Weymouth to Lulworth Cove

Weymouth to Lulworth Cove - Sunday 23rd August 2015

Path Facts - Length: 11 miles, ascent 2513 ft

8am breakfast. Away by 8.50am into the drizzle. Today was forecast as rain. When we got to the sea front there was a large group of walkers/runners which, on enquiry, turned out to be the start of the Dorset Doddle, a 32 mile jaunt to Swanage from Weymouth with a cut off time of 12 hours.

Challenging! We discovered later that one of the UK's best fell runners was attempting to beat his
record of about 4hrs 45mins. He didn't. He finished in about 5 hours. Lightweight. I expect because the paths were so wet & muddy. Traction was difficult enough in places just walking.

There was also what looked like the latter stages of a triathlon running this morning. They must have started early as the running stage was completing as we got to Bowleaze. So, despite the crap weather there was a hive of activity going on on the route out of Weymouth.

One runner who sounded Dutch or German came past us just before Osmington Mills. She was sliding all over the place in road shoes on what was basically a mud slide.

Stopped at Osmington Mills for tea about 11am. Had a quick chat to one of the marshalls for the Dorset Doddle. There were a few people in the event behind us or about level with us who were already going to struggle to meet the cut off. Relatively unconcerned with times, we had a reasonably priced tea and biscuits today at £4 for two! Also a semi dry off.

A view of Portland in the rain.

There's only about another mile after Osmington Mills to Ringstead where there's the last obvious food stop before Lulworth Cove. So we stopped about 11.45am at the hut and had a rather early
veggie burger and chips. Not bad. We could even sit outside for a bit in a brief respite from the drizzle. Then there is also an undercover seating area which we used when the drizzle returned. We shared this with a few other holiday makers and a house martin who was nesting in the roof and shooting out for a quick fly about in the rain occasionally.

When we started up again about 12.15 the rain came down hard and we tried sheltering under various inadequate trees before using a rubbish bin store on the edge of a camp site. Not the most high class shelter but dry and better than the alternatives. I was seriously cooling off at this point. Felt like October, not August. Put some more layers on to feel just about ok.

The worst of the rain stopped so we set off again. By 1pm on the route up to White Nothe the rain stopped and sun came out for a glorious afternoon.

The views around Swyre Head and Durdle Door were great. Really clear now back to Portland and the onward path Eastwards.

Got to Lulworth Cove about 3pm. Very busy here and at Durdle Door. We thought the tourists would have been rained away but they must have all leapt in cars as soon as the weather changed.

A view of the coast path into Lulworth Cove that we just walked.

A bit of a chill down by the cove followed by and ice cream then awaited the X43 bus at 4.05pm. £5 each one way to Weymouth. These buses are not that frequent but worked out pretty well with our itinerary. They do run on Sundays which wasn't that clear from the info on the web. Thanks to Dorchester Tourist Info for the local knowledge. Back at Weymouth 4.40pm.


Info

Accommodation - Greenwood Guest House

Location ***

Room ***

Facilities ***

Noise ** the nearby road was busier than expected and with warm nights the windows needed to be open.

Food ****

Ambience ***

Price **** £66 for the room

Portland Loop

Portland Loop - Saturday 22nd August 2015

Path Facts - Length: 13.2 miles, ascent 1093 ft

8am breakfast again. Bus to Ferry Bridge. These run every few minutes. Started walking 9.10am. Sunny.

The first stretch is across the causeway then there was a slight navigational issue again on
arriving at Portland. As we walked up on the East side the coast path signs were indicating the clockwise route round the island. So we had to cut across to the Chesil Beach side and pick up the path through Fortuneswell. Going clockwise round the island in opposition to the rest of the path would quite possibly break a fundamental law of the universe. The path rises up above the houses from the main street in Fortuneswell.

Had a very early stop at Quiddles Cafe in Chesil Cove for a cold drink before heading up the steep route to the plateau.

Once on top there is the classic view back across Chesil Beach. The path then goes through some dramatic quarries with great views all round. There were a couple of path closures / diversions.

After trying to go round the first diversion for no apparent reason we decided to just keep going for the second one. I'm not sure any more whether the warning signs are significant risks or just the
local authority covering itself legally, probably the latter. But the net effect is that you start ignoring the signs completely when there seems to be no obvious danger. I suppose there is always a hidden risk of collapse of a weakened stretch of path but you'd have to be damned unlucky. Portland is a mixed but interesting bag. There's some dramatic bits. There's also some none too aesthetically pleasing housing estates. But the mix and the history makes this a rewarding walk. Also great weather today.

Arrived at Portland Bill about 11am, a bit early for lunch. Had a cream tea anyway, just to keep going you know. There's only one place to eat here and the tea was lukewarm. Scones were ok.

Quick progress check...yep, that looks about right.

The East side of Portland is not quite as impressive and the path meanders away from the coast a fair bit.

But even the prison is interesting to see. This is the Young Offenders Institute and the
security looks like something from North Korea.

A working quarry...

Verne Citadel is another interesting place. Originally a Victorian Fort, built by prison labour, then a prison, more recently used for illegal immigrants awaiting deportation. There are epic sized earthen walls and a moat.

Not sure whether the Jailhouse Cafe marked on the map was still open but this was apparently in the grounds of the fort so could have been an interesting visit. By this time we didn't fancy more detours so we carried on down to the harbour and had a jacket spud in the cafe at Osprey Leisure Centre. Not perhaps the obvious place to stop but friendly and good food.

Back across the causeway and ended up running for the bus at Ferry Bridge. This was approx 4pm. Felt like a fairly easy day.

Pizza at The Stable in the PM. Good food but very noisy, echoey. Also warm & humid. Quick pint in forecourt outside the Red Lion after.


Info

Accommodation - Greenwood Guest House

Location ***

Room ***

Facilities ***

Noise ** the nearby road was busier than expected and with warm nights the windows needed to be open.

Food ****

Ambience ***

Price **** £66 for the room


Food – The Stable

Quality ****

Price ***


Beer - The Stable/The Red Lion

Seafarers
Black Sheep

Abbotsbury to Weymouth

Abbotsbury to Weymouth - Friday 21st August 2015

Path Facts - Length: 14 miles, ascent 922 ft

8am breakfast. Into town to get an M&S take away for lunch then to the bus stop to catch the X43 at 9.05 to Abbotsbury. This was a bit tight but carried out with military precision. Particularly the sandwich selection bit. Weather overcast but humid and warm.

Started walking at about 9.40am and took a slight unplanned detour at the start from Abbotsbury but picked up the path at the swannery. The first part of this walk is inland then it cuts down to the edge of the Fleet. After this point the sea is mostly hidden behind Chesil Beach. So one of the less coastal bits of a coast path, but pleasant enough.

Stopped at Moonfleet Manor about midday for a pot of tea and "free" homemade biscuit. Call me cynical, but the second after the thought, "Oh, free biscuit" was "What are they going to charge for the tea", as we didn't ask in advance. Turns out £7 for tea for two and two "free" biscuits. Fairly posh lounge area in the hotel but we went in the garden with the light drizzle! We know our
place.

Had lunch at a picnic bench next to the campsite at East Fleet Farm. This was about 1pm I think.

Stopped again at a campsite shop at Littlesea Holiday Park for drinks & snacks.

We deviated from the official route a bit today due to the logistics of the next couple of days. Officially, the path is from Abbotsbury to Weymouth Ferry Bridge (where Weymouth joins the causeway to Portland). This is about 11 miles. But this would give us a particularly long day on Sunday when we have a bus to catch from the finish & Andy was planning to travel home. Hence we carried on past Ferry Bridge round the coastal route to Weymouth Harbour, ignoring Portland for the time being until tomorrow. This makes today's route about 14 miles and reasonably flat.

 

 

Stopped yet again (could be a record today) for tea at Sandsfoot Castle. This stretch is quite built up and follows some cycle way and quiet streets on the SE edge of Weymouth. The path cuts through Nothe Gardens next to the fort and down through the harbour. Arrived at the harbour about 4.30pm.

 Apparently I've now got a seagull obsession...

The strategy for this section of path was to base at one B&B in Weymouth and walk a few days using buses to get to and from start and finish points. This makes sense with regard to the Portland loop and is also fairly useful for the stretch either side of Weymouth. Also means you can walk with a day pack rather than carrying a week's gear with you. Makes walking a fair bit easier.

Went out for food/beer at one of two local Wetherspoons which was more than passable. Went to see the latest Mission Impossible film which was fairly terrible with the cheesiest plot (the holey kind). Rebecca Ferguson was the film's only redeeming feature.


Info
Accommodation - Greenwood Guest House

Location ***

Room ***

Facilities ***

Noise ** the nearby road was busier than expected and with warm nights the windows needed to be open.

Food ****

Ambience ***

Price **** £66 for the room


Food – The Swan (Wetherspoons)

Quality ****

Price *****


Beer - The Swan (Wetherspoons)

Ruddles Best
Doom Bar