The UK is having one of the sunniest spells of the year. What better time to finally visit the beautiful locations of Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove on the Dorset Coast? Well, it turned out the weather had other plans but I still had a wonderful day on one of southern England's most scenic stretches of coastline.
The UNESCO-listed Jurassic Coast is a 95-mile stretch of coastline running along England's south coast, through Devon and Dorset. You can find stunning beaches, white chalk cliffs and maybe even a 185-million-year-old fossil.
Durdle Door is one of the most famous sites on the Jurassic Coast. This natural limestone arch is best viewed from the chalk cliffs above it, but you can also climb down to the beach to get a closer view.
I've wanted to visit Durdle Door and the nearby Lulworth Cove for a long time — whenever there's a heatwave in the UK, it's often one of the photos news outlets use — but I don't have a car and public transport options aren't that convenient.
The weather forecast looked decent (we'll see how that panned out!) so I booked a small-group tour from Bournemouth to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. There was another tour that included transport from London, but I took the train from London to Bournemouth to give me more flexibility.
Despite the weather not playing ball, it was a magnificent day trip. The Jurassic Coast is gorgeous, even when it's overcast, and I also spent several hours sunbathing on Bournemouth's sandy beach.
A cloudy arrival in Bournemouth
The train from London Waterloo to Bournemouth takes just under two hours. The journey is normally quite scenic, but the further out of London we got, the thicker the cloud became.
By the time I arrived in Bournemouth, it was overcast and misty. Oh dear! I had about an hour before I met up with my tour so I walked into town to get coffee (an excellent cortado at Live On) and breakfast (a praline pastry from BigWigs Bakery).
Back at the station, I met my tour guide and the four other people on the tour. After brief introductions, we boarded the mini-coach and headed off at 11 am, all hoping that the weather would improve...and soon!
A scenic drive to the Jurassic Coast
Durdle Door is 25 miles west of Bournemouth and we went the scenic route. On sunnier days, it is more scenic (the photo below is from when I went back later on) but we saw the mega mansions of Millionaire's Row and a glimpse of Brownsea Island — the birthplace of Scouting and Guiding and home to red squirrels.
Our guide told us more about the history of Bournemouth, including its early days in the 19th century as a wellness resort. The many pine trees that still line the streets were planted to help with respiratory illnesses.
Fog and (eventually) sunshine at Durdle Door
By the time we pulled into Durdle Door car park, the fog was thick — much worse than in Bournemouth. The microclimates along the coast make the hard to predict: it can be sunny in one place but rainy just a couple of miles down the road.
We had three hours before meeting in Lulworth Cove (a 30-minute walk) and could decide how to divide our time between the two places. I headed straight to the Durdle Door viewpoint, five minutes from the car park. The view was hazy but it's still beautiful.
After taking photos of the arch and the neighbouring Man O'War Beach, I was about to go down to the beach when the mist cleared up considerably. The sky was still drab but at least my photos no longer looked like under-developed Polaroids!
The beach is pebbly and the water a clear, vibrant turquoise. It was surprisingly busy, so I can only imagine how crowded it gets when the weather is really nice.
After walking at the foot of the chalk cliffs, I went for a dip in the sea. I wore my bikini under my clothes as I knew there wouldn't be anywhere to change. The water was refreshing and not too cold — around 20C.
A clifftop walk to Lulworth Cove
After drying off, it was time to climb the steps and walk to Lulworth Cove. I was glad I wore my trail running shoes as the path is gravelly and fairly steep in places.
Normally, the incredible views of the Jurassic Coast make up for the effort but the fog descended within minutes of me setting off. I stopped to take a 'hilarious' picture of the non-view and a sympathetic jogger told me it was much brighter and clearer at Durdle Door, so I explained I'd just come from there.
The final stretch downhill into Lulworth is usually the most picturesque, but I just carried on into what I assumed was the village (it was hard to tell in the fog!). Lulworth is pretty — quintessentially English, as a guy in my group put it — with cute thatched cottages.
You can take a 20-minute boat ride over to Durdle Door but there weren't too many takers that day, funnily enough! I had a disappointing fish and chips from a takeaway spot near the beach. Fish and chips usually tastes better by the sea but maybe that only applies when you can actually see the sea!
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| Lulworth Cove, apparently. Hard to tell in the fog! |
A golden evening in Bournemouth
After meeting up with my group, we made the one-hour journey back to Bournemouth. The weather taunted us again as there were blue skies and bright sunshine as soon as we headed inland!
I asked to be dropped off at Bournemouth Pier so I could make the most of the early evening sunshine. Bournemouth's beach has seven miles of golden sand, so if you walk away from the pier, it's easy to find space to relax. I went for a swim and then spent a happy hour sunbathing on the soft sand.
Then I walked east along the beach, past the colourful beach huts to Eastcliff Drive. We'd stopped there in the morning to try to spot the clifftop goats that live there. Sadly, they were all hiding. I have terrible luck when it comes to animal spotting (see also: goats in Morocco, big cats in Uganda, Kenya and Sri Lanka, and penguins in New Zealand)!
After that it was time to return to the station, a 20-minute walk from the beach. The journey home was much more picturesque, with the English countryside looking glorious in the golden hour light.
Planning a day trip to Durdle Door
When to go
The best times to visit Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove are clear, sunny weekdays in the spring or early autumn. This gives you the best chance of good weather and fewer crowds.
Try to avoid visiting when it's very rainy, cloudy and/or windy. This is easier said than done, especially with the coastal microclimates. I usually find the Met Office forecasts are most accurate.
On Saturday, for example, it predicted cloud in the morning and then sunny intervals in the afternoon, with more sun later in the day. This was pretty accurate, although I wasn't prepared for how thick and fog-like the cloud would be. Definitely not ideal for photography!
The beaches at Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove are small and on hot, sunny days, they soon become very crowded and the car parks also fill up.
Cost
My small-group tour cost £39 and the train from London to Bournemouth cost about £50 (off-peak day return with a Network Railcard). If you take the tour from London, the cost is £99, so it works out about the same overall. I valued the greater flexibility of making my own way to Bournemouth.
Timings
Our tour left Bournemouth station at 11 am, and got back into town just before 5 pm. We had three hours of free time to spend at Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. I then spent a couple of hours in Bournemouth before taking the train home at 7:20 pm.
What to bring
As I think this post makes clear, you should be prepared for all weathers even if the forecast is good. Bring a rain jacket or poncho rather than an umbrella (not much use in the wind!). Even in summer, it's worth bringing a light jacket, plus a sun hat and sunglasses.
Shoes with a good grip are essential for the walk between Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. Good running shoes, trail runners or hiking sandals would all be fine. The gravelly path is quite slippy, so I would avoid flipflops.
If you want to swim at Durdle Door, I'd suggest wearing your bathing suit under your clothes, although you could change in the toilets at the car park. Bring a travel towel and water shoes if you have them for the stony beaches.
There are a few food stalls at Durdle Door car park and several cafes in Lulworth Cove, but I'd bring some snacks to keep you going, as well as plenty of drinking water.
Is it worth taking a tour to Durdle Door?
Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and the Jurassic Coast are all incredibly scenic locations, even when the weather isn't the best. If you're interested in geology or like beautiful beaches and clifftop walks, you'll have a blast. Plus, you can combine your trip with a visit to Bournemouth and Poole.
If you have access to a car, driving will give you the most flexibility and allow you to time your visit based on the best weather. Of course, you will have to think about parking: there are decent-sized car parks at both Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove but they fill up at peak times.
I try to use public transport whenever possible, but getting from London to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove and back in a single day isn't that straightforward and means spending most of the day on a bus and/or train. Rome2Rio has a few options.
I booked the tour more for the transportation and convenience than for the guiding and it delivered on both counts. I thought it was good value for money and I would book it again if I wanted to go back to Durdle Door (ideally on a day without epic fog!).
I also considered staying overnight in Bournemouth or Weymouth and taking the bus the Durdle Door on the second day. This would have broken up the travel time a little and given me more time to explore Bournemouth and relax on the beach. But hotel rates were all quite pricey on the weekend I visited.
Looking for inspiration for more great day trips from London? Check out my guide, where I list 10 of my favourites, all accessible by public transport.
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