This past weekend, my partner and I, eight friends, one toddler and two dogs all packed up our things and headed for the coast of Dorset for 3 nights. We go away for a few days in autumn every year, but this time we decided to move it closer to Christmas, to eat, drink and be merry together.

The Retreat was our chosen accommodation this time – a really lovely country house in Burton Bradstock, Dorset. It’s probably the nicest place we’ve ever stayed, with 4 large double bedrooms to choose from (and one smaller room with bunk beds), a lovely communal kitchen-diner (which is no longer the lurid green in the photos), a gorgeously cosy but spacious living room, and a beautiful garden too.

Our first evening in Burton Bradstock

We made our way through the winding roads and beautiful towns and villages of Dorset (Beaminster in particular was very beautiful, and somewhere I’d like to stop next time) and trickled in during the afternoon and evening, some of us coming after work, all of us excited to see that the hosts had put up a beautiful Christmas tree in the lounge, and delivered logs for the fire.

Make-your-own pizzas were on the menu for our first night, as our food shop wasn’t due to turn up until later. Our pal Bunt has good connections in the Bristol food world, so we had fresh pizza dough generously given to us by Gigi’s – the new pizza place in Old Market. Pizzas were made, drinks were drunk, and we all had a good catch up, as some of us hadn’t seen each other for months.

The food shop delivery is always an impressive feat at our holidays – we spring into action, forming a line from the van to the kitchen, where a few of us unpack and find homes for all the delicious food we’ll be feasting upon for the next few days in Dorset.

Gradually we made it to bed.

Christmas Day on the Dorset coast

The next morning was slow – we were on holiday after all. Seemingly endless cafetières of coffee were made as Mike cooked pancakes and I laid the table with fruit, syrup, bacon, crockery and cutlery. We were treating Friday as our Christmas Day, so I popped a bottle of champagne so that we could have Buck’s Fizz too.

The final two of our friends arrived with their dog mid-pancake, having travelled down after a night shift at work. After breakfast, there were naps for a few, and washing up for others, before getting ready to head out for a stroll in the still winter air.

We walked the 15 minutes from our house to the Dorset’s famous Jurassic Coast for a cold swim – my first one for a couple of years. The closest beach to Burton Bradstock is Hive Beach – beautiful yellow sand dotted with pebbles, and huge yellow cliffs towering above. I was really hoping to find a fossil – I didn’t get lucky, but one of our friends did.

Getting in wasn’t too painful – the sea was so calm, and my competitive streak won’t ever let me be the last one in. Once my breathing returned to normal, it was lovely to float and swim about. There’s something really magical about swimming in cold water that’s difficult to describe, but if you know, you know.

Getting out, however, wasn’t much fun. Even though there was no wind, it was cold, and the sand under feet (still burning with cold from the sea) felt sharp. Once we were dressed, we headed straight for Hive Beach Café for hot chocolates to warm us up from the inside. That and the walk back did the trick.

While a few headed to the pub, starting on Christmas dinner was the priority when we got home, hot ovens warming us up further, chickens in dishes and vegetables being chopped. It was real teamwork, and as others got home from the pub, they took over cooking, while those who started slinked off to have post-swim showers.

I think you’ll agree, it was an impressive spread, complete with crispy roast potatoes, Yorkshire puds, cauliflower cheese and sprouts – which I’m not a big fan of, but will always eat a few over the festive period, because it’s Christmas and it’s the law.

After dinner it was time to open Secret Santa gifts, followed by watching our friends’ wedding video – Jim and Lucy got married earlier this year, and it was lovely to all be together again and to reminisce on a truly beautiful day. There may have been a few tears.

Drinks and games were next – we mostly played a Blockbuster one that Bunt brought with him. I’m not a big fan of games, so I only played the parts I enjoyed (guessing, while other people acted things out), but it was a good game overall, especially if you like movies. Bowls of slightly-melted Viennetta appeared at some point too. I went to bed very tired and overwhelmed, but that’s what Christmas is all about, right?

A slow Saturday in Burton Bradstock

The next morning was an even slower one, shuffling down to the kitchen, bleary-eyed, and pitching in to help cook a much-needed fry up for us all. After that, we watched Home Alone and Muppets Christmas Carol, and took it in turns to nap. A few headed back down to the beach for a swim and then to a nearby pub.

What else would we have for dinner that night, but curry made with Christmas dinner leftovers (and a few extra ingredients)? It was so delicious, and I really wished I had room to eat more, but a few days of feasts had rendered me permanently full – I’m still full now as I write this, and it’s Wednesday.

Dinner was followed by Die Hard, freshly baked chocolate brownies and ice cream. Unsurprisingly, no one was late to bed.

Our final morning on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast

Checkout on Sunday was at 10am, so we got our bits together, tidied up and headed back down to Hive Beach. We all needed to blow the cobwebs away, although there was no swimming this time, just a blustery walk, picking up pebbles, hoping they were fossils, and marvelling at the cliffs.

People slowly peeled off, heading back home, while a few of us stuck around at Hive Beach Café for coffees and hot chocolates, before taking the winding Dorset roads back to Bristol and Bath.

I very much hope I can visit this sweet Dorset coastal village again one day.

If you enjoyed this post, please check out my other travel blog posts to see what adventures I’ve been on, and make sure to scroll down to see more of the yellowest cliffs ever.