February 19th 2025. Chapmans Pool to Dancing Ledge & Back

I’d decided to go for a midweek walk for this one, partly because I was trying to use some holidays up from work and partly because the weather forecast on my app had said it was going to be a lovely day. Hmmm, note to self, never believe your weather app.

The car park I chose to use for this walk is called Renscombe car park and it is just a short drive on through Worth Matravers. Parking is limited here but it is free and only a short walk across two fields to the coast path.  There is a bigger car park in Worth Matravers with toilet facilities but its then a longer walk to the path.

On reaching the coast path just above Chapmans Pool there are fantastic views to be had straight away, looking down at Chapmans pool itself and across to Houns Tout beyond. There are probably views as far as the Isle of Portland but, unlike the lovely day promised on my app, the weather was somewhat misty, and light rain was beginning to fall.

I’ve decided that I should’ve been a weather forecaster (I was going to say Weatherman but that might be considered wrong these days), as it must be the only job that you can get completely wrong every day and still get to keep your job.

I digress again, the path looked to be in very good condition and seemed reasonably flat, though I must say this starting point is over 300 ft high with sheer cliffs on the seaward side of the path.  I headed southwards with the sea to my right and soon came across the Royal Marines Memorial, which is in a lovely position and very well maintained, it looks westwards along the Dorset coast.

I continued my walk thinking how easy this is, as I could see St Aldhelm’s Head in front of me, and at the same level as I was walking.  It was then that I came across ……. the drop!

Between me and St Aldhelm’s head a big V shaped drop appeared in front of me, with what seemed like hundreds of steps all the way down and immediately all the way back up the other side, I certainly wasn’t expecting that! Oh well, it would have been too good to be true to just have a nice flat walk on this stretch of coast.  

It was at this point that I began to feel a little nervous. I could hear loud booming thuds, and the ground seemed to shake.  I thought it was waves hitting the cliffs below making them shake and I was worrying that they may collapse and send me 300ft down to an early grave. This made me descend the many steps down the drop far quicker than I would have wanted. It wasn’t until I was halfway down the steps that I then heard the sound of machine gun fire in the distance and everything clicked. The loud thuds weren’t waves at all; it was tanks and machine guns firing on the Lulworth ranges just down the coast. What an idiot I felt, I’d forgotten about the tank ranges being not too far away.

On reaching the top of the far side of the drop, I was greeted by the smell of fresh manure.  Just to the side of St Aldhems Chapel some farmer had decided to put a great pile of cow s**t in the field right next to and almost dwarfing the chapel.

The Chapel itself was lovely inside and still in use it seemed. The pillars inside the chapel were full of engraved initials and the date when they were done. Some of these dated back to the 1600’s which I initially thought was amazing until I thought hmmm, if any of these initials were dated 2025, I would be thinking ‘bloody vandals’ defacing a lovely chapel! It’s funny how a little bit of history can change how we think about things.

Rounding the headland past the coastal watch station the walking was easy. The one thing I did notice was how the sea state changed on the eastern side of the headland. It was much rougher with some big rollers coming in and breaking on the rocks below. I couldn’t see the waves breaking but I could hear them and there was a distinct taste of salt in the air.

Winspit quarry was the next place of interest I came to.  I had read about it before and knew it to be popular with climbers and people interested in its caves and old quarry workings. However, on approaching the entrance there was a big sign saying that the area was closed due to a survey finding that the quarry was at imminent risk of rock falls and caves collapsing.  The entrance wasn’t fenced off and though common sense would tell you not to enter, two young families had taken no notice of the warnings and were wandering around with their kids running in and out of the caves and below the cliff face shouting loudly.  I was disappointed at not being able to explore the old quarry myself but I heeded the sign and carried on walking.

The next point of interest was Seacombe Cliffs, after a little detour inland around a small valley. The views across the cliffs were amazing. The big waves were visible from the path, and I could see them crashing on the ledges below. A fantastic sight that I could have watched for hours.  I decided I would carry on walking to Dancing Ledge which was the furthest point of my walk and only a mile away, then I would come straight back to here and sit down to eat my (vegan) sausage roll whilst watching the waves.  I reckon the signage was wrong again because that mile to Dancing Ledge seemed like one of the longest miles I’ve ever walked. When I eventually got to Dancing Ledge, I didn’t go down to the Ledge, I just met up with where I had walked to on my previous walk and then headed back to Seacombe Cliffs to eat my sausage roll and watch the waves.

The rest of my walk back was uneventful but enjoyable and once back around St Aldhems Head the views of the high cliffs, Houns Tout and Chapmans pool were fantastic.  The weather had improved a little as the day had progressed, but it was still a little misty which stopped me seeing the whole of the coast as far as Portland.

The distant sound of tanks and machine guns firing on the Lulworth Ranges could still be heard, they must’ve spent most of the day firing.

All in all this was a very enjoyable mid-week walk. It was just about 10 miles in total with an elevation gain of 2000ft. It is a fairly isolated walk with no facilities en-route.

The day was completed with a stop off at Dobies garden centre on the way home for a Coffee and a scone.