Abbotsbury, on the West Dorset coast,
is famous for its Swannery. This is situated at the western end
of the incredible Chesil Beach, and makes an excellent starting
place for this local walk once you have been to see the big white
birds.
Basic hike: from Abbotsbury Swannery up to St
Catherine’s Chapel and then west along coast path to Chesil
Bank – returning via the bridleway to Abbotsbury village.
Distance and going: very easy going – steep
in just one short section.
For more information on the Swannery phone: 01305 871858 or visit
the site.
Because of its geological make-up, East Dorset provides an entirely
different walking environment than any other area in the Westcountry,
and Chesil Beach is unlike anywhere else in the world.
The best centre for introducing anyone to the famous shingle ridge
is the picturesque village of Abbotsbury situated at the western
end of the eight-mile long lagoon known as The Fleet.
Note that all maps on this site are only indicative.
You should never set out without the correct OS map.
A treeless, grassy and steep-edged
limestone ridge runs parallel with the English Channel, a mile or
so inland. Its vertiginous flanks descend into a sea-borne vale,
which is bordered to the south by The Fleet. Between the Fleet and
the sea is Chesil Bank.
It is a landscape formula born in heaven, especially at the Abbotsbury
end. The village is tucked just under the steep ridge and it is
one of those picture postcard, chocolate-box, affairs. Every ancient
house is built of a wonderful honey coloured stone and almost every
building is thatched. To go with all this attractiveness there are,
of course, the requisite galleries, antique shops, et al.
There is also the Swannery, and it was from this estimable establishment
that this walk begins. If you don’t want to visit the big
white birds, you could always attack this walk from the other end
– i.e. by going down the lane past Abbotsbury Tropical Gardens
to the car park on the beach.
Anyone who has been to this delightful
corner of the south coast will know St Catherine’s Chapel.
It is the marvellous old building that sits upon the crown of the
dome-like hill just west of the village – a seaside version
of Glastonbury Tor. It was built by the abbots referred to in the
name Abbotsbury and it is one of the only buildings that remain
of their once splendid estates.
It was my first port of call. By leaving the Swannery car park
I was able to join the South West Coast Path and start to climb
St Catherine’s Hill. After a few hundred metres the coast
path swung left to traverse the lower slips of the grassy eminence,
but another path veered off to the right and ascended to the summit.
This is well worth doing because you can enjoy spectacular views
of both the entire length of the Fleet and of the village. You also
learn that St Catherine was the patron saint of spinsters. A Dorset
rhyme makes the following plea:
Sweet St Catherine send me a husband
A good one I pray.
But arn-a-one better than narne-a-one
Oh St Catherine, Lend me thine aid,
And grant that I never may die an old maid.
There was a large Benedictine Abbey at Abbotsbury (hence, obviously,
the name) but it was almost entirely destroyed during the Dissolution.
This lofty chapel is one of the only bits that remain. It’s
built entirely out of local stone (including the stone slates) –
and was saved from ruin because it was an extremely useful landmark
for mariners crossing dangerous Lyme Bay.
I headed south-west back down over the hill to rejoin the coast
path which crossed a few fields to enter a rather lovely and lonely
valley. In the very bottom of this unspoilt vale I turned left along
a tamarisk-lined track which led to the giant shingle ridge and
the sea.
There always seem to be lonesome anglers
dotted along the ridge – and the fishermen at this western
end park their vehicles in a car park just behind the beach. Behind
it a small lane leads up the hill past the tropical gardens and
you could go that way to follow a number of footpaths inland back
to Abbotsbury.
But I returned to the tamarisk valley and walked back up to the
point where I’d joined it. There, instead of turning east
across the fields back to the Swannery, I continued up the valley
along the bridleway, past the farm, to reach the outskirts of Abbotsbury.
A lane took me along the backs of gardens until it introduced me
to the very centre of the village and I strolled about for a while,
admiring the huge tithe barn and a few other remnants of the abbey
as I went.
It is a truly stunning part of the world to visit, and it reminded
me that east is just as good as west when it comes to walking in
the wonderful Westcountry peninsula.
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