The sand there is the nicest I have ever seen in the UK. Unlike Hastings and Brighton in which the main busy road is near the coast, there is just a path for both cyclists and pedestrians: you have to drive above the cliff. And I was glad to see bluebells grown near to the sea.
I ran twice there: one in the afternoon (~10km) and one in the early morning (21km). I also wanna cycle along but failed, because I just followed the road signs to Bournemouth which didn't bring me to the coast but other alternative routes instead.
In Poole and Bournemouth you could walk, run and even travel by bus. The bus service is reliable and frequent (up to every 3 mins!) but using your two legs are funnier than convenient transport. If you don't want to do a lot of exercise then bike is an option. Beryl Bike is the only bike share service here in which you can download the app and look for one. However the cycle lanes are sometimes not connected to each other, and mobile reception is not stable so you may find it difficult to unlock and return your bike.
I decided to visit Dorset because the iconic natural arch called Durdle Door impressed me. Ironically, I started being reluctant to visit it just after arriving there (especially it's a bit far away from my Airbnb and I need to arrange my time when there are only 3 buses a day. That said, I didn't want to maintain time management during my holiday) since I realised I just wanted to slow down after a series of recent turbulences / loss of sense of hope. I gave up catching it during the nice weather day, but later on I thought I was better and decided to give it a shot.
I didn’t regret missing the sunny weather there, and I was lucky to get there before the rain came. I did prefer the cloudy vibe which made me feel there was always a hope! (A picture is more than thousands of words).
In Dorset there is a steam train line called Swanage Railway, which did operate between 1885–1972. The residents tried to buy back the tracks but lacked funding at the beginning. However their perseverance made their dream come true from referendum, first 500 metres recovered in 1979, and finally coped with all the challenges and reopen in 2017, after 45 years.
Takeaway point: dreams must take a lot of time to come true! You thought you failed but in fact the success has not come yet (but it will come eventually).
There are a lot of stories related to Corfe Castle, which is an important part of the Purbeck landscape for almost a thousand years. Even though it has been destroyed by Parliamentarians during the English Civil War, the remaining parts of the architecture carry a lot of evidence of the important history. If you want to know more but don't want to deep dive through formal history books, besides the official guidebook you may refer to The Gory Story of Corfe Castle in National Trust Shop outside the castle - which explains everything well in simple words and lovely illustrations - for the same price £5!
If you are an urban sketcher, you can take a seat near to the entrance to enjoy your drawing!
When I was in Hong Kong, I did always travel overseas by air. After moving to the UK, I don't need to fly anymore but escape sometimes is still necessary. Not because London is bad (I was never upset when it was time to go back to London, but I did feel that when I realised I needed to go back to Hong Kong) but I am a person who cannot stay in a place for long. Say I can't sit in a coffee shop with a laptop or in an office for more than two hours, or I will be overwhelmed. My productivity will be much worse and so creativity. I am stuck and realise I need to leave my computer and have a walk. Going for a trip, even just leaving my home city for a few days, is already better for me.
I did also turn off notifications from instant messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp and deleted some apps like Instagram on my smartphone. Although I could hardly stop checking, I was still able to check much less frequently in order to guarantee my solitude enjoyment.
I didn't plan too much as well except booking train tickets and accommodation. It's because I acknowledge my trip is for my mental well being and thus productivity for the trip is not necessary. That said, going to as many sightseeing spots as possible is not relevant. But retreat and recharge.
I learnt that even in my working life, especially working for myself, should no longer stress the so-called "productivity" which can kill my creativity and even my whole self. Not everything should start immediately. Take a break. Calm down. And start with what you just want to. As there are always something you need to do right now, so you don't have to worry about what/whether you have planned. Go ahead when you like, and stop it (and even change to other tasks you prefer at that moment) if you don't.
What I need is "flow" - the optimal psychological experience as explained by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Just do. No worries.
