St Aldhelms Head - South West Coast Path walk

St Aldhelms Head - South West Coast Path walk

St Aldhelms Head - South West Coast Path walk
5
About
A 5.1 mile South West Coast Path walk with a round-up of assorted fascinating features around a limestone headland where the chalk grasslands are rich in wildflowers. The angular caves and tunnels in the vertical cliffs are home to the equally rare greater horseshoe bat, as well as doubling as distant planets in various sci-fi films.
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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles83 reviews
Excellent
66
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June A
Surrey, UK2,679 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022 • Solo
It's not a long walk from Worth Matrevers down to the Head but a very scenic one through farmland down towards the coast and the old cottages. A few miles perhaps.
Written 30 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ann C
Nashville, TN3,280 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
I walked a circular path from Worth Matravers starting/ending at the car park, it was approximately 6miles.

The car park has clean bathrooms.

Bring £2 in coins to pay in the honesty box.

There are numerous paths that intersect, make sure when you print out a walk of the area that you bring both the print out and a map or you might take a wrong turn.

A portion of the cliff paths are close to the edge. The views are fantastic!

Warning: there are some VERY steep stairs that both descend and climb (see photo).

The day I went it was very clear, I saw Portland Bill.
Written 30 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Albywon
Sydney, Australia11,904 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Solo
Gorgeous part of the SWCP i walked the entire section (Worth Matravers to South Haven Point) so this was the first part. The 210 steps were a challenge but OMG the views!
Written 23 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ozweb
London97 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
We did a circular walk from Worth Matravers. The car park has toilets and plenty of space. You need cash to pay the honesty box sum of £2.
Did a circular walk, some of the cliff paths to the south are pretty close fo the edge. The NCI lookout has some friendly staff. The views are incredible and beware the very steep descent and climb north of Aldhelms Head in direction of Chapmans Pool. On a clear day you can see Portland Bill.
Written 11 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

places2seeplaces2go
England, UK4,879 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
We started our walk from Rempstone car park which made our walk slightly shorter than some other reviews.
Beautiful circular walk to St Adlems Head & the picturesque chapel.
Some quite steep climbs that looked daunting, but were ok & a good sense of achievement.
A stunning section of the coastal path.
Written 13 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ldimage1
Bournemouth, UK227 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Couples
Nice circular walk past the Marines memorial, then down and up a steep valley before reaching St Aldhelm chapel. Beautiful views, and we were lucky with the weather.
Written 1 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rach13H
Bedfordshire, UK684 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
Our Sunday walk from Worth Matravers was ideal for us as we wanted to do activities while on holiday where we could maintain social distancing in an open environment.

We did just over a 6 mile walk from Worth Matravers along stunning coastal paths to St. Aldhelms Head where we saw the chapel. The path gets rather steep in places, which I found rather daunting at the look of at one point, but it wasn't too bad and it was definitely worth it! We past Chapman's cove, which was also very beautiful. A lovely leisurely walk, which took just over 3.5 hours.

The car park has a cash honesty box for car park payment, the money from which goes towards the maintenance for the well kempt toilets situated within the car park.
Written 12 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

janegardner
london507 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020
Great circular walk - apps tell you to start at Worth Matravers and walk clockwise but we did the opposite as the car park was full (everyone at Square & Compass probably). We started by walking down the purback way from a parking spot near Kingston then on to Chapmans Pool and round headland past all the abandoned quarry cottages and up to worth matravers - then on to the purback way again. Gorgeous scenery on the south west coast path. Interested in the radar info but couldn't visit the buildings as closed due to covid. Dont bank on a drink in worth matravers btw as the pub was packed and after 20 minutes of queueing we gave up. Lucky we had both water and a snack with us as there is nothing else available on the walk. Prepare youself for going down a gazillion steps into a coombe and then back up again - but worth it for the views. Make sure you have walking shoes on as its rocky and steep in a few places.
Written 23 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

arkangel67
Lutterworth, UK241 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
We started our route at Langton Matravers, and followed the coastal path to Chapman’s Pool, before cutting inland to Worth Matravers for lunch.

The entire route is stunning and well worth the short but steep climbs in and out of Winspit. It’s worth bearing in mind, too, that sections of the path run very close to the cliff edges, so a head for heights probably helps.

If you use walking apps requiring data usage (I have online OS maps), be warned that several stretches of the path have limited mobile coverage, but all routes are very well marked.

An excellent day out.
Written 12 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian S
Weymouth, UK477 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Friends
I have looked through previous reviews, and it is interesting to see how few have looked into the Radar story, that is so important to our history.
Early in the war Radar research was moved several times, and eventually ended up at the cliff top at St Aldhelms Head. At this site at one time there were around 2,000 people employed developing Radar, and many of the most significant Radar inventions were made here, which helped as to win The Battle of Britain, the war against U-boats, improve the accuracy of our raids on enemy targets, and several other important inventions.
Today very little is left, just the concrete blocks where the masts were situated, and remains of the site where the Chain Home Low Radar was situated.
When Lockdown is lifted, explore the village, go to Renscombe farm, now a Field Centre, but which was a part of the Radar site, and is now the only building left, park your car, and walk a rather rough track to St Aldhem's head, visit the chapel, and the Coastguard station, look at the board with a picture of the Radar site at its peak.
Return to The Square and Compass pub, and on entering there is the original sign saying RAF Matravers, carry on buy a pastie,and wash it down with a pint of cider or beer.

What happened to the Radar site? Well our commandos raided a German Radar site at Bruneval on the French coast, and liberated the most important bits of their work. As a consequence Winston Churchill ordered that we should move our Radar site away from the coast in case the Germans should reciprocate and try the same move, and everything, Lock, Stock, and Barrel was moved to Malvern.

Written 16 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ST ALDHELMS HEAD - SOUTH WEST COAST PATH WALK: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about St Aldhelms Head - South West Coast Path walk