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West Bay Harbour – Thorncombe Beacon loop from West Bay

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Hiking trails & Routes

West Bay Harbour – Thorncombe Beacon loop from West Bay

Moderate

4.9

(27)

202

hikers

West Bay Harbour – Thorncombe Beacon loop from West Bay

04:07

13.5km

470m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Dorset National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

286 m

West Bay Harbour

Highlight • Settlement

Part of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, West Bay is a beautiful harbour settlement. Originally designed as a commercial harbour for nearly Bridport to export fishing nets, West Bay declined in importance with the advent of the railways. Not a natural harbour and exposed to the south, over the centuries many attempts have been made to prevent it from silting up and to repair storm damage.

Today, West Bay is a thriving fishing harbour popular with tourists. With a wonderful beach and impressive cliffs, it's well worth visiting. It should be noted that it's part of an eroding landscape and cliff falls have occurred in recent years so always respect warnings and signage.

Tip by

1.89 km

Burton Bradstock Beach and River

Highlight • River

Be advised the car park is no longer an honesty box. it is run by euro car parks with an ANPR camera. the machine and signage have been heavily vandalised

Tip by

3.46 km

Thorncombe Beacon

Highlight • Viewpoint

Thorncombe Beacon once formed part of a chain of beacon sites along the South Coast to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada in 1588. These days, you can still enjoy wonderful coastal views from this great vantage point.

Tip by

4.35 km

Doghouse Hill

Highlight (Segment) • Summit

Very nice hiking trail with a great view. It is believed that this area was already settled in the Mesolithic. However, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, the residents of that time had a completely different view, because the area was more than a mile inland.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

5.85 km

Steps Between Seatown and Golden Cap

Highlight • Trail

There's steps.... like a lot of them!!!! good old leg burning steps!!!

Tip by

6.85 km

Golden Cap Summit

Highlight • Summit

Standing at 626 feet (191 m), Golden Cap is the highest point on the South Coast. From the cliff, you are afforded utterly breathtaking views over Lyme Bay to Dartmoor and ahead to the Isle of Portland.

Tip by

9.66 km

View of Golden Cap from Doghouse Hill

Highlight • Natural Monument

People lived on Doghouse Hill on the Golden Cap estate up to 10,000 years ago.
Finds included a stone hearth, fire pit and pot shards from Bronze Age periods (2,500 to 1,000BC) and others from the Mesolithic Age (10,000 to 4,000BC)
Martin Papworth, from the National Trust, said: "Although it's a stunning coastal site now, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago this area would have been over a mile inland.
To find ancient pottery decorated with fingernail impressions and touch them with one's own hand, that's real contact with the past
Martin Papworth, National Trust
"The Mesolithic people who lived on top of Doghouse hill would have pre-dated farming, so would have been hunter-gatherers using these flints to work hides, cut meat and scrape fat from animal skins.
"After millennia of erosion, it's at risk of disappearing into the sea itself."

Tip by

11.9 km

View of West Cliff and Lyme Bay

Highlight (Segment) • Natural Monument

West Cliff rises spectacularly between West Bay and Eype Mouth above Dorset's Lyme Bay. From this cliff path, you can see the vast Thorncombe Beacon to the west and, in good, haze-free days, you can see all the way around Lyme Bay in both directions. Portland is usually very obviously to the south east.

Take care while walking and stay back from the cliff edge; the landscape here reveals the constant weathering and erosion of the south coast.

Tip by

13.5 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

6.64 km

5.47 km

863 m

520 m

Surfaces

6.75 km

4.41 km

1.17 km

471 m

425 m

265 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (160 m)

Lowest point (0 m)

Weather

Wednesday 1 July

24°C

14°C

15 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 24.0 km/h

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West Bay Harbour – Thorncombe Beacon loop from West Bay

West Bay Harbour

Burton Bradstock Beach and River

Thorncombe Beacon

Doghouse Hill

Steps Between Seatown and Golden Cap

Golden Cap Summit

View of Golden Cap from Doghouse Hill

View of West Cliff and Lyme Bay

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