Hiking the Jurassic Coast

A Dino-Mite Adventure ...

With some extra time off in the middle of the week, what else is one to do but plan a short getaway to the English Coast? In early March, I decided to explore a new part of the U.K on a midweek getaway. I had only recently heard about the Jurassic Coast and was excited to discover another side to England and escape the city. My main goal was to hike along the South West Coast path catching sight of Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door before finishing my hike in Weymouth. Now being off season, proved to make things a little more complicated, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.

The South-Western Coast of England is well connected to London with frequent services from London Waterloo with South West Trains. I caught the train from Clapham Junction heading to Weymouth around 9am. I wanted to start my hike from Lulworth Cove, which in the offseason is not so well connected, with the bus only running in the summertime. After doing some research online, I figured that I could catch the train to Wool and then take a taxi to the Cove. Although more expensive than the bus, the taxi was not too badly priced and I got to know and gain advice from a very kind local. A short 10-15 minute taxi ride later and I had made it to Lulworth Cove, the starting point for my hike.

After admiring the beautiful cove I started my hike, with a nice incline no less. The path was relatively well marked and moderately busy for the initial section. Durdle door, the highlight of my hike was not too far beyond the cove. Although it definitely wasn’t beach weather, it was just as enjoyable to walk along the beach past Durdle door and watch the waves roll in. It served as a great location for a good ol' packed lunch.

After a good recharge and plenty of photos it was time to continue on. Especially with the shorter days in March, I was on a very strict schedule, if I was going to make it to Weymouth before the sun went down. The trail was not too challenging, there were some strenuous sections, where the trail followed the coastal cliffs and inclined and declined like there was no tomorrow. But as tough as these sections were, it made the hike all that more rewarding in the end; and the views were breathtaking. Beyond Durdle Door, the path was much less occupied and the trail markers were less evident. The trail moved away from the coast at times and led me through some paddocks. Whether I was meant to go through the paddocks, I’m still not too sure but it seemed like the right way at the time. The paddocks were quite soaked from the heavy rainfall of the previous week, which didn’t work so well with my Nikes, but what can you do. With wet feet and tiredness slowly kicking in, I was ready to have reached my final destination. Slowly but surely, I could see Weymouth in the distance, and I got that extra kick of motivation. That town I could see in the distance had a warm shower, comfortable bed and a nice warm meal waiting for me. I just had to make it there. With the sun starting to set, I had made it the start of the esplanade in Weymouth.

After a solid six hours and 25kms of hiking I had made it. I checked myself into my hotel, cleaned myself up and headed out for my celebratory feast. Safe to say I had an incredible sleep that night and the next morning I was back on the train to London and back into work the following day.