The West Lulworth village is considered one of the most beautiful in Dorset.
Walking on its roads, we experienced perfect postcard views everywhere we looked.
The village is also home to Lulworth Cove. Situated on the Jurassic Coast, the Cove is a beautiful, secluded beach. Only a 30-minute walk away, with the most breathtaking views, is the limestone arch of Durdle Door.
| Distance | Total Time | Difficulty |
| 9.88 km | 03:32 | Moderate |
Don’t forget to check the table with full details, maps and post notes with extra links for further research at the bottom of the page.
The Hike
We chose this stretch of the Jurassic Coast Path for our hike today. However, before you read about our impressions, I think some information about the path is beneficial, if not astounding.
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site in Southern England. The trail is the longest National trail walk in the UK, with 630 miles/ 1,014 km! The Jurassic Coast is a section of the trail, covering 95 miles from Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage. Hopefully, this track will be the subject of many future posts.
We started our hike at the car park in West Lulworth (Postcode: BH20 5RS), where Lulworth Cove Visitor Centre is.
From there, we went west, following the signs to Coast Path. The path is mostly dirt, grass, and gravel, but the start is a well-kept set of large stone steps. We went up the steps and immediately saw the most stunning views.
That section of the path is wide, and although busy, we didn’t feel it was too crowded, but this should be a consideration in the summer months. Our fur girls seemed to have had a good time going up, though Gambá had her tongue out already by the time we reached the top.
Luckily for her (and us 🙂 ) the trail gets easier from there until we get to the top where there is an easy down path to the stairs that lead to Durdle Door. At the same spot, another set of stairs takes you down to Man O’War Beach. You can see both beaches from the top.
To skip the rather steep walk up to the Durdle Door stairs (but miss out on the stunning views of the Lulworth Cove), you can also park at the Durdle Door Car Park (Postcode: BH20 5PU), just a 1-minute walk from Durdle Door.
There are some facilities next to this car park. We found an information point, a gift shop, a booth with refreshments and another selling ice cream.
Going down the stairs to the Durdle Door was not the most straightforward task, only because our dogs pull a lot when on leash. We saw other dogs coming down off leash, and their owners had a much easier time, I could tell 🙂
After admiring the Durdle Door, where many people were chilling on the beach, swimming and kayaking, we walked all the way to the Butter Rock at the end of the beach strip. The mostly pebble beach was not a very easy walk, but the girls loved it, and the view at the end of the beach was worth the walk.
Once back and up the stairs, we continued west towards the Bat’s Head cliff. That was the most challenging climb of the walk. Gambá was visibly tired, although Pequi was having a great time. So, if you decide to follow this hike with a small or older dog, make sure to stop regularly for breaks along the way and have some water for your pooch.
We decided to start our circular journey back to West Lulworth just before the last hill. We then walked the grass paths and the stunning hills of the farmlands until we were back at the stairs to Durdle Door. This section was about 2 kilometres long and very pleasant, passing through farmhouses and a little stretch of woods that helped our dogs to cool down.
From Durdle Door, it was a 20-minute walk back through the path back to the car park. Be careful going down the stairs here, as they can be slightly slippery.
Overall, it was a great hike with amazing views. I’d recommend checking wind speed if you plan to go there. Today it was only 8 mph and just about the limit not to be unpleasant. And remember that the walk might take a bit longer for a small or older dog. According to the Wikiloc app, we were moving for 2 hours and 15 minutes while our total time was 3:32, so there were plenty of stops.
Bring some snacks and water with you, as besides the ones near the two car parks, there are no other facilities along the paths.
In West Lulworth, most places to eat are dog friendly, with water bowls available at the entrances. After the hike, we went to Lulworth Lodge, just 2 minutes from the car park, for lunch and a well-deserved drink. For a special treat to your pups, Jakes Gelato also sells ice cream for dogs.
My only criticism is that I wish there were more rubbish bins along the way, but it is a minor thing for what was a great day.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and let me know if you have been there or are planning to walk this track in the comments below.
Cheers!
Ademar
Full Details Table
| Location | West Lulworth, Wareham |
| Parking Postcode | BH20 5RS |
| Parking Cost | £5 – Up to 4 Hours £10 – All Day |
| Starting Point | West Lulworth car park |
| End Point | West Lulworth car park |
| Total Time | 03:32 |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Distance | 9.88 km |
| Elevation | 2 m – 142 m |
| Facilities | – Toilet by the car park – good condition and free – Café and Fish & Chips by the car park – Information Centre by the car park – Waste bins at the car park only |
| Dog friendly rating | 4 stars |
| Points of Interest | – Durdle Door – Man O’War Beach – Butter Rock – Lulworth Cove (not on the trail but short walk from car park). |
Maps
Below is the map of our hike recorded with Wikiloc. You can find the zoomable Wikiloc map for the walk here. Feel free to use it.
Google maps Jurassic Coast view:
Post Notes
To help further research, at the end of every post I have added a list of links where you can find more information about much of what I wrote in the text above.
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