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www.dorsetcamper.com

St Aldhelm's Head

St Aldhelm's Head...

Picture
St Aldhelm’s or St Alban’s Head is a broad promontory  on the rocky coast of Purbeck.  

From its high cliff-tops, you’ll find impressive views of the English Channel and also of long sections of the Dorset Jurassic Coast spreading West and East.

St Aldhelm’s Head is a natural vantage point for all things nautical and coastal in this area, making it an excellent spot for a Coast Guard lookout station - which is probably why there is one!  No longer staffed by HM Coastguard, the watch at St Aldhelm’s is now kept by members of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI).  These volunteers keep their eye’s peeled for dangers at sea - and it’s easy to see why you might want to!

What’s less clear is why someone would want to build a sturdy, stone chapel out here with no windows!  But that’s exactly what somebody did the best part of 1,000 years ago.

St Aldhelm’s Chapel is a real oddity and worth the walk from Worth Matravers for those of an inquisitive nature.   Not much more than a stone-built box with a roof on, only the stone cross on the top of it gives any indication that this bunker-like stone-walled and stone-roofed structure is a chapel at all.  There’s no exterior or interior finery and no windows stained or otherwise.

The only other structure in the immediate area of the headland itself is a row of cottages, presumably one-time coastguard dwellings.  Other than that, the Chapel and St Aldhelm’s Head itself are a good mile or so from Worth Matravers as the crow flies (farther as the rambler rambles) as is the car park near Renscombe Farm, which is the closest start point for walk to the Chapel and the cliff-tops.

If you fancy a longer walk, you can link up with the South West Coast Path to head East or West or there are circular walks via Chapman’s Pool to the West or Winspit, Dancing Ledge and Worth Matravers to the East.

If you fancy a walk that’s a little different and out of the ordinary this could be for you.  It doesn’t have the unique feel of Lulworth or Durdle Door, but it doesn’t have the numbers of visitors either!

If you fancy a longer walk, you can link up with the South West Coast Path to head East or West or there are circular walks via Chapman’s Pool to the West or Winspit, Dancing Ledge and Worth Matravers to the East. ​​"


Picture



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  • Home
  • Attractions
    • The Tank Museum >
      • The Tank Story
    • Royal Signals Museum
    • Monkey World
    • Sea Life Adventure Park >
      • Jurassic Skyline Tower
    • Swanage Steam Railway
    • Abbotsbury >
      • Abbotsbury Swannery
      • Abbotsbury Children's Farm
      • Abbotsbury Gardens
    • Farmer Palmers
    • Dinosaur Museum
    • Wimborne Model Town
    • Splashdown
    • Over the Border >
      • Fleet Air Arm Museum
      • Pecorama
      • Seaton Tramway
  • Places to See
    • Historic Towns and Buildings >
      • Kingston Lacy
      • Clouds Hill
      • Wareham
      • Dorchester >
        • The Roman Town House
      • Shaftesbury
      • Sturminster Newton
      • Hardy's Monument
    • Scenic Walks >
      • Arne Nature Reserve
      • Tyneham
      • Hardy's Cottage
      • Lower Bockhampton
      • Cerne Abbas
      • Brownsea Island
      • Moreton
      • Stanton St Gabriel
      • Tout Quarry
    • Iron Age Forts >
      • Maiden Castle
      • Eggardon Hill
      • Badbury Rings
    • Castles >
      • Corfe Castle >
        • Corfe Castle Re-enactments
      • Sherborne Castle
      • Portland Castle
      • Lulworth Castle
      • The Nothe Fort
  • Beaches and Coast
    • Seaside Towns >
      • Weymouth
      • Lyme Regis
      • Swanage
      • Charmouth
      • Seatown
      • Seaton
    • Beaches >
      • The Chesil Beach >
        • The Fleet Lagoon
        • Ferry Bridge
        • West Bay
        • Burton Hive
        • Cogden Beach
        • West Bexington
      • Ringstead Bay
      • Lulworth Cove
      • Durdle Door
      • Studland
    • Features and Viewpoints >
      • Portland
      • Redcliff Point
      • White Nothe
      • Mupe Bay
      • Kimmeridge
      • Chapman's Pool
      • St Aldhelm's Head
      • Worth Matravers
      • Winspit
      • Fossil Forest
      • Dancing Ledge
      • Golden Cap
      • Durlston
      • Old Harry Rocks
  • Things To Do
    • Walks and Walking >
      • Lulworth Range Walks
    • Fishing and Angling >
      • Fishing Lakes and Rivers
      • Fishing and Sea Angling
    • Sailing Tall Ships
    • Fleet Observer (Boat Trip)
    • Jurassic Drive
    • Segway Tours
    • Fly a Plane!
  • Events
    • TankFest
    • Great Dorset Steam Fair
    • Dorset County Show
    • Chickerell Steam and Vintage Show
    • The Waverley
    • Weymouth Seafood Festival
  • Places to Stay
    • Sea Barn Farm Camping Park, Weymouth
    • West Fleet Holiday Farm, Weymouth
    • Bagwell Farm Touring Park, Weymouth
    • Static Caravans & Lodges
    • Dorset Camping Parks Directory
  • Pubs & Grub
    • Eating Out
    • Pubs
    • Speciality Foods >
      • Dorset Blue Vinny
      • Farm Shops
      • Dorset Knobs
  • Map of Dorset
  • Gear
    • Electric Hook-ups
    • Campfires and BBQs
    • Torches & Torchlight
  • Get in Touch
    • Privacy & Cookies