Volunteering - YHA Swanage March 2016

The view across Swanage, looking north

Swanage is a small town on the Dorset side of the Jurassic Coast, a short jaunt away from Bournemouth on the number 50 bus. It’s a scenic coastline route that I thoroughly recommend.

So-named due to the prevalence of fossils to be found there (and not as a prescient homage to Michael Crichton’s works, as I had hoped), the Jurassic Coast stretches 95 miles along England’s southern coastline. The easternmost point, Studland Bay (and Studland itself), is just a short drive, or a slightly longer walk, from Swanage itself, and the headland between each town is marked by a main attraction of the Jurassic Coast: Old Harry Rocks. This is not a statement of approbation for the Devil, rather a group of chalk formations produced by the various machinations of sea, wind and rain erosion, which have formed stacks and stumps that protrude from the headland as various clods are washed away by the sea (and Europe is the less). Sadly, I have very few photos that I could retrieve from my old phone, and I am trying wherever possible to only use my own shots.

A section of the coastal path between Swanage and Lulworth Cove

When I volunteered at YHA Swanage, Old Harry Rocks were a welcome attraction. Sadly deprived of a bicycle as I was, Durdle Door, an impressive sea arch 20 miles west of Swanage, was a more distant prospect, reachable by public transport or via a 6 hour walk.

My work pattern at Swanage was short stints in the morning and evenings, so I took the opportunity between shifts to explore the more accessible landmarks.

I remember Swanage Bay as the kind of beach that would be described as “SO bracing” by the Great Northern Railway, but I think that my memory is perhaps a little unfair - it was March, after all. Durlston Castle and Country Park is a pleasantly idiosyncratic estate, offering dramatic views over the sea, while Dancing Ledge has more rock formations fascinating to even the amateur geologist. Between the two, Tilly Whim Caves, closed to the public for safety reasons, hold both etymological and historical interest. A ‘whim’ is a type of primitive crane used to haul limestone from the quarries. ‘Tilly’ supposedly derives from the name of the quarries’ owner, one George Tilly. Fascinating.

The periphery of Durlston Castle and Country Park

The work at the hostel wasn’t much different to that at Ilam Hall. Housekeeping is steady work, and there is no great mystery to waiting tables. Every hostel has their own routines and idiosyncrasies, however, and although my time at Swanage was relatively uneventful, please don’t take this as a reflection of the value of volunteering with the YHA. The opportunity for work experience alongside interesting people, plus the ample time afforded for exploring new areas, is priceless.

YHA Swanage verdict: Good!

A nice, quiet hostel that is no doubt more lively in summer, when the beach is a more enticing attraction and the coastal paths are less beset by Arctic winds.

For more accounts of my experiences volunteering with the YHA, visit this hub.