Wool Circular (via The Warren, Lulworth Cove and Castle) walk
Thomas Hardy Country, pretty coombes, the Jurassic Coast (Durdle Door, Stair Hole and Lulworth Cove), Lulworth Park with its fantastic Castle, and Coombe Heath

Lulworth Castle, south easterly view
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
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Coombe by Winfrith Hill
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
swcwalks swcwalk346 walkicon 48967637126

Durdle Door and Beach
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
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Stair Hole, its caves and arches
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
swcwalks swcwalk346 walkicon 48967089888

Lulworth Cove
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
swcwalks swcwalk346 walkicon 48967089143

The Valley towards Bellhuish Farm
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
swcwalks swcwalk346 walkicon 48967629931

Belted Galloway in Coombe Heath Nature Reserve
SWC Walk 346 - Wool Circular (via The Warren and Lulworth Cove and Castle)
13-Aug-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr
swcwalks swcwalk346 walkicon 48967805582
Length |
30.9 km (19.2 mi), with 753m ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk and an Alternative Start or a Finish at Lulworth Cove see below Walk Options. |
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Toughness |
9 out of 10, with 7 hours walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 13 hours. |
Walk Notes |
This Dorset walk leads mainly through the large Lulworth Estate, owned for centuries by the Weld Family, initially through the Thomas Hardy Country of rolling pastures, large woods and dairy farms, then – on a choice of routes – through remote, scenic coombes to a fascinating stretch of the Jurassic Coast, with its steep chalk cliffs, rock stacks rising out of the sea, natural limestone arches, caves and beautiful coves.
Note 1: Lulworth Park & Castle are closed to the public after 17.00 hours, all day Saturdays and on selected other days. At those times the afternoon shortcut will have to be walked.
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Walk Options |
Several buses connect Wool (and Weymouth) to Winfrith Newburgh (6.9 km into the walk), while also calling at Durdle Door Park (a little off route, 15.0 km into the walk) and in Lulworth Cove (16.4 km into the walk): Purbeck Breezer 30 (late May-late Sep: daily, but weekdays only most of June); X54 (Oct-Mar: Mon-Fri, Apr-Sep: daily); 55 (summer weekends only, but daily during Dorset summer holidays).
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Maps |
OS Explorer: OL15 (Purbeck & South Dorset)
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Travel |
Wool Station, map reference SY 844 869, is 173 km south west of Charing Cross, 15m above sea level and in Dorset. It is on the London Waterloo to Weymouth Main Line, with one train per hour (journey time 149 mins Mondays-Saturdays, 154 mins on Sundays). Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take a train no later than 8.35 hours. |
Lunch |
Early (the pubs are 640-900m off route)
Normal (from 16.0 km/10.0 mi to 17.2 km/10.7 mi into the walk)
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Tea |
In East Lulworth:
In Wool:
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Lulworth Cove |
Lulworth Cove, nearby Durdle Door (a cliff arch) and the dramatic white cliffs' coastal scenery are stunningly beautiful, and very popular and busy on sunny summer weekends. TravelWool Station is 7 kilometres north of Lulworth Cove on the Waterloo to Weymouth Main Line. Trains are hourly. Journey time 149 mins Mondays-Saturdays, 154 mins on Sundays. Wool Station to Lulworth Cove: bus or taxiUpdated : July 2019. Check online, recently these bus services have changed every year! Check Traveline South West.
Wool has two pubs close to the station to await your train, and a local store that keeps long hours. By CarAbout 3 hours drive from London.
StayWest Lulworth has a YHA youth hostel, a HF hotel, a campsite (mostly caravans, but they take tents), and B&Bs and Hotels. |
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Lulworth Ranges Danger Area |
This is an army live firing range around Tyneham, just to the east of Lulworth Cove.
It is only open at certain times. Access is allowed along marked Range Walks. They are shown on OS maps.
Lulworth Range WalksThe Range Walks are open
Latest updates : MOD : Lulworth Access Times The Lulworth Range walks and Tyneham Villages are: Open to the public every weekend with the exception of the following: 2021 18 / 19 September 2021 02 / 03 October 2021 06 / 07 November 2021 2022 19 / 20 February 2022 12 / 13 March 2022 25 / 26 June 2022 24 / 25 September 2022 08 / 09 October 2022 05 / 06 November 2022 On completion of firing the gates to the walks are opened as near as possible to 16.30 on the Friday afternoon. Please note that this is dependent on completion of range clearance and weather. The gates will then remain open until 8.00 on the Monday morning. In addition to the weekends they are Open every day during the following times (similar to school holidays); all dates are inclusive: 2021 Summer stand-down 28th July – 31st August 2021 Christmas 18th December 2021 – 03rd January 2022 2022 Easter: 9 to 24 April 2022 Spring stand-down: 28 May to 5 June 2022 Summer stand-down: 29 July to 31 Aug 2022 Christmas: 17 Dec 2022 to 2 Jan 2023 |
Profile | |
Help Us! |
After the walk, we would love to get your feedback You can upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:
swcwalks
swcwalk346
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By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start BH20 6BL Map Directions |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Travelline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
Nov-19 Thomas G |
Copyright | © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml |
Walk Directions
Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.
This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk