Komoot Editorial - Purbeck Cycle Ride
Explore Dorset's mighty chalk downlands
Explore Dorset's mighty chalk downlands — Purbeck Cycle Ride
The Isle of Purbeck might not be an island but it is a truly extraordinary area and an absolute gift to cyclists. A geological marvel complete with vibrant chalk downlands and a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering its Jurassic coastline, you get to ride over ground almost 200 million years old.
The Purbeck Cycle Ride is a 47-mile (76 km) landscape extravaganza. This is a hilly route with some steep and sustained climbs but you’re always rewarded with fantastic views. The first section whisks you through the Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve, the country’s first ‘super-reserve’. An incredibly important system of habitats for rare wildlife and plant life, there are lots of opportunities for bird watching and nature spotting here.
I’ve split this ride into two stages to give you the option of staying overnight in Lulworth. While the route is certainly doable in one, quite challenging, day, there is so much to see that you might well want to take it at a more leisurely speed.
Some of the most impressive sights on this ride include Corfe Castle, the option to ride into the beautiful coastal town of Swanage, Lulworth Cove and the region’s sprawling heathlands. While fairly rural, Purbeck is home to its fair share of villages and excellent pubs, which will tempt you to take more than one cake stop.
Significant swathes of land in the middle of the ride are operated by the Ministry of Defence as live firing ranges. When the ranges are active, some of the route is inaccessible. They rarely operate on weekends but this is subject to change so always check the government’s website at gov.uk/government/publications/lulworth-firing-notice.
If you’re splitting the route into two stages with an overnight at Lulworth, you’ll find a variety of accommodation options, including a YHA and several campsites. The cove is picture-perfect, but hard to see on a bike without actually cycling down the hill to its shore. It’s worth locking up your steed in the village and walking down for a swim.
Whether you’re staying overnight or not, the route continues west past Lulworth and then north through the chalk hills to the flatter land above. At Moreton, you cross the River Frome again and pedal on packed gravel tracks through heath and forest. The route then leads you south east, all the way back on quiet roads to Wareham.
You can ride this route at any time of year but it’s very exposed to prevailing winds and rain, potentially making winter rides much more challenging. This area is understandably popular with tourists and roads around Lulworth and Corfe Castle, in particular, can get immensely crowded. To this end, avoiding absolute peak season is recommended if you want to avoid a caravan of, well, caravans.
Accommodation is easy to come by and small supermarkets and pubs are well placed too. You can reach Wareham by train from Bournemouth, Southampton and London Waterloo or drive; it’s reasonably well connected by road thanks to the A35 just to the north.
