WE leave Bournemouth by way of Westbourne, Parkstone and Oakdale and travel through Dorset countryside to Upton, once the home of the Tichbourne family. Our journey then takes us on to the old-world village of Lytchett Minster, the tiny Minster is seen on the right on entering the village. The Inn on the left is "Peter's Finger". There are two legends attached to the sign of St. Peter with hand raised and forefinger extended, one is that St. Peter is holding up a beckoning finger, inviting passers-by into the inn, the other, and most likely, that it is a warning finger and is cautioning travellers to have one drink and one only. Travelling on a few miles, we reach Bere Regis, the "King's Bere" of the Hardy novels, and then proceed by way of Tolpuddle, a typical Dorset village, reputed to be the birthplace of the trade union movement. As we enter the village we pass on the left a memorial erected to the memory of six men, known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs. In the nineteenth century the farm hands of this district formed a union, hoping to improve their conditions of living. Their leaders were arrested and tried as "agitators and disturbers of the peace" and sentenced to various terms of transportation.

After Tolpuddle we reach Dorchester, an agreeable old place and the County Town of Dorset. The Town has been, in the course of its history, more or less destroyed by fire on several occasions, the most disastrous fire being in August 1613 when 300 houses and two churches were destroyed.

Leaving Dorchester, we pass by the best preserved Roman amphitheatre in England. The arena is 218 feet by 163 feet and the amphitheatre is said to have accommodated 12,000 spectators. It was until 1767 the site of the public gallows. A short run now brings us to Weymouth, a large resort and first favoured by George III who is commemorated by a statue on the esplanade. Time is allowed here for lunch.

From Weymouth we follow the coast for about 12 miles, passing through the quaint village of West Lulworth, where a break is made for tea, to Lulworth Cove.

Our return journey is via East Lulworth with its Castle which was built by Viscount Bindon, the foundations being laid in 1588. Sir Humphrey Weld purchased the Castle in 1641 and it has remained in the Weld family to the present day. Near to the castle stands the first Catholic Church to be built in England after the Reformation. It was erected by Thomas Weld in 1786 after a special dispensation had been granted by George III.

We now travel through the Purbeck range to the ancient Town of Wareham which is surrounded by earthen ramparts of unknown age. Leaving Wareham, we see on the right a little Church known as "St. Martins on the Wall" which was built in 701, and then, following the same route as that taken on the forward journey, we return to Bournemouth.