Purbeck’s Jurassic Coast and East Dorset

This holiday uses the Springfield Country Hotel and  Spa, near Wareham, Dorset. The hotel has a spa and swimming pool for your use.

The Springfield Country Hotel takes great pride in being a family owned country hotel with its own outstanding professional management team.

Evening dinner is three courses and taken in the hotels dining room.

We have lunch in one of Dorset’s lovely country pubs along our walk.

We offer you the opportunity to stay additional nights, and many people extend their weekend as they wish. Just reserve what nights you need.

Getting to Wareham

From London

M25/M3 for Winchester/Southampton

A350 Poole then A351 to Wareham

From the North West

M6 south/M5 south/M42/M40 for London

A 34 Newbury and Southampton, then A350 Poole then A351 to Wareham

From North East

M1 south to Leicester/M69 Coventry/M40 then A 34 Newbury and Southampton, then A350 Poole then A351 to Wareham

By rail

Wareham is the nearest station

Rail enquiries

Our first walk is on Friday afternoon starting from the hotel reception at 2.30pm, a two hour “get to know you “walk, with a cuppa at the end.

If you cannot make that walk, then we meet on Friday evenings, at 7.00 pm, for a three course dinner and a discussion on what we are doing during the weekend.  Each weekend’s walking has a different theme, to fit into the time of year, or events going on in the area.

We walk on Saturday and Sunday finishing at 4.00pm.

If you have booked an additional night’s accommodation, note there is no walk on the Monday.

Sample Walks

What a gem – the Jurassic Coast offers fabulous walking and scenery to die for.

Friday afternoon – walk along the clifftops to the curious chalk formations of Old Harry Rocks and look across to the vast sands of the Studland Bay nature reserve. Enjoy afternoon drinks at the historic Banks Arms pub.

We then choose from the below

Travel to the world famous rock arch of Durdle Door, then hike to the blue waters of Lulworth Cove for lunch, along the cliffs of the Jurassic coast. In the afternoon take a loop around the unspoilt heaths of the military range past a fossilised forest and secluded smugglers cove to finish back at Lulworth Cove for a cuppa.

Start in the lost village of Tyneham and hike up and along the ridge towards East Creech for lunch. After, we pick up part of the hardy way taking in the heathland and past the famous blue pool nature reserve. 

Starting above Kimmeridge, then past the Golden bowl and Swyre head. Turning inland we say farewell to the coast and glimpse the iconic Corfe Castle where we stop for lunch. After lunch we hike up along the ridge to our very own ‘secret hill’.

We have a shorter day taking in the stunning heathland and nature reserves stopping for lunch with a view (weather permitting). Just a short way to go after lunch past historic giant rock boulders and rounding off the holiday with a well earned visit to the pub. Normally the last day.

Sunday – Travel to the world famous rock arch of Durdle Door, then hike to the blue waters of Lulworth Cove for lunch, along the cliffs of the Jurassic coast. In the afternoon take a loop around the unspoilt heaths of the military range past a fossilised forest and secluded smugglers cove to finish back at Lulworth Cove for a cuppa.

The Purbeck hills and rolling countryside will enchant you  – and is a land of ever changing vista’s – on any walk we get four or five different landscapes to enjoy.   Walking boots or shoes are obligatory, and many walkers find a walking pole useful, especially on the downhills.  You will also need wet weather gear—generally we have a mild climate, lovely springs and mild autumns and winter walking too is outstanding in theses secret hills. When we send you your joining details a set of walking routes will be included

Purbeck is a district of Dorset that takes its name from the peninsula known locally as the ‘Isle of Purbeck‘. This sixty square mile chunk of land jutting into the English Channel is bordered on three sides by water and, although not actually an island, has an insular character which is largely due to its geography.

Much of the beautiful Jurassic coast lies within its boundaries and stunning rock features simply astound you.

A ridge of chalk from the Cretaceous period known as the Purbeck Hills runs along the peninsula from Ballard Down, a National Trust nature reserve north of Swanage managed for its calcareous grassland habitat, through Corfe Castle and almost to East Lulworth a hamlet consisting of 17th century thatched cottages. East Lulworth is relatively low-lying due to a break in the cliff that occurs at Arish Mell, while to the north is Luckford Lake, a small stream feeding into the River Frome, which in turn runs into Poole harbour. In the past the low-lying land would have been very boggy and difficult to cross in winter, hence the ‘Isle’ of Purbeck.

The first settlement in the area would have been at Wareham. Easily reached by road and rail, today’s town forms an ideal base for exploring the Purbeck coast. Wareham’s accessibility attracted regular raids throughout history, especially from the Vikings, and it was eventually captured by King Canute in 1016. Raised earthen walls were built around the town for protection and today these walls are a haven for wildlife and enclose a thriving market town with a Saxon street plan and more than 200 buildings of historic and architectural interest.

Corfe Castle

The nearby Corfe Castle represents another attempt to defend the area from marauding armies. Built in a gap in the Purbeck Hills this ruined castle dates back to the 11th century. It is now owned by the National Trust, who are currently attempting to restore it. The village of  Corfe Castle, built in the gap below the ruins, is a picturesque affair and attracts many visitors each year.

The Purbeck coastline is part of the ninety-five mile stretch known as the Jurassic Coast named England’s first natural world heritage site in 2002 because of the unique insight it offers into 185 million years of the Earth’s history. The Purbeck Beds are an internationally important record of the evolution of mammals at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, and a total of more than 100 different vertebrate species have been identified from fossils. The Purbeck limestones are also famous for dinosaur tracks, the most significant of which are at Keat’s Quarry, where footprints more than a metre in diameter were discovered in 1986.

It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.