South West Coast Path

The Dorset Coast Path forms part of the 630 mile South West Coast Path National Trail. Wherever you choose to visit along the Dorset coast, you can stroll along the frontier between land and sea courtesy of the Coast Path, where dramatic landscapes and seascapes are revealed with every twist and turn of the route. The coast path follows cliff top, lagoon, beach and urban environments.

There are some very steep ascents and descents in parts of Purbeck, Portland and West Dorset. Steps are installed on most of the steeper sections. The path is currently accessed through a mixture of self closing gates, kiss-gates and stiles.

The path provides access to all kinds of stories: an exceptional record of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of the Earth's history – the 'walk through time'; classic landforms straight out of geography text books - the Black Ven landslide complex, Chesil Beach, Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove; stories of farming, both ancient and modern, of smuggling, quarrying, fishing and of war and fortification; and wildlife that is as rich, varied and specialised as anywhere in the country. The path links together coastal hamlets, villages and towns and simply gives people the opportunity to access all that is special about the Dorset coast.

The South West Coast Path is way marked by the acorn symbol – the symbol for National Trails.

N.B. The Lulworth Ranges (MoD) are only open during school holidays and at weekends.

Sections of the Dorset Coast Path are prone to periodic closure following landslips. For up to date information on closures visit www.southwestcoastpath.com

Visitor centres:

Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre

Chesil Beach Visitor Centre

Lulworth Heritage Coast Centre

Kimmeridge Marine Centre

Durlston Country Park Visitor Centre

Nature :

Abbotsbury Swannery and Fleet lagoon

Portland Bird Observatory

RSPB reserves at Radipole, Lodmoor and Arne

Kimmeridge Bay Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve

Durlston Country Park

Geology / Geomorphology:

Lyme Regis Museum

Black Ven landslide complex

Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre

Chesil Beach

Durdle Door

Lulworth Estate

Lulworth Cove and fossil forest

Durlston Country Park Visitor Centre

Old Harry Rocks and any cliff along the Dorset coast

History:

The Cobb (Lyme Regis)

Lyme Regis Museum

St. Gabriel's

St. Catherine's Chapel (Abbotsbury)

Abbotsbury Abbey (ruins) & Tithe Barn

Portland Bill Lighthouse

Lulworth Castle

Tyneham

Flower's Barrow Iron Age Hill Fort

Corfe Castle

St. Aldhelm's Head (chapel)

Durlston Country Park and Castle

Other:

Abbotsbury Sub-tropical Gardens

Tout Quarry Sculpture Park (Portland)

Swanage - Corfe Castle Steam Railway

Transport links:

Buses: The X53 bus serves most of West Dorset and some of Purbeck. The new X43 bus (summer 2010 only) will run between Swanage, Lulworth and Weymouth. There are also various bus services between Weymouth and Portland Bill. Visit our public transport pages for more information.

Trains: Swanage Railway operates between Norden (near Corfe Castle and Swanage).

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