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I have been to Dorset many times and as a county it has everything I find interesting: sea views,country walks,nature reserves ,seaside towns, and boat trips of all kinds.However, I’ve never been to Canford cliffs and it was chosen for a visit because my son liked the name and it reminded him of a very famous race horse.

“Good choice sonbeautiful beach, sea views ,refreshments.There was a steep walk down to the beach but the views in my opinion were fantastic.

We invested £24 on some canvas beach chairs and settled down for the day. First, however, a swim. B remembered his swim shorts but undeterred I treated the locals to my under shorts.Water was cold at first but dive in and the shock soon goes.”Great.”A few pleasure boats sailed on by but significant was the cruise ship in the distance moored up in a covid world.

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That evening we had a table booked for “Rock Fish “in Poole so we headed back to our hotel for a siesta.

I had been to Rockfish before with my wife and we had the traditional cod and chips .This time I felt a little more adventurous and decided to mix it up. Rockfish pride themselves on sustainable gluten free menu and they have a freshly caught today list which is written on your menu by your very friendly knowledgeable waiter. I love the sign on the kitchen “tomorow’s fish is still swimming in the sea”.

As a table of four we shared the starters, scallops and halloumi with chilli. As a starter it was a little small as a portion but very nice.(it’s a starter, after all).

I had the turbot as a main dish which was fantastic (beautifully moist) and of course unlimited fries. As a main dish and starter I would give the food 4.5 /5 .Service was great and the atmoshere excellent 5/5 .It was not formal but care was taken to give you a dining experience and a good night out and dogs were welcome.

Next time, Rick Stein and Brownsea Island.