Circular walk including Kimmeridge Bay, Houns Tout and Swyre Head

This will be my last post for the year and as we've been home over the last few months, I thought it would be good to finish on a local walk. The weather forecast for this week is mainly rain, cloud and wind so I chose the best day which was today (20 th December) with the possibility of no rain and maybe a couple of hours of sunshine.

The walk is a circular one starting above Kimmeridge village (car park at SY 919 800) and then across fields to the Bay and from there picking up the South West Coast path going past Clavell Tower towards Chapman's Pool. The walk started off fine with good views along the coast but very overcast. There were many surfers at Kimmeridge and just past Clavell on the east side of the bay, I could see dozens of them striving to get a good wave. Looking out to sea across the channel I could spot rays of sunlight penetrating through lighter cloud but soon there was drizzle and as I approached Rope Lake Head the rain got heavier. Here there is another path that heads inland and eventually up the steep cliff to Swyre Head but not for me today, I needed a longer walk so I donned my waterproofs and continued along the coast. The path was very slippery and sometimes narrow. A while back this section of the coastal path was closed because of landslides but little has been done to make the path more accessible; basically in several places it needs to be wider and further inland so the the wear in the winter is spread.

Spot the surfers on the east side of Kimmeridge Bay.

The path undulates along the coast until it crosses the stream from Encombe to ascend Houns Tout (about 152 m). By now the rain had stopped and things brightened a little to give great views along the coast and also a rainbow looking towards Swyre Head.

View from Houns Tout looking west along the coastal path 

Approaching Houns Tout and looking back over the Enscombe Estate with Swyre Head in the distance, the rainbow looked so close.

There is a convenient seat at the top of the head and so taking advantage of the brief sunshine, I ate my cheese sandwiches and had a cup of coffee ready to continue along another path inland towards the village of Kingston. This route gives great views of the coombe and coast before it reaches the woods and the road into Kingston. At the junction I turned left and followed the road that goes nowhere but enough to get me to "Sheep pens" car park and access to the path to Swyre Head. This passes the location of an air crash dating from 1945 when 27 crew members and passengers died.

Commemorative site of the war time air crash

I think the view of the coast from Swyre Head (190 m) is one of the best along the Dorset section and I like to bring visitors to this spot, particularly on a sunny and clear day. It does involve a slight uphill walk across pastures from the car park, but you do get a great view in both directions and two benches to rest!

Not the clearest day to see the views from Swyre Head. You may spot Clavell Tower and Kimmeridge Bay but on a better day I have seen Portland and Weymouth harbour from here.

From here a path heads west along the cliff top back towards Kimmeridge village. Before long it goes through a gate, labelled "Heaven's Gate" which I think is very apt as the view along this section is very striking on a clear day. There is a new bench nearby that is very well placed and faces over Kimmeridge Bay towards Lulworth. This is a pleasant and sometimes exposed walk but today there was little wind although I needed my rain wear for the last half hour.

Now for some statistics: the walk is 15 km (9.5 miles) and took me about three and half hours walking but of course longer with lunch and varies stops. The total accumulated climb is about 290 m (mainly along the coastal section including the tout). There is a cafe (Clavell's Cafe in Kimmeridge village) and also a pub (Scott Arms) in Kingston opposite the church.