The waves of Weymouth

I set off for my holiday on the bus from Stroud to the coach pickup point near Stonehouse. I'd decided to go early in case there was any difficulty. In the past I've been taken there by taxi and handed over to the coach, but this time I was on my own.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived there and found that the service station had closed and the forecourt fenced off! There was a Starbucks still open, so I went to get a drink and phoned the tour company. They assured me that the coach would still pick me up by reversing in to the much smaller space, and this did indeed happen, bang on time. From next month, this pickup point will no longer be operational, because of the chaos. Shame, because I'd only just learned to get there by public transport!

We had a couple of stops en route to Weymouth and arrived in the rain at about 3.45. By the time I'd found my hotel room (complete with a wonderful sea view and a wrought-iron balcony) and had a cup of tea, the rain had stopped and I was itching to go exploring.

I walked along the sandy beach and the esplanade, heading towards the town centre. Found shops, not fancy ones, mainly charity shops, and an M&S. Bought a couple of things, wandered back, got myself sorted for dinner (too early at 6.30!) and met my new table mates (it's a bit like boarding school, you have to sit at the same table with the same people at every meal). Then afterwards there was entertainment: a quiz, bingo, and some dodgy musicians. I went up to my room not long after the singers started their act.

Delighted to be here, delighted to be not quite the youngest person in the tour group, and looking forward to more exploring in Dorset.