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Walks from the village

A steep twenty minutes to the chapel, a morning along Chesil, or the full loop over the hillfort. All start in the village or at the beach car park.

St Catherine's Chapel

The short one. The chapel stands on its own hill on the south side of the village, and the path up from the village is steep but quick. At the top you get the Fleet, Chesil Beach and the whole coast laid out below you. The chapel is fourteenth century, in the care of English Heritage, free and open. Go up for the sunset. The chapel's story.

Abbotsbury Castle hillfort. Photo: Vieve Forward, geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Abbotsbury Castle and the coast path loop

The South West Coast Path's own circular, 5.9 miles (9.5 km), starting from the Chesil Beach car park at the end of Buller's Way (DT3 4LA). It follows the shingle behind Chesil, passes the Swannery, comes through the village, then climbs to the Iron Age hillfort of Abbotsbury Castle on the ridge and drops back past St Catherine's Chapel. The path describes it as generally flat with one long climb, and grades it challenging. Allow half a day. The route on the coast path site. The hillfort's story.

Chesil Beach at Abbotsbury. Photo: Ian Capper, geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Chesil Beach and the Fleet

From the beach car park you are straight onto the shingle. Behind the beach is the Fleet, the long lagoon that runs to Portland. It is a nature reserve and there is no public access along its shore; the only way along is the coast path itself. Bathing off Chesil is dangerous: the beach shelves steeply, there is a strong undertow, and large waves come out of nowhere. Walk it, do not swim it.

Feeding time at Abbotsbury Swannery. Photo: David Dixon, geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Down to the Swannery

Easy and flat: from the village down New Barn Road to the Swannery entrance (DT3 4JG). The Swannery is open daily from mid-March to the end of October, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm, adults £15, children 5 to 15 £7.50, under 5s free. No dogs. Abbotsbury Swannery.

Before you set off

The ridge walks cross farmland with livestock, so keep dogs on a lead near stock. The X53 stops in the village, so you can walk one way and ride back: bus times.

Sources, opened and read: South West Coast Path, walk 9: Abbotsbury Castle, Visit Dorset, Abbotsbury Beach and the Fleet, Abbotsbury Swannery, prices and opening times.