Destination

A Day Out at Blue Pool and Swanage Railway

Posted on
September 5, 2017

During the last week of the school holidays, summer made a re-appearance and we made the most of the nice weather and enjoyed some local days out.
Isaac loves dragonflies and Bluepool in Wareham is one of the best places locally to find them. The Pool is surrounded by 25 acres of heath, woodland and gorse interlaced with sandy paths, trails, playgrounds and fairy doors to find so is the perfect day out for all the family, with the promise of a cream tea or ice cream reward at the end.
Bluepool
The Blue Pool at Furzebrook constantly varies in colour. Very fine clay in suspension in the water diffracts light in different ways, producing a spectrum of colour sometimes green sometimes turquoise. In fact, it changed colour throughout our visit.
BluePool
The pool is set in a deep clay bowl, with steps that lead down to the waters edge or up to views of the Purbeck Hills and even Corfe Castle in the distance.
BluePool
The Sebastian and Eliza were determined to find all the fairy doors and complete the fairy trail challenge. There was a second trail to find woodpeckers and squirrels but some of them were hidden by the foilage so we found this harder.
BluePool
Isaac on the other hand was determined to find dragonflies and was finally rewarded for his efforts by a magnificent golden one, which we think is a Downy Emerald.
Dragonfly
We also found lots of brilliant blue damselflies, which are a nightmare to try and catch on camera!!
Damselfly
Half way around the trail there is a large play area with swings, slides, a roundabout and obstacles for the kids to try and cross.
Bluepool
At the end of the trail is a cafe which serves a selection of meals and cream teas. The kids wanted ice cream but it had been the bank holiday weekend and they had barely any left which was the only downside to the day, but our cream tea was lovely.
Cream Tea
Whilst Bluepool is a lovely walk, it is not a full day out, so when we left we decided to surprise the kids with a second treat.
Bluepool
Norden Station is less than a five minute drive from Bluepool and is where you can catch the Swanage Railway train from here to Corfe Castle, Harman’s Cross and Swanage.
Swanage Railway
Not only were the kids super excited to be travelling on a steam train, they also got to travel in a carriage just like those in Harry Potter.
Swanage Railway
The train journey to Swanage takes about 45 minutes, including stops along the way.
Corfe Castle
The unique journey takes you through six miles of beautiful scenery passing the magnificent ruins of Corfe Castle, travelling down to the blue flag beach at Swanage.
Corfe Castle
It is a really friendly line and the kids loved waving to everyone that stopped to watch the steam train go past.
Swanage Railway
Once we got to Swanage we headed for the beach which was still busy with holidaymakers enjoying the last few days of the holidays.
Swanage
Because we had travelled quite late in the day we didn’t get to explore for long as the last train returned to Norden at 6pm, but we stop and play in the park, which offers spectacular views over the bay.
Swanage
It was then time to head back to the car and this time we got to ride on a diesel train.
Swanage Railway
A Family return ticket on Swanage Railway costs from £35. Keep an eye on their events page for their special days which include a Steam Gala in October and the Santa Express at Christmas.
Swanage Railway
Entry to Bluepool is £7 per adult with children going free.
Disclaimer: I won tickets for Swanage Railway in the school raffle, so our travel for the day was free!

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27 Comments
  1. Reply

    HodgePodgeDays

    September 5, 2017

    The Blue Pool looks stunning and a real wildlife haven, the railway also looks like a brilliant day out. What a great school raffle prize too 🙂

  2. Reply

    Rhian Westbury

    September 5, 2017

    The fairy trail sounds like fun, I’d have loved that as a kid, and the cream scones look yummy, well deserved x

  3. Reply

    Angela Milnes

    September 5, 2017

    This sounds super fun and a great adventure. I think those scones look super tasty. Corfe Castle looks interesting, what a site to see. The train ride sounds super fun!

  4. Reply

    Super Busy Mum

    September 5, 2017

    This looks like such a great place to make memories in – great photos too!

  5. Reply

    Sophie's Nursery

    September 6, 2017

    Sophie would love the wildlife trails! Trying to photograph damselflies is so hard isn’t it lol – I had issues the other day & gave up in the end!! x

  6. Reply

    DJT @ Thinking Thrifty

    September 6, 2017

    Looks awesome. I can’t wait until my niece and nephew are older to appreciate this sort of activity a bit more.

  7. Reply

    five little doves

    September 6, 2017

    Ahh I love this! I have been there when I was younger! The whole day looks amazing but those scones caught my eye!! xx

  8. Reply

    Dean of Little Steps

    September 6, 2017

    That Corfe castle ruin looks amazing. How lucky that summer came back in your area before the kids went back to school. I’m afraid we weren’t as lucky as you guys 🙁

  9. Reply

    Tanya Brannan

    September 6, 2017

    What a stunning looking place and look at those dragonflies! Just gorgeous. I love the fact that the steam train is so authentic. It is on my bucket list to go on a steam train, and this looks like it has the perfect destinations in Corfe Castle and Swanage x

  10. Reply

    Anosa

    September 6, 2017

    When I was young my brother and I used to love catching dragonflies, it was a hobby of ours. Sounds like you guys had a lovely time out as a family

  11. Reply

    Talya

    September 6, 2017

    What a gorgeous day out and just the thing we love to do – this is Britain at it’s very best and we are so lucky to have places like these to soak up!

  12. Reply

    Cass Bailey

    September 6, 2017

    That looks like such a grear day out – both are places that I’d love to visit x x

  13. Reply

    Erica Price

    September 6, 2017

    I love those sorts of nature trails – lots of fun and they learn something. It does make me feel old though that the carriages on that train are like the ones we used when we went on holiday in the 1970s.

  14. Reply

    Ana De- Jesus

    September 6, 2017

    This takes me back! When I was in year six we had an awesome trip to Swanage and I remember taking the railway. Isn’t Corfe Castle magnificent? x

  15. Reply

    Laura - Dear Bear and Beany

    September 6, 2017

    We had planned to go to Swanage and get the train to Corfe, but we just ran out of time over the summer holidays. It looks even better than I thought it would and I must try and squeeze in a trip over the next few weekends x

  16. Reply

    Mel

    September 6, 2017

    Aww this sounds like a lovely family day out! Super well done for winning tickets in a raffle!

  17. Reply

    The Moderate Mum

    September 6, 2017

    What beautiful shots, especially the nature shot – very impressive

  18. Reply

    Linsay

    September 7, 2017

    Looks like a great day out and the tea and scones look yummy.

  19. Reply

    Suzy McCullough

    September 7, 2017

    What a perfect summer holidays day out. Well done on winning the prize for the family ticket. What lovely scenery to ride through. The fairy trail sounds lovely. Jamie loves a nature trail as well

  20. Reply

    Stephanie

    September 7, 2017

    What a lovely family day, I love steam trains so would jump at the chance of a day out on there!

  21. Reply

    Emma

    September 7, 2017

    What a great family day out and the photos are so lovely! My two would love this!

  22. Reply

    Jazmin Williams

    September 8, 2017

    Oh wow, those photos are gorgeous – sounds like a fab family day out!

  23. Reply

    Fashion and Style Police

    September 8, 2017

    I can see the kids had a fab time. Lovely photos. Need to plan some activities for mid term. Thanks for inspiring.

  24. Reply

    Zena's Suitcase

    September 9, 2017

    Hasn’t it been glorious with the sun shining. Thank goodness it wasn’t raining so much at the end of the holidays and these look like fantastic days out

  25. Reply

    Purbeck Boy

    January 3, 2018

    It is a shame that the children didn’t go underground at Norden and ring the bell in the Purbeck Mining Museum. It is a totally different experience for all and worth a visit.

    • Reply

      Kara

      January 3, 2018

      Will keep that in mind for next time – thanks for the tip

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KARA GUPPY
Bournemouth

Are we nearly there yet? is a new online blog run by me, Kara Guppy, and is named as such thanks to my daughter Eliza who always asks that very question when we are less than 5 minutes up the road heading off on our adventures. You may know me from my other family blog chelseamamma.co.uk