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Pub Details
The Sailor's Return,
East Chaldon, Dorchester,
Dorset DT2 8DN
Tel: 01305 853847
Parking:Pub car park
Food:Daily 12noon till 9.00pm
Brewery:Freehouse
Real Ale:Various
Families:Welcome, Children’s menu
Dogs:in the bar area only
Toilets:at the pub (also in the camp site near the car park at the start/end of walk)
Walk Details
Start/Finish:Car Park above Durdle Door (pay to park). The Durdle Door cliff top car park is open from 1st March to 31st October. For parking outside these dates a small courtesy car park operates at the entrance to the holiday park, or roadside parking (Lulworth to Winfrith road near Daggers Gate) is usually available (free).
Grid Ref:SY 811805
Time: 2 hr 30 min (or 3hr 30 min with extension)
Distance: 5 miles (or 6 miles with extension)
Level/grade:Moderate, some steep slopes on extension (strenuous).
Paths:Bridleways, footpaths, some minor roads
Landscape:Coastal, rolling chalk downland
OS Maps:
Outdoor Leisure: OL 15 Purbeck and South Dorset
Landranger: 194 (Dorchester and Weymouth)

The Sailor’s Return East Chaldon, near Lulworth, Dorset

Overview Circular walk with a popular pub for a drink/meal half-way round at East Chaldon (also known as Chaldon Herring). Beautiful Dorset rolling downland, agricultural land and sea views with an optional extra to visit Durdle Door and the beach. Sailor’s Return is in The Good Pub Guide 2007.

Directions to Start

Car Parking is throughDurdleDoorHolidayPark on the cliff top.

From the North/East: Follow M3 south to Southampton. M27 west, then leading to A31 past Ringwood to Bere Regis. From Bere Regis follow local signs to Wool, then take the B3071 to West Lulworth. Continue past "The Castle Inn" and the war memorial then take the first right, continue past the church and up the hill, the entrance to Durdle Door Holiday park is on the brow of the hill, on the left.

From the West: From Dorchester follow by-pass and take the right turn to A352 towards Wool and Wareham. Go through Whitcombe and Broadmayne and follow the A352 for about 3.5 miles and take the right hand turning just before the "Red Lion Pub" on your right. Go straight through Winfrith Newburgh and continue for approximately 2 miles. Your will see the entrance to DurdleDoorHolidayPark marked on your right.

The Pub

The Sailor's Return is an attractive 18th century thatched country inn set in rolling downland, close to Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and miles of cliff walks. The restaurant serves best quality home cooked food and the bars have a wide range of real ales, lagers, ciders, and wines. The BeerGarden and Patio look over the beautiful Dorset countryside. Pub’s own website:

The Walk

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  1. Head North from Car Park (away from the sea) back through Camp site to the Lulworth-Winfrith Road.
  2. Turn left along road for about 200 yards to Daggers Gate (where several bridleways cross the road).
  3. Turn left off the road, but bear right(NW) through the farmyard/farm buildings. Follow this bridleway for about ½ mile over the crest of the hill and down to a barn.
  4. Follow the path which bears right down into a lovely downland valley for about ½ mile.
  5. At this point you will see a farm track running alongside on your left. The Bridleway is signposted onto this track which you follow for another ½ mile until you reach a metalled road with a small car park and noticeboard about the area.
  6. Turn left onto the local road, past farms on the right, into the village of East Chaldon (Chaldon Herring).
  7. At the village green (small triangle of grass), bear right up the road over a small stream and you will see the thatched pub about 200 yds on the left.
  8. Refreshment!
  9. Follow back down the road to the village green.
  10. Bear left along the road you came by, but turn immediately right (South) onto a small metalled road (marked as a dead end) leading uphill past houses. After about ¼ mile this road turns into a track which leads steadily on up to the top of the hill (good views). You are walking due South.
  11. Over the brow of the hill the track drops into the valley before climbing more steeply back up to Chideock Farm. Carry on up the track past the farm to the top of the hill where you will come to a crossroads with a bridleway running East/West.
  12. For the shortest and flattest (easiest) route back, turn left here along the bridleway for about 500 yds. At a fork in the path, take the righthand fork and follow this mainly downhill path for ½ mile back to the Lulworth-Winfrith Road at the point where you started.
  13. Turn right and retrace your steps through the camp site back to the car park where you started.
  14. Alternatively, if you are feeling energetic, after point 11, rather than turning left, continue straighton over open access downland, heading down towards the sea along a headland, until after 500yds you cross a stile onto the coast path.
  15. Turn left(E) and follow the coast path, which drops very steeply down to near sea level before climbing steeply back up to Swyre head (great views along the coast but hard work).
  16. Follow on the coast path for another steep drop down before climbing more gently up to the cliff path above Durdle Door (a fantastic natural sea arch).
  17. Optional: For those still with some energy turn right down steep steps to the beach by Durdle Door (small polished shingle), before returning back up the steps to the coast path. (In the summer season there is a mobile café on the path above Durdle Door, for hot/cold drinks, ice creams etc).
  18. Continue Eastwards along the coastal path for 200 yds before bearing left at a fork in the path. This path leads, at a gentle angle, away from the coast and back up the hill to the Durdle Door car park where you started.

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/ Points of Interest
This part of the coast is part of the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site.
Durdle Door:
A fantastic Portland stone arch in the sea, an internationally famous landform on the south Dorset coast and one of the main features of the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site. Good pebble beach to East and West of the arch.
Lulworth Cove:
A beautiful almost circular natural cove. Heritage Centre, shops, cafes and information about the area. Large car park.
LulworthCastle:
Lulworth castle, built in the early 17th Century, reduced to a shell by a devastating fire in 1929. Restored and now open to the public Sunday to Friday (NOT Saturday). Good café. Children’s trail. Park walks.

MAP

Copy and paste the link below for a map of the area including Lulworth Cove

MyFavouritePubWalks.com

Dedicated to Pub Walkers across the UK