Vogue on the Road: Cruise through the castles of Dorset in a Bentley Continental GT Azur

We made full use of the thunderous V8 (you don’t hear a thing, nestled in the padded seats) as we sped west on the motorway from London, but once we passed Bournemouth and entered the leafy streets of Poole and Sandbanks, the Bentley seemed to feel like it belonged in the demographic postcode Right, and she let out an almost audible sigh and happily cruised off at 30 mph, little Norah Jones playing through her adorable Naim speakers, while we gazed at the Art Deco and Arts and Crafts houses. Brand-new palaces and pavilions, double-height glass and steel windows diffuse sunlight and audience glare.

The exhilarating Sandbanks Ferry offers a drive across the water, while you look at yachts bobbing at their moorings and point out Brownsea Island with its crazy castle at the water’s edge.

The journey across the ferry is one of the most stunning coastal areas in the UK. The route winds through the Isle of Purbeck peninsula, which includes grasslands, streams, marshes, islands and a nature reserve inhabited by migratory birds. You should find the Studland Road, B3351, which connects Studland to Corfe Castle, upstream. The views from this route are truly stunning, stretching across forests, bays and islands that protect the coast. Corfe Castle itself is a village made of chocolate boxes and lies, like a cascade of tulips, around the bottom of the castle’s dramatic ruins – well worth a visit.

We climbed up the steep hill to the National Trust ruins, then slid back down, then back and headed to the Glebeland Estate, where The Pig on the Beach is located, facing the sea above the chalk cliffs of Studland Bay (don’t forget). Your swimsuit for wild swimming, the sea here is calm and warm most of the year).

An ornate, yellow-painted country house, this hog in particular showcases the best of the hotel chain: rustic charm, a home away from home and an exquisite menu 25 miles long, which sources all of the restaurant’s ingredients either from their own immaculate kitchen garden or local suppliers within the circle. Radius 25 miles.

We drank cocktails and ate lobster and Portland spiced pigeon, then read our books by the fire late into the evening. Outside, the moon illuminated Bentley’s ever-present silhouette, and sitting by the fire, staring at the car, we could have been in 2023 or 1953: the aesthetics are completely interchangeable. It is definitely sustainable luxury at its best: the best products, designed to last a lifetime, and beyond.