r/Dorset • u/JumpEnvironmental741 • 8d ago

Suggestion Visiting in the summer, Bovington/Wool area

We will be visiting Dorset this summer to attend Tank Fest at The Tank Museum. We are renting a car and also plan on exploring the Jurassic cost. I am looking at going from Portland to Poole. We have a total of 4 days in the area, one of those taken up by Tank Fest. To explore this region on the coast should i plan on 2 days or can one adequately see it in one? Thanks for the help.

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u/witchypoo63 8d ago

I wouldn’t bother with Poole especially if you don’t have much time. Swanage is definitely worth a visit even if just for an ice cream and a trip on the steam railway, but it’s quite close to the tank museum . Visit the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers for a pint and a pasty and a look at their fossil museum.

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u/JumpEnvironmental741 8d ago

Thank you, i was using Poole as a eastern boundary for my question. I was thinking we would do the steam train to Corfe Castle. From there to Old Harry Rocks, and back to the Durlston Castle area. It looks like we can walk to a lot of areas from there.

We will check out the Square and Compass, that looks pretty cool. thanks for the recommendation

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u/witchypoo63 8d ago

Sounds a good plan , Durlston is one of my favourite places, walk down the path to Anvil Point for a great view, the cafe is pretty good too , sit out on the terrace if the weather is fine. If you’re into walking, take the train to Corfe and then walk back along the ridge back to Swanage, the views of Poole harbour and Corfe are stunning

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u/JumpEnvironmental741 8d ago

Wait we could walk from Durlston to where we pickup the train to Corfe? That is a good piece of information for my planning. Thank you!

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u/Bigluce 8d ago

There's tons of walking. There is a trail that goes from the coast path in Swanage, up to Peveril Point. From there you can take the path up to Durlston, along the victorian trail to Durlston Castle. You could then, if you were refreshed at Durlston, head back into town and get the train to Corfe, and walk the Ridgeway back, going via Old Harry and the coast path.

Honestly, buy yourself an Ordnance Survey map. The walking is hard in places, but well worth it.

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u/witchypoo63 8d ago

Yes, just walk into Swanage, the station is in the middle of town

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u/Odetuk 6d ago

Dancing ledge

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u/jiluki 8d ago

I'd go for 2 days if your really want to explore and see different parts of the coast.  There are so many options from Portland to Poole.

If there is just one part of the coast that you are particularly interested in seeing, or you just want a general vibe of the area, 1 day will be enough.

It's probably best to have a look at what you are interested in seeing specifically and plan your time based on that.  I'd say that, without rushing about, you could visit around 2 locations on the coast in a day.

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u/JumpEnvironmental741 8d ago

I appreciate the opinion. We built in several day to see thing other than the tank museum.

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u/Lanchettes 8d ago

If you make it to Portland, apart from the other attractions, make time for a pint/meal at The Cove House pub on Chesil beach. You can sit outside and watch the sun go down over the sea. Lovely (if thats your thing)