England's Best Coastline: South Haven Point to Weymouth

How to get to Bournemouth

Train: To get to Bournemouth you can catch South Western Railway from London Waterloo or Clapham Junction that takes about 1h 50m. You can book online from the South Western Railway website or purchase tickets from the station. If travelling from elsewhere check out the national rail map for rail links to the area.

Drive: You can also drive to Bournemouth and park at one of the many multi story car parks that offer 24 hour rates. Including the Madeira Road multi-storey car park that is cheap and close to the station to catch the bus to the trailhead.

Getting To the Trailhead at South Haven Point

To get to the trailhead at South Haven Point you can catch bus No. 50 the “Purbeck Breezer” from the Bournemouth train station and the journey takes about 50 minutes.  Buses depart every every 60 minutes and costs £2.50 you can check the route and timetable here. The bus goes through Bournemouth and out to Sandbanks where the bus crosses the water on a ferry, the south haven point bus stop is the first after the ferry crossing.

Where to stay?

Where to stay depends on if you are wild camping or staying in lodgings. The beauty of hiking sections of England’s long trails is the ability to be able to stay in lodgings giving you access to a warm shower, comfy bed and a good meal. It also lightens the your pack so you only carry clothing making the overall experience a lot more enjoyable.

Day 1 Swanage: Swanage is a beautiful seaside town with loads of accommodation and food options. You will also find supermarkets to pick up supplies for the onward journey. If you are wild camping we would recommend hiking past Swanage and past Durlston castle to about the 12 mile mark. This way you will be far away from town and have less hiking the next day.

Day 2 Lulworth Cove: Lulworth cove is a beautiful area on the doorstep of Durdle door. Here you will find accommodation options and limited food options. We stayed at Durlde door holiday park that has glamping pods and cabins to rent. We saw a few people wild camping on the chalk cliffs just past Durdle door this looked like a good spot to wake up and watch the sunrise over Durdle door.

Day 2: A tough day with 20.1 miles to cover! we left at 7am and felt it was a little too late. We would recommend leaving at 6am to give yourself plenty of time to enjoy Durdle door at the end. This day you will see loads of points of interest like Durlston Castle, Anvil point lighthouse, Dancing ledge and a bunch of quarry’s including Winspit Quarry. There will also be some of the most spectacular coastline you are ever likely to see and if going in spring there are lush fields filled with wildflowers. There are no towns or anything along this section just pure wilderness but you can buy a cold drink, ice cream or a bite to eat at Kimmeridge bay where they have food trucks in the carpark where we stopped for a well needed drink and ice cream. The trail finishes off at Durdle Door(or Lulworth Cove if staying there) where you can take in the views of this geological wonder and take a dip in the water (weather permitting). 

If doing the 2 day hike, from the Durdle Door car park entrance catch the X54 bus to Wool(25m) in the Wool / Wareham direction or to Weymouth(36m). The journey cost £2 and you can see the X54 schedule here. From Weymouth/Wool you can catch the train to London or Bournemouth to collect your car if driving or other destinations. Keep in mind the train journey to London/Bournemouth is shorter from wool as it has less stops.