worth matravers to swanage

May 13, 2018 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

monday, 7TH may 2018

Today's weather forecast looks to be pretty good, and I should have sun and very little wind all day long.

Swanage high tide 12:12

Swanage low tide 22:09

I attempted this walk back last June but had to abandon the walk in atrocious weather conditions so I'm back in much better weather to get this walk completed. In fact it's a glorious spring morning.

I start the day back at the Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers.

I head back towards the car park and head down a footpath before reaching it. I amble along fields and then pass a quarry which might be Swanworth Quarry, where I see a hare. I reach a road and head up it towards Renscombe Farm.

I pass Renscombe Farm and reach a car park and follow a footpath to rejoin the coast path at West Hill. I've always fancied visiting Chapman's Pool but I've never found a path down. Today I can see a steep footpath cut into the cliff which looks like I can scramble down but I'll have to leave that for another day.

The rock around the bowl of Chapman's Pool is made of Kimmeridge Clay Shale and capped off with Portland Limestone laid down on the shale in a later period.

I come across limestone plaques set into the drystone walls of West Hill but I can't seem to find out any information about them. They are a bit worn now and it's difficult to make out the lettering but they read :-

“stones lean together

hand built strata

held by gravity

between turf and sky

dark brought to light

exposed to weather
”

Unfortunately I've joined the coast path too far up to see the 'stones lean together' plaque.

I then come across a war memorial, built by the Dorset branch of the Royal Marines Association in 1990. It pays tribute to the members of the Corps who have been killed since 1945. There is a special mention of those who died in the Falklands, in the Middle and Far East, in Northern Ireland and those who perished in the IRA bombing at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal.

“Rest awhile and reflect that we who are living can enjoy the beauty of the sea and countryside.”

I amble along the clifftops at Emmetts Hill before dropping steeply downhill and then climbing a long flight of stone steps steeply up on to St Aldhelm's Head.

Here I find St Aldhelm's Chapel where I sheltered for a while last year before deciding to abandon the walk. The chapel is a square shape with its corners aligned approximately on the cardinal points, not the walls as is customary.

A bit further along I come across the St Alban's Head National Coastwatch Station. It's a long way from Hertfordshire but is named this way for maritime reasons.

Nearby is the Purbeck Radar Memorial, practically the only evidence that remains of the development of the radar here during the second world war by the Telecommunications Research Establishment. The memorial was dedicated by Sir Bernard Lovell on the 27th of October 2001 and again in September 2006.

It is now easy walking along the clifftops on my way to Swanage and I'm now walking through a quarried landscape where Purbeck marble was excavated from mediaeval times including for the pillars of Salisbury Cathedral.

I turn inland at Seacombe Cliff past more quarrying activity before turning back out onto the cliffs.

I pass above Dancing Ledge and come across a large patch of early spider orchids. I haven't seen these beauties for seven years.

I pass Blacken Hole and then a pair of mile indicator posts used by passing ships to measure their speed.

I come across a patch of green-winged orchids before entering Durlston Country Park.

I round Anvil Point to reach Anvil Point Lighthouse built out of the local limestone in 1881. Another pair of mile indicator posts can be found above the lighthouse.

I pass the entrance for Tilly Whim Caves quarried during the Napoleonic wars but closed by 1812. In 1887 they were opened as a tourist attraction but closed again in 1976 for safety reasons.

I round Durlston Head and pass Durlston Castle below which I can see the Great Globe, commissioned by George Burt, a sphere carved from 40 tonnes of Portland limestone and built in 15 segments at the Greenwich stoneyard of John Mowlem.

I pass through woodland, which is the first shade I've had today, and it is now easy walking into Swanage.

I head along Belle Vue Road and head across a grassy slope towards Peveril Point where I find Swanage National Coastwatch Station. I now have fine views over Swanage Bay and out to Old Harry Rocks and I can just make out the Isle of Wight in the haze, I think.

I join a concrete path next to the shore before joining the promenade which takes me into Swanage. I continue along the promenade passing the beaches which are heaving on this glorious day.

I end my walk at the clocktower. What a lovely day of walking.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

robins
pied wagtails
dunnocks
a hare
skylarks
wrens
speckled wood butterflies
roe deer
peacock butterflies
red admiral butterflies
lizards
swallows
chaffinches
swifts
stonechats
loads of caterpillars
oystercatchers

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 11.2 miles today which amounts to 25595 steps. It has been another beautiful day's walking today. Nine out of ten!

Hmmm. My Ordnance Survey app is definitely playing up and the graph doesn't look anything like today's walk. The total ascent today has been a miserly 13 feet or 4 metres. Seriously Ordnance Survey! I know it has been a relatively gentle walk but 13 feet!!

This graph is much more like today's walk so I guess my total ascent has been 767 feet :-

MAP

worth matravers to south haven point

June 10, 2017 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

tuesday, 6TH june 2017

Today's weather forecast doesn't look very good and I could be in for a very blustery day. For some reason the wind speeds on my weather forecast app are completely different on my iPhone and iPad. It has not been a good week for reliable technology.

Poole high tide 06:17

Poole low tide 15:03

I start the day back at the Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers and it is indeed a blustery start to the day.

It is clear as soon as I reach the coast that things are awry and the weather is a lot worse than either of my forecasts suggests and I get blown off of my feet several times in the blasting wind on the path to St Aldhelm's Head. This is far too dangerous to walk in.

I make it, somehow, to St Aldhelm's Chapel and, fortunately, the door is open so I shelter inside for 15 minutes hoping that the winds will die down. They don't so the tough decision is made to abandon the walk. This is the first time I've ever abandoned a walk.

I head along a track inland that takes me back to Worth Matravers.

lulworth cove to worth matravers

June 10, 2017 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

sunday, 4TH june 2017

Today's weather forecast looks to be pretty good although those temperatures don't look particularly high.

Mupe Bay low tide 08:15

Mupe Bay high tide 16:21

The last time I walked over the Lulworth Ranges was 5 years ago and it was a filthy day. The rain was literally washing the coast path away as I was walking along it and a huge stretch of the coast path was closed shortly afterwards and for a long period of time. Time has passed though and the coast path is back open now.

I start the day back at the car park above Lulworth Cove and wander down through Lulworth village passing the Lulworth Heritage Centre. I head out to Stair Hole and enjoy the views across the magnificent Lulworth Cove before descending across the old village green.

I head down to enjoy the beach and I'm not the only person doing the same thing. It is a beautiful early summer's morning.

The coast path seems to have been re-routed since the last time I was here and I follow signs through West Lulworth village and more signs point inland before I climb up Bindon Hill and head off across grassy slopes. I'm now high above Lulworth Cove and I climb gingerly down some steep stone steps. The heavy back pack isn't helping. I come across a lone pyramidal orchid about half way down.

I reach a beach at the bottom and realize that instead of taking the rather long detour inland I could have just walked across the beach at Lulworth Cove to get here.

I climb out of Lulworth Cove and have magnificent views back to Lulworth Cove from the top of Pepler's Point (not marked on my map).

I reach Fossil Forest Gate and detour down to the right to explore the Fossil Forest, consisting of strange rounded shapes known as 'algal burrs' but a cliff fall has meant that access is currently closed. I can still make out some of the fossilized trees down below me.

It's now time to enter the Lulworth Ranges at Fossil Forest Gate. I'm always worried that I've got my dates wrong and find that the gate is closed but, happily, it's open.

I can make out some more of the fossilized trees down below me from a bit further along the coast path.

I walk along a grassy path enjoying the lovely wildflowers before passing a radar station.

I have lovely views over Mupe Bay where I come across a large patch of common spotted orchids

I round Mupe Bay and climb a lot of steps up the massize cliff here. I come across another lone pyramidal orchid and then a lone bee orchid.

I continue along the clifftops where I come across burnet butterflies feeding on viper's-bugloss and the slopes below me are covered in orchids, quite happily growing amongst the military shrapnel.

Signs warn me not to touch any military debris as it may explode and kill me but cows below me don't seem to be triggering any explosions. I can see burnt out tanks and other vehicles down below.

It is then a steep descent down to the beach at Arish Mell which I can easily get to but signs warn me that it is off limits. What a shame.

I climb steeply out of the cove and come across plenty more orchids.

I now have magnificent views back from where I've come from before I amble inland away from the cliffs.

It has turned into a beautiful morning and is starting to get pretty hot. Much hotter than the weather forecast said it would. The weather was so bad last time I was here that I managed to follow the wrong path and ended up in Tyneham village. The army commandeered the village and the surrounding area in 1943 and forgot to give it back at the end of the war.

Fortunately, weather conditions are much better today and I manage to find the correct path easily and head through the ramparts of the Iron Age fort, Flower's Barrow, gradually falling into the sea.

I leave the hillfort through a gap in the ramparts and wander steeply downhill to Worbarrow Bay where I come across a patch of flag iris and some big clumps of sea thrift.

I drop down to the shingle beach and wander along it for a bit. It's rather lovely here and quite a few other people agree even though the beach is in the middle of nowhere.

I walk back up the beach and cross a footbridge before climbing back up the cliffs.

I now have fine views over Worbarrow Tout before walking along the clifftops at Gad Cliff where I pass Wagon Rock. The wildflowers are looking lovely on the cliffs and I have lovely views over the countryside down to Tyneham.

I pass Brandy Bay and Hobarrow Bay and head down through fields full of cows. My walk through the ranges is over so I leave through the exit gate at the start of Kimmeridge Bay.

I immediately come across Kimmeridge Wellsite where I pass the nodding donkey oil pump which has been pumping oil since 1959.

I head around Kimmeridge Bay where a field trip is taking place, passing the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve and Fine Foundation Marine Centre.

I climb steep steps up to Clavell Tower, a grade II listed Tuscan style tower built in 1830 and owned by the Landmark Trust. It was painstakingly moved, piece by piece, inland 25 metres away from the crumbling clifftop starting in 2006.

It is now an uneventful walk across the cliffs along fiddly, overgrown and windy paths. I walk up and downhill, crossing footbridges and navigate a tricky stretch of the path at Houns-tout cliff where I encounter a waterfall which doesn't seem to have any water. The cliffs are covered in wildflowers but there's also rather a lot of nettles.

I come across a small patch of bee orchids just coming into flower.

I climb some steep steps up a wooded cliff to reach a stone seat overlooking the sea. I have magnificent, if rather grey now, views.

I'm now high above the rather beautiful Chapman's Pool. Five years ago it was howling a gale and hammering down with rain when I got here and I had to help a couple of fellow walkers down the steps as they couldn't stand up in the wind. It's a much more peaceful day today!

It looks rather difficult to get down to the beach at Chapman's Pool, especially with a heavy back pack, but there are a few hardy souls down on the beach.

I descend down the steep flight of stone steps down to the fields behind Chapman's Pool. The coast path heads inland across fields to come across a minor road with a small car park nearby at Renscombe Farm.

This must be the road that takes me into Worth Matravers so I follow this road to reach my destination for the day the rather busy Square and Compass pub.

I head up the road slightly to the rather large car park for a rather small village. It is packed though! What a lovely day's walking.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

a yellowhammer
small copper butterflies
wall brown butterflies
red valerian
common bird's-foot trefoil
pyramidal orchids
common spotted orchids
bee orchids
six-spot burnets
viper's-bugloss
skipper (presumably dingy) butterflies

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 14.8 miles today which amounts to 35552 steps. It has been another beautiful day's walking today. Ten out of ten!

Hmmm. My Ordnance Survey app is definitely playing up. There's no way that this graph is representative of the up and down route today. The total ascent today has been an alleged 200 metres or 656 feet.