As part of a bigger trip, we spent three nights camping at Durdle Door holiday park in Dorset. At £85 for three nights camping without an electric hook-up, it was the most expensive camping we have done to date, but you are paying for the location – the beauty spots of both Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove are just a short (but steep) walk from the campsite.
This area is just a small part of the Jurassic Coast, which stretches for around 95 miles along England’s south coast from Exmouth (in Devon) to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage (in Dorset). The whole area is classes by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site due to it’s landscape and many fossils found within the area.
Durdle Door is a famous natural limestone arch, which is very popular with photographers. The stunning sheer high white cliffs continue along the beach, with many caves, which are not safe to enter due to rockfalls. There are walking trails along the top of the cliffs and the path continues, followed by stairs, to both Durdle Door and the adjacent Man O’ War beach.
Sunsets over Durdle Door beach are stunning and you don’t have to walk down the hill or steps to get a lovely view!
In the opposite direction from the campsite, the path leads to the much photographed Lulworth Cove. Unlike Durdle Door, there is a village at Lulworth Cove with places to stay, pubs, cafes and restaurants, so it’s a nice place to incorporate having lunch. We enjoyed a nice lunch in the large sunny beer garden of the Lulworth Cove Inn.
Our campsite/holiday park had a good on-site restaurant, which we ate in one night. There are also a couple of places to eat in the pretty village of West Lulworth, less than a mile from the campsite. If you don’t go into West Lulworth for a meal, then pop in to the village for a drink (we went to the Castle Inn, which was nice) and then have a stroll round. It’s a beautiful little village with thatched roofed houses and lots of flowers and window boxes.
The final place we visited during our stay was Kimmeridge Bay, about 30 minutes drive from the campsite. It was recommended to us for canoeing due to ease of access to the water, although we have to say that in hindsight we would have preferred to park up at Lulworth Cove and then just carry our canoe the 500 metres or so from the car to canoe there.
One thing we never knew about before we went, which is worth mentioning, is that you are near an Army base (Lulworth Camp) which has firing ranges, so the peace and tranquility of the area was often broken by gunfire – when we first heard it we didn’t know what was going on!
So that was our short but sweet trip to a small part of the Jurassic Coast, and area we would love to explore more of some day.
If you enjoyed reading this blog, please use the buttons below to like & share.
ExploreOurWorld 