Length: 17.3 km

Duration: 6:23

Total ascent/descent: 622/-625 m

Max/min slope: 21%/-27%

Wayfinding: medium-easy. A couple of counter-intuitive points near the end of the Purbeck Hills.

Weather: Cloudy and windy in the morning, the sun coming out momentarily when we were in the army ranges.

Dinner: Mortons Manor

Overnight: Mortons Manor

Bindon Hill

From West Lulworth we climbed Bindon Hill from behind the cove. This part was certainly less impressive than the SW coastal path, which lets you through the sweet cove one last time and also climb the hill via a cliff, with all the drama and picturesqueness you would expect (but not know until you have done it, it is one of the spectacular highlights of the SW coastal path.)

All the same, we still had to descend to Arish Mell, the beach before Worbarrow Bay. Despite being closed off with the usual MOD firing range warning signs, there were divers on the beach and facilities converted from shipping containers.

Worbarrow Bay

Of all the beaches we swam at on this trip, Worbarrow Bay had the clearest water. It was breathtaking. I believe it was here that I started to acquire a taste for cold bathing in the English channel. Getting in was always painful. Step by step, inch by inch, while splashing the sea onto my arm and chest and rubbing them, I advanced until the water reached my groin. At this point my mind was always hysterical because of the penetrating cold, but also numb from both acclimatisation and acceptance of the inevitability of the swim: I was too invested in this now to get out. Then I plunged, head in, arms, torso, everything. The cold flashed for a mere moment, and was chased by a drunken warmth. The swim was my reward for passing the trial of the cold sea.

The picnic was all class, with peaches and the last of our Waitrose nut and fruit mix for dessert, followed by Fortnum and Mason tea bags brewed in the camping kit.

Purbeck Hills

We now turned north for the Purbeck Hills. The folly, Grange Arch, was completely unexpected and a magnificent backdrop for a break.

Walking on the ridge of the Purbeck Hills felt like a luxury, being on top of the world for miles. The entire length was grazed so you had an uninterrupted view ahead and around. It is not hard to imagine how impressive these hills would have been in pre-industrial eyes. Indeed they were still impressive even now, dividing lands and leading to the sea.

Corfe Castle

The Purbeck Hills briefly dipped and rose into the ruins of Corfe Castle. It was certainly an formidable pile of ruins, and all the more so because of its position between the hills. This was the eye of Purbeck.

We stayed at Mortons Manor, an old-fashioned hotel with stuffy service that vacillated between deference and snobbishness. The restaurant was over-recommended with fussy food. There was no warmth in this place.