Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck

What could be more romantic than living on an island? The only trouble is getting there: you have to cross the sea every time you want to come and go! But there are some places dotted around the British coast that have all the advantages of an island with none of the disadvantages: they are the peninsulas—"islands" that are only tenuously connected to the mainland. One of England's finest peninsulas is the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, an attractive coastal location offering some of the best countryside in the UK, yet only 2-3 hours travelling time from London.

The location

Swanage is a typical part of coastal Dorset. It is essentially a very rural area where farming is still an important part of the local economy. Most of the Isle of Purbeck falls between two long hilly ridges that run from the famous ruins of Corfe Castle out to the sea. You can walk along both of them. One will take you towards Kimmeridge, Lulworth Cove, and Durdle Door, while the other leads to the resort town of Swanage. What you find in the Isle of Purbeck is a combination of classic English countryside and fantastic coastal scenery.

The economy

Tourism is the backbone of the Isle of Purbeck economy. The population of Swanage usually trebles or quadruples in the short summer school holiday season, but for most of the year the area is quiet, sedate, and relaxed. Farming remains important, though much of the countryside in the Isle of Purbeck is owned by the National Trust, so it's more like conservation farming than the industrial-scale agriculture you'll find in places like East Anglia. Quarrying is an historic local industry and there are still a handful of quarries dotted through the outlying villages of Langton Matravers, Action, and Worth Matravers. Part of the Isle of Purbeck near Lulworth village has long been an important Army training ground. The village of Tyneham was famously requistioned for training during World War II and never returned. Both Princes William and Harry have been stationed here for training in recent years

Things to do

Countryside

If you like countryside or beaches for their own sake, look no further than the Isle of Purbeck. Studland marks the start of the South West coastal path, which zig-zags 630 miles to Minehead on the north coast of Devon, taking in the World Heritage Site stretch of coastline now marketed as the Jurassic Coast. Swanage and Studland, a small nearby village, each offer several miles of sandy beach and clean, safe water. Swanage even still has a Punch & Judy show during the summer season. For wonderful river walks and cruises, try Wareham, the town where the Isle of Purbeck officially meets the mainland. If the Isle of Purbeck isn't island enough for you, take a boat out to the National Trust's Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour and see if you can spot red squirrels and peacocks among the wonderful woodland walks.

Picnics

Durlston Country Park is a good spot for a picnic—and there's plenty of space for children to run around safely and fly kites. Dancing Ledge (pictured, an old quarry ledge fronting the sea not far from Langton Matravers) is another popular picnic point, though access is a little harder. The easiest access to the Ledge is from Durnford Drove, a quiet cul-de-sac off the High Street in the centre of Langton Matravers, next to the Scout Headquarters. Wilts & Dorset 143 buses from Swanage and Poole, and 144 buses from Swanage and Worth Matravers, stop right next to the Scout Headquarters.) Durnford Drove leads, via a tree-lined avenue, to a small car park, from which you can walk to the Ledge in about 10 minutes through a farm called Spyway Barn. The descent from the car park to the Ledge is quite steep and can be slippery in winter or poor weather, though part of it has been reinforced with stone steps.

Attractions

There's no shortage of major tourist attractions in this area. If you like steam trains, the Swanage Railway offers a great day out the children of all ages and drives back and forth along a 5-6 mile route between Swanage and Norden (just beyond Corfe Castle) virtually all year round. Monkey World near Wareham is a world-famous sanctuary for threatened apes. At Bovington, near Lulworth, there is a large Tank Museum celebrating the area's military history. There are lots of smaller attractions to, including Putlake Adventure Farm in Langton Matravers, Durlston Country Park (offering rare glimpses of bottlenose dolphins from the cliffs).

Sports

If you like sports, you might like to note that there's a large sports centre and swimming pool at the Purbeck Sports Centre (shared with Purbeck School) on the edge of Wareham. There's also a pitch and putt golf course in Victoria Avenue, Swanage. Swanage Bay is so sheltered that it only very rarely offers what could be described as a "rideable wave"; for surfing, but people do occasionally surf and bodyboard there. Kimmeridge Bay, not far from Lulworth, offers unpredictably excellent surfing—but not for beginners. Windsurfers and canoeists use the bay regularly and the sailing club is very popular.

Culture

One thing this area is rather low on is cultural activities: don't expect to be entertained as you would in one of England's major cities. Having said that, Swanage does offer several music festivals during the course of the year, including two blues festivals in the spring and autumn, the jazz festival in the summer, and a famous folk festival in September. The town's hideously ugly 1960s Mowlem Theatre makes a brave attempt to show plays and films throughout the year and there are various small private art galleries dotted round the town, including one run by notable artist Padraig Macmiadhachain.

Places to stay

Swanage used to have many large hotels and guest houses, but most of these have now closed down and been converted into second homes or self-catering holiday flats. There are still two large hotels at the northern end of the town, the Grand and the Pines, and there's a wide selection of holiday flats and cottages offered by local estate agents. Many of the farming fields on the Isle of Purbeck magically spring to life as camp sites during the peak holiday season from Easter until October.

Places to eat

There's a wide range of eating places in the town and the local villages. Swanage has a couple of good fish and chip shops, a superb beachside restaurant at Ocean Bay, and lots of small eating places dotted around the town. Tawny's Wine Bar on the High Street offers great food (including many excellent vegetarian dishes) at surprisingly reasonable prices. For a really sumptuous eating experience, try the Elizabethan Morton's House Hotel in Corfe Castle or the Swanage Railway's Wessex Belle dining train, which runs on Saturday evenings.

Getting here

Car

If you're coming by road, you drive into Swanage directly from Wareham, winding up through the village of Castle Castle. Alternatively, for a more dramatic entrance, and the true island experience, catch the ferry from Sandbanks and enter Swanage via Studland. Note that there can be very long delays (sometimes two hours or more!) for the ferry during the summer holidays.

Train and bus

If you're coming by rail, you arrive at Wareham station, which is on a main line to Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Woking, and London Waterloo (it usually takes about 2½ hours to get from London to Wareham). You can catch a Wilts & Dorset 142 or 143 bus to Swanage from the large roundabout next to the station. The 143 takes you over the scenic high road to Corfe Castle, Kingston, Langton Matravers, and Swanage, while the 142 drives to Corfe Castle then takes a quicker route through the valley via the small settlement of Harmans Cross. Alternatively, you can get the train to Bournemouth and then catch a Wilts& Dorset 150 bus to Swanage and Studland from the centre of town. During the summer season, most of the daytime buses are open-top and they all travel over the Sandbanks ferry. You can also get the train to Poole and pick up the 142 or 143 bus from there.

Note that some parts of the Isle of Purbeck (including the area around Kimmeridge and Steeple) are not well served by public transport. You can get a 275 bus from Swanage to Kimmeridge on Thursdays only (except public holidays); there's one bus there and one back—that's it for the entire week! The best way to get to Kimmeridge at other times is to get a bus to Kingston and walk across the hills (a good, hugely scenic 90-minute walk with spectacular views of the coast down to Lulworth and beyond) or get the 142 or 143 bus to Corfe and walk down the winding road.

If you're exploring the Isle of Purbeck by public transport, get hold of a copy of Dorset County Council's handy leaflet called "Services around the Jurassic Purbeck Coast" from the tourist information centre or (if they have any spares) Swanage library. It's a map and timetable of all the services in the area. There's more on the Dorsetforyou website.

Map

Here's a map of the Isle of Purbeck from Google Images. You can use the "Find businesses" tab and search box to find local businesses, places to stay, and so on.

More information

• Swanage Tourist Office, The White House, Shore Road, Swanage, Dorset BH19 1LB. Telephone: 0870-4420680.
• Purbeck District Council: Includes a tourism section
• Virtual Swanage: A helpful local community guide, including quite a lot of tourist information.

A handy tip

If you're looking for accommodation, it really helps to spell it correctly. Lots of people come to this page looking for things like acomodation and accomodation. At least no-one searches for accomadashun!