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Walking the Jurassic Coast
Dorset and East Devon: The walks, the rocks, the fossils
Walking the Jurassic Coast
Dorset and East Devon: The walks, the rocks, the fossils
This guidebook includes 30 walks on the Jurassic Coast of Devon and Dorset. Covering the coast between Exmouth and Bournemouth, these delightful routes range from 3 to 16 miles (5 to 24km), exploring and explaining the spectacular geology of this World Heritage area with clear, easily understood descriptions, cross-sections and timelines.Explore the Jurassic Coast’s breathtaking landscapes with 30 inspiring walks between Exmouth and Bournemouth, revealing the world-famous geology and timeless beauty of Dorset and East Devon. Discover sweeping sea cliffs, fossil-rich beaches, hidden coves, and green inland ridgeways, where ancient earth history is etched into every headland and valley. Trace the shoreline between Torbay and Swanage, venture onto the Dorset Downs, and pause to uncover ammonites, fossil forests, and the dramatic story of a coastline shaped over 185 million years.
Ideal for both new and experienced walkers, this comprehensive Cicerone guidebook features 30 walks ranging from 5 to 24km (3–16 miles), each designed to be completed in 2–8 hours. Whether you’re seeking a gentle seaside stroll, an easy morning on the downs, or a strenuous coastal hike with sweeping sea views, these routes showcase the diverse wonders of the Jurassic Coast, accessible from Exmouth, Sidmouth, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, Swanage, and beyond.
- Experience the best of the Jurassic Coast on foot, from the fossil beaches of Lyme Regis and the striking cliffs of Golden Cap and Portland Bill, to the tranquil valleys of Cerne Abbas and the iconic sweep of Chesil Beach.
- Enjoy year-round walking along the Jurassic Coast, explore green ridgeways in spring, bask on hidden coves in summer, marvel at colourful cliffscapes in autumn, and enjoy the brisk sea air of winter, with seasonal tips for making the most of your visit.
- Choose from 30 walks, each with a route summary, start and finish points, estimated walking time, and information on local facilities in towns and villages, including Exmouth, Sidmouth, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, and Swanage.
- Discover the rich geology and local points of interest along every Jurassic Coast walk, with timelines, cross-sections, and non-technical explanations bringing the rocks, fossils, and landscape to life, all key sites clearly marked on 1:50,000 OS maps.
- Walks range from easy rambles along the shoreline to challenging cliff-top hikes and inland adventures, all with downloadable GPX files and practical advice on accommodation, transport, and exploring the Jurassic Coast’s highlights.
- Explore over 95 miles (155km) of the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site, pause to spot ammonites, visit the fossil forest at Lulworth Cove, and end your day with a swim in the sea or an ice cream at a seaside café.
Plan your Jurassic Coast adventure with confidence and enjoy this celebrated stretch of England’s coastline, where every step reveals a new story written in stone. With the definitive Cicerone guidebook, discover the best of Dorset and East Devon’s walking country at your own pace, in every season.
Walking the Jurassic Coast – Quick Facts
Location: Dorset and East Devon, South West England
Number of routes: 30 day walks
Distance: 5–24km (3–16 miles) per walk
Duration: 2–8 hours per walk
Areas covered: Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Seaton/Beer, Lyme Regis, Bridport, Weymouth, Swanage, Dorset Downs, Cerne Abbas
Route type: Coastal and inland walks on cliff paths, beaches, downs, ridgeways, and valleys
Difficulty: Suitable for most walkers; from gentle seaside strolls to challenging cliff-top hikes
Terrain: Sea cliffs, hidden coves, fossil beaches, grassy downs, green valleys, historic settlements
Navigation: 1:50,000 OS map extracts and downloadable GPX files for each walk
Best season: Walks available year-round; quieter in spring and autumn, summer brings open ranges and warm seas
Highlights: World Heritage geology, fossil hunting, Chesil Beach, Lulworth Cove, Golden Cap, stunning sea views
Equipment: Walking boots, layered clothing, map or GPS, and sun/rain protection recommended
Refreshments & facilities: Information on local pubs, cafés, shops, accommodation, and parking included for each walk
Author Highlight
"Down at the seaside – and up on the downs. Dorset and South Devon have sweeping sea cliffs, magnificent rock architecture and hidden coves. Inland are long green ridgeways. Gentle grassland, the big sea view, and the ramparts of an Iron Age settlement make an easier morning before the strenuousness sea-level to cliff top of the coastal afternoon. And at day’s end, a swim in the sea, a cold drink, and perhaps another ice cream.”
- Ronald Turnbull, author of Walking the Jurassic Coast
Printed book
A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps - everything you need on the trail.
ISBN
9781852847418
Availability
Published
Reprinted
31 Jan 2024
Published
4 Jun 2015
Edition
First
Pages
240
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x 1.40cm
Weight
280g
eBook
The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device. To access your eBook, you will need an eReader app. For more details, visit the eBook FAQs.
Contents
Introduction
The Jurassic Coast
When to Walk Getting here, getting around, staying the night
Maps and GPS
Safety on the seaside
- Tides on the Internet
Using this book
Jurassic Coast Path (Exmouth to Poole Harbour)
Jurassic Coast end-to-end: logistics
Geological Introduction
The Sea
The Great Unconformity
The Universal Foundations
The fossils
- Smith's Principles of Faunal Succession
- Collecting Fossils
The drift of the continents
Eastwards is also Up
Section 1: Devon's Red Beds
Jurassic Coast Path: Exmouth to Seaton
Route 1 - Brixham and River Dart
- The Great Devonian Controversy
- Marine Dykes at Shoalstone Beach
Route 2 - Budleigh Salterton and Woodbury Castle
- Pebblebed Heath
Route 3 - Budleigh Salterton
- Budleigh Salterton Pebbles
Route 4 - Red Bed Roundabout
Route 5 - Otterton: Peak Hill and the Otter
- Otter Sandstone
Route 6 - Six Hills of Sidmouth
- The Great Unconformity
- Sidmouth Red Beds
- Larvikite
Route 7 - Sidmouth to Weston
- Greensand at Salcombe Mouth
Route 8 - Branscombe Mouth to Weston Mouth
- Gypsum at Weston Mouth
- Branscombe Mouth
Route 9 - Beer and Hooken Undercliff
- Beer Stone and Beer Head Limestone
- Fossilised sea floor
Route 10 - Beer to Blackberry Camp
Route 11 - inland: Hartridge and Dumpdon
Section 2: The Lias
Jurassic Coast Path: Seaton to Bridport (West Bay)
Route 12 - Lyme Regis Undercliff
- Bindon Landslip
- The Cobb
- Monmouth Beach
Route 13 - Lyme Regis to Charmouth (shorter)
- Black Ven
Route 14 - Lyme Regis to Conegar Hill and Charmouth
- Mary Anning
Route 15 - Hardown Hill and Golden Cap from Seatown
- Golden Cap: Boulder Arcs
- Tsunami of 1755
- Seatown summary
Route 16 - Bridport to Seatown
- Symondsbury's Inferior Oolite
- Shutes Lane
- Eype's Mouth and Fault Corner
Route 17 - West Bay and Burton Bradstock
- Burton Cliff and East Cliff
Route 18 - inland: Beominser to Pilsdon Pen
- Greensand Summits
Section 3: Chesil Beach
Jurassic Coast Path: Bridport to Osmington
Route 19 - Litton Cheney and Eggardon Hill
- Flint and Chert
Route 20 - Abbotsbury Castle and Chesil Beach
- Oolite limestone
- Chesil Beach
Route 21 - inland: Two ridges: Hardy Monument to Elwell
Route 22 - Isle of Portland circuit
- The Portland Roach
- Longshore Drift
Route 23 - Osmington shore and White Horse
- Osmington Doggers
- Redcliff Point
Section 4: Chalk walks Lulworth and inland
Jurassic Cosat Path: Osmington to Lulworth
Route 24 - Hardy's Egdon Heath
Route 25 - Cerne Abbas and the Giant
- Chalk fossils
Route 26 - Dorsetshire Gap
- Chalk Escarpment at Bulbarrow
- Ham and Portland
Route 27 - inland: Hambledon and Hod hills
- Jurassic Coast Path: Osmington to Ringstead
Route 28 - Ringstead Smugglers' Path
- Moigns (Upside) Down
Route 29 - Lulworth Cove and Coast
- The Durdle Wall: Portland and Purbeck erect
- Fossil Forest
Section 5: Isle of Purbeck
Jurassic Coast Path: Lulworth to Poole Harbour
Route 30 - Kimmeridge, Tyneham and Flower's Barrow
- Mupe Bay and Wealden Clay
Route 31 - Swyre Head and Kimmeridge Ledges
- Kimmeridge Bay
Route 32 - Chapman's Pool and St Alban's Head
- Chapman's Pool
- Jurassic Coast Path: Winspit to Seacombe
Route 33 - Swanage: Durlston to Dancing Ledge
- Dancing Ledge
Route 34 - Isle of Purbeck Circuit
- Purbeck Marble
Route 35 - Ballard Down and Agglestone
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Indoor geology: museums and visitor centres
Appendix 2: Rock reference: websites and books
Appendix 3: Timechart - Cambrian to Now
Appendix 4: Rocks of the Jurassic Coast
Appendix 5: Jurassic Coast cliff diagrams
Seasons
Year-round. Late July and August can be busy on beaches and car parks. Winter (October to March) has more challenging weather and can be muddy underfoot..
Centres
Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Beer/Seaton, Lyme Regis/Charmouth, Bridport, Dorchester, Portland, Cerne Abbas, Lulworth, Swanage
Difficulty
Most walks are on good, clear paths. Coast path ascents and descents can be steep but are short. The longer walks require physical fitness but many shorter ones allow time for studying the rockforms and fossils.
Must See
Nearly 100 miles of clifftops. Fossil-hunting at Lyme Regis. The quartzite pebbles of Budleigh Salterton. Tree trunks of 150 million years ago at Lulworth Cove. The Cretaceous sea that carved right across England. Chalk downland and a rude man at Cerne Abbas. The Purbeck crumple zone caused by Italy's impact with Europe.
August 2023
Walk 13
The cliff collapse on 9 Aug at West Bay affects Walk 13 between Burton Freshwater and West Bay. The beach is currently closed and the clifftop path (as seen on the book's cover) has an emergency temporary diversion inland across the golf course, along the 'public footpath' line. The situation may change as cliff conditions are assessed, so look out for signs locally.
The cliff collapse on 9 Aug at West Bay affects Walk 13 between Burton Freshwater and West Bay. The beach is currently closed and the clifftop path (as seen on the book's cover) has an emergency temporary diversion inland across the golf course, along the 'public footpath' line. The situation may change as cliff conditions are assessed, so look out for signs locally.
July 2023
Walk 16
Page 131 - The Bull Inn at Swyre is no longer there
June 2023
Walk 11 parking
Under Parking in the Information box on p92, it should say See walk 10.
August 2022
Walk 28
On reaching the start of the tarmac lane above Chapman's Pool, the former footpath down to the Pool has now been closed due to the unstable Kimmeridge Clay surface, and its steps and stile removed (although it is still being used by the disobedient). The former bridleway having also been closed, the only access to the shore is by the former track to the boathouse.
Accordingly, at the bottom of Hill Bottom keep left on the rough track above the stream, along the foot of the steep slope. After a landslipped area, it winds down to the boat houses at the southern corner of the big bay.
The walk continues back up the same track.
December 2021
Walk 26
Walk 26 Kimmeridge
At Tynham Cap, a minor route alteration. On the outward part of the walk, where the green track along the ridgeline turns into a field on the north side of the ridge, instead take the grass path ahead. After 200 metres, a small gate leads back onto track again. Just before this gate note the path turning down sharp left, which will be used on the return route.
July 2021
2021 reprint updates
741 Reprint 2021 (1.982 MB)
May 2021
Walk 20
P160, descending towards Minterne Magna
The small gate on the left ('signposted for Minterne Magna') has dropped its arm and just has a bridleway marker. The mid-field signpost below has been lost, so slant gradually away from the track, working gently downhill for 300 metres. After passing above a small wood, look out for a small gate in the fence at the field foot.
(Thank you to Simon Stevens)
May 2021
Walk 19
P150 In Weymouth Bay the holiday park signposting and shop have changed, so just follow 'exit' signs to escape to the A353.
April 2021
Walk 12 Bridport to Seatown
Two cliff falls in April 2021 affect this route, though neither as yet has caused radical diversion of the Coast Path. One is east of Seatown, on the ascent to Thorcombe Beacon. The other east of Eype's Mouth, above Fault Corner (previously reported on the website), and has a small diversion inland into the holiday park here.
Look out for signs marking the path alterations, and be aware that they may develop further.
April 2021
Walk 7 Hartridge and Dumpdon
At Hillend Farm, exit to the corner of a lane.
Keep ahead along this lane. After 50 metres, there has sometimes been a cleared path up left through the bracken, and turning right along the slope top. Otherwise, in 300 metres along the lane turn up left on a right-of-way path. Either way, you reach a lane at the slope top.
Thanks to Mr Simon Stevens for this update!
August 2019
Route updates
Walk 10 Permissive path to St Gabriel's Beach
The path and steps down to St Gabriel's Beach, so handsomely restored in 2014, was undercut by cliff erosion in 2017 and is currently closed until further notice. Maintenance, repair and replacement of this path is a constant battle between the National Trust and the sea, with the NT in the role of the plucky underdog. A notice (or absence of one) at the top of the path will give its current status – see also the Golden Cap page at www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
This does not affect the main route continuing along the cliff top towards Golden Cap.
April 2016
Walk 8 Lyme Regis Undercliff
The route has reopened (Spring 2016) after being closed due to a landslip above Culverhole Point. The new, slightly diverted route takes in Goat Island (which isn't an island - see 'Insolated Strip' in the diagram with Walk 8). Thanks to Paddy Dillon for flagging this.
The cover of the guidebook refers to 'notes on the Jurassic Coast Path' which were not included in the final published book/ePub/Kindle.
We apologise for any confusion or disappointment but readers can now download Ronald's introduction to, outline description of and tips on the logistics of tackling the Jurassic Coast Path.
Notes on the Jurassic Coast Path (82.193 KB)
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