Saturday: 3rd June: Weather: 11°C to 20°C:
Preston to Lulworth Cove: 18.4k walk: 6hrs: 8.15am to 2.15pm: ???m Ascent: 700 metres
Accommodation: Hester’s private Room, Sunnyside Tce, Lulworth Cove
Pretty village of Sutton Poyntz
Highlights of day 21 were walking through the pretty village of Sutton Poyntz on the way back up to join the SDR, soon to see the giant white horse carved in the hillside, then on to Osmington Mills where the SDR joins the SWCP. From there, the path has five very steep ascents and descents over the white limestone cliffs before reaching the incredible Durdle Door, a hole in the coastal rock, with hordes of tourists, making the steep climb up and down to see the the most photographed feature on the whole of the coastal path.
It’s so quiet, we sleep in til 6.15am, have a cup of tea, shower, then breakfast of muesli and yoghurt for Ian, I have toast, jam and yoghurt. After a quick chat home, we leave at 8.15am and back track through the pretty village of Sutton Poyntz with it’s thatched roof cottages beside the mill pond.
Whire Horse carved in hillside
Whire Horse in distance
Osmington Mills SDR meets SWCP
Portland Island isthmus in distance
White Limestone Cliffs to Lulworth
Durdle Door with hordes of tourists
Queen Street tourists to Durdle Door
Lulworth carparkfor Durdle Door
Lulworth Cove swimming in 15°C
Dinner on deck of Lulworth Cove
Excess baggage from 3 Capes
It’s a cool morning at 11°C but much warmer than yesterday, even with the north wind still quite strong. We’re looking for the White Horse carved into rock in 1808 to commerorate George 111 and his visits to the area around Weymouth. The GPS on my phone tells me we are within a few metres of it but we can’t find it and move on downhill towards Osmington. When we turn around, it’s there, back on the cliff that we were standing on a few minutes ago. At 98 metres high x 85 metres long, It’s quite a site on such a beautiful sunny day.
Through teh village of Osmington, then 2k firther to Osmington Mills where the SDR joins the SWCP. It’s now 10.45am, and we’ve been walking for two and a quarter hours. Time for a coffee sitting on teh grass, our backs against a stone wall. Thirty minutes of rest and we’re off again following a well graded track up to White Nothe, where there’s great views back to Weymouth, Portland Island amd the isthmus that joins the two.
For the next two hours, we’re up and down several very steep white limestone cliffs until we spot a line of tourists descending a steep path towards the beach. But we soon discover they have come to see the Durdle Door, the most photographed feature on the whole of the SWCP. There were thousands, mostly international tourists, but only a handful English speaking. We’re amazed! It was totally unexpected. I had read where the Durdle Door, a natural arch of limestone, was the the best example of a stone arch anywhere in the world, but later that day when we spoke to our Hester, our host at the Air BnB in West Lulworth, we discovered teh real reason for the international visitors. She said tourism had exploded, particularly amoung tourists from India due to the Bollywood effect with so many Indian films featuring Durdle Door and Lulworth. ‘
After a strenuous morning of ups and downs, we arrive in Lulworth at 2.15pm, and our Air BnB doesn’t open until 4pm. So we have a leisurely lunch of biscuits and a cup of tea, before wandering down to the pretty Cove, which is almost an enclosed circle surrounded by cliffs, and open to the sea by a small outlet. Then a walk of to the local shop which caters for tourists who have forgotten things - a shade for teh beach, buckets and spades for teh kids, soft drinks etc but not a lot of real food - but they do have wine and beer though at exhorbitant prices. Another 1k up to our Air BnB at Bindon Lodge, Sunnyside Tce, West Lulworth where we are greeted by Hester’s daughter who shows us to our bedroom. Simple and basic but it suits us. And there’s an oudoor bench seat and a table that makes for a perfect dinner setting.
Soon we’ve showered, washed our dusty clothes and hung them on the clothes line in teh sun. I blog for a while and soon Ian trots off to buy a bottle of Zinfandel and a can of Moretti Beer to go with our left over salad from last night. Dinner in our garden setting, watching our washing dry and teh sun set is really nice. Later we have our usual hot chocolate usng Ian’s Jetboil as there is no jug in the room. Then bed at 9pm.