The Wicked West

That's wicked in the good sense of the word, people, not because it's evil!

So yesterday saw our family venturing a little further afield to meet up with some Devon-based friends in a mutually convenient location. We arranged to meet in Chideock, situated to the south-west of Bridport. We took a bit of a gamble and chose a pub we found online (although it had good Trip Advisor reviews). Luckily the gamble paid off! 

The pub in question was the George Inn (http://georgeinnchideock.co.uk). We'd reserved a table (ALWAYS a good move when you have children and want to eat on a Sunday) which had plenty of space around it for the kids to play without disrupting anyone else.

But the main attraction was the food. The menu's seasonal and depends on produce availability, which means it's always changing. The kids devoured pasta, tomato sauce and cheese (a favourite with little people), while the grown-ups (with the exception of yours truly) tucked into roast beef or roast lamb with homemade Yorkshires, roasties and veg. I don't eat meat so I enjoyed a delicious squash, spinach and chickpea curry with coriander cous cous, a flatbread and crème fraiche. It was superb. And such good value. I love it when pubs give you a decent plate of food and don't charge you an absolute bomb for it. There's nothing worse than getting a barely-there plate and knowing you've just forked out a small fortune!

The staff were all friendly and courteous and when we left, the pub was heaving - always a good sign. We'll definitely be going back.

With full bellies, we then hopped in the car and drove back east to West Bay for a walk on the beach. As you may know, it's where they filmed TV drama Broadchurch (the second season is currently being filmed there too). But it's also part of the Jurassic Coast, which is a World Heritage Site. And that makes it pretty special.

It's one of those places where the coastline is just so breathtakingly dramatic that you can't help but be awed by nature in all its glory. I don't think words can do it justice - you need to see it to believe it. 

The beach is shingle which, I'll be honest, is kind of tricksy to walk on, so next time I'm going to tackle it with decent shoes and give my legs a REAL workout. 

But the lack of a beach walk meant we could just indulge in another one of my favourite things - tea and cake! Again we were really lucky and stumbled across the West Bay Tea Rooms (http://www.westbaytearooms.co.uk). Cosy, inviting and still selling ice creams, we were happy, the kids were happy and the coffee and walnut cake my friends shared looked gorgeous! (Which isn't to say that my millionaire's shortbread wasn't, I just had a touch of cake envy…)

Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse while we were out, but I'll definitely be headed back to West Bay when it's sunnier to have a real look around this pretty harbour village. And I suggest you do the same!