The South West Coast Path

This blog will be a bit different as I had my own agenda for this holiday which included two 'A' walks, two walks not on the club itinerary and one walk on my own. I was aiming to cover as much as possible of the coastal path in Dorset as I have completed approximately 75% of the whole SWCP. I managed 63 miles between Abbotsbury and Swanage but had to give myself a day off in Weymouth as my feet and knees were suffering a bit. I think Ray was a bit disappointed in me!

Day 1 Kingston to Lulworth Cove

I have to thank Ben and my fellow 'A' walkers for being very kind to me on this walk. I know I slowed them down a bit on the steep parts but I hope they enjoyed it just the same. They were certainly very good company.

The A Team

The Clavell Tower

This is owned by the Landmark Trust and available to rent for over £500 for a three night stay even in winter. Apparently it gets booked up years in advance. It was moved away from the cliff edge in 2002.

Kimmeridge Bay

 This walk was about 13 miles and 3000ft of climbing and the steepest part was climbing up out of Kimmeridge Bay. I got jelly legs doing that and thereafter had jelly legs going down hill. I have to thank Rasmic for being very supportive and looking after me. I have probably spelt his name wrong as well!

Mupe rocks

Lulworth Cove

 The sea and the sky were brilliant shades of blue all day and we were accompanied by the sound of skylarks which helped to ease the pain of climbing up and down hills.
We arrived at Lulworth Cove just before high tide so fortunately could walk round on the beach and thankfully didn't have to climb another hill.

Day 2 Kingston to Swanage

Another day and another A walk. The official A walk would have meant that I missed a bit of the path so Ben kindly agreed to lead an A+ so that we could pick up the path in the same place as yesterday and walk in the other direction towards Swanage. Of course this involved more hills but not quite as severe as yesterday. The same team as before except for Brian. We saw the other walkers a couple of times but never caught them up.

looking back at yesterday's walk

Chapman's Pool

Royal Marines bench and table

last hill of the day!

St Aldhelm's Chapel

Tilly Whim caves

A little light rain as we made our way over the last few miles into Swanage via Peveril Point where we had a distant view of the Old Harry rocks that were visited by the B party.

Day 3 Lulworth Cove to Weymouth

This walk wasn't on the itinerary and involved a train ride and a taxi to get to the start. Today I was accompanied by Ray and Jackie and apart from the last half hour the weather behaved itself.

We started with a visit to Stair Hole before setting off on the coast path passing Durdle Door and over several hills.

Stair Hole

Gladiolus Byzantium

We kept seeing these along the path and if you have a warm sunny place in your garden you can buy them here.

Durdle Door

lunch spot!

This was a lovely spot for lunch high up on the cliff tops with skylarks and wild flowers all around and looking back at all those ups and downs we had just walked over.

Osmington Mills

By the time we reached Osmington Mills the weather was getting a bit murky and rain threatened. A lovely refreshment stop here.

The clouds were gathering behind us. Would we make it back before the rain arrived? Well no actually, just as we descended to the end of the promenade at Bowleaze Cove the heavens opened and we had a wet end to the walk into Weymouth. Nevertheless it was a splendid and varied walk and one to be recommended.

.Day 4 Weymouth to Portland

Now this was Steve the driver's day off and the club walk was around Portland. However I needed to fill in a coastal path gap so I walked to Portland instead of catching the bus and then walked clockwise around the edge taking in a visit to Easton where I bumped into Jean having her lunch. I didn't see anyone else from the club but I did do two short sections on the road to avoid further climbing so might have passed them then.

It was a grey day as I left Weymouth seafront and headed for the quay and it remained grey for the rest of the day with light spots of rain. The ferry for Guernsey was about to depart. A few of the group had been on this day trip at a bargain price of £20.

After crossing the estuary the path entered Nothe Gardens, passing the fort and then joining the Rodwell Trail, a disused railway line that had been converted very successfully to a walking and cycle route.

spider sculpture in Nothe Gardens

view of portland from the Rodwell Trail

Portland Common

There was a lot of traffic rushing backwards and forwards along the tombolo which joins Portland to the mainland but it was possible to walk on the grassy common a little further from the traffic.

You can follow the SWCP right round Portland in either direction. I chose to follow the Legacy Trail which is a narrow path rising steeply up to the prison and quarries. There were good views of Chesil Beach looking back.

 I bumped into Jean near Fancy's Family Farm and again at lunch in Easton gardens. After lunch I went to look at Church Ope Cove, reputedly the site of the first Viking attack on Britain in 789AD.

Church Ope Cove

Wherever you go you are surrounded by Portland stone, some being worked and much of it abandoned.

At last the lighthouse on Portland Bill came into sight and the many wooden huts scattered around in no particular order.

The Pulpit Stone

I thought I was running out of time when I got to Portland Bill but the way ahead looked grassy and easier to walk so I continued around the western side.

However I was diverted three times from the path as there was a danger of land slips and ended up in the sculpture park.

There was no one else here and it was quite difficult to find your way out but the diversion signs soon took me back on to the coast path and down into Fotuneswell to catch a bus back to Weymouth. A long day, nearly 15 miles in total.

Day 5 Weymouth

Hurray, a rest day for me! I pottered around the shops, bought a paper and sat on the seafront doing the crosswords and Sudoku and having my lunch. The sun even managed to shine a bit and when it did it was very hot. I managed to see the bridge being raised to let the ships pass under.

By the time I had eaten lunch the clouds were gathering out to sea so I went to Debenham's and spent a gift card that I had been given when I retired, had an ice cream and decided to return to the hotel for a cup of tea. A good decision as it turned out as I hadn't been there long when the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the day. I enjoyed the rest of the day reading and snoozing.

Day 6 Abbotsbury to Weymouth

The last day of the holiday and this time accompanied by Anita. We took the club coach to Abbotsbury where we picked up the coast path near the swannery. We didn't visit but did make use of their toilets!

Tithe Barn

The Swannery

Views of the Fleet

 We picked up the coast path outside the Swannery and climbed up on to a ridge with views over the Fleet, the large expanse of water between Chesil Beach and the shore and now a nature reserve. The walk was very peaceful all day with just an occasional shower. The only downside was the large amount of mud we had to negotiate on the coastal path and particularly in the fields and near to gates and stiles.

Weymouth

After Chickerell rifle range we took a wrong turn and ended up walking into Weymouth along a cycle route but that was quite interesting and took us through a part of Weymouth we wouldn't have otherwise seen. I think we walked about 11 miles today and celebrated the end of the holiday with an ice cream.