Dancing Ledge – Winspit Quarry Caves loop from Langton Matravers
Dancing Ledge – Winspit Quarry Caves loop from Langton Matravers
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Dancing Ledge – Winspit Quarry Caves loop from Langton Matravers
02:42
9.55km
200m
Hiking
Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.
Last updated: April 15, 2026
Tips
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Waypoints
Start point
Parking
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1.76 km
Dancing Ledge Rock Pool
Highlight • Natural Monument
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1.87 km
Dancing Ledge
Highlight • Natural
Sea quarries like Dancing Ledge, Seacombe and Winspit once played a major role in the Purbeck stone industry. Stone quarried from the cliffs was loaded directly onto ships for transport all over Britain. Purbeck stone is used in Corfe Castle, as well as many famous buildings such as Westminster Abbey.
Dancing Ledge seen from the steps
Dancing Ledge is part of the Jurassic Coast near Langton Matravers in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. Dancing Ledge is a flat area of rock at the base of a small cliff. A little scrambling is required for access. It is signposted on the South West Coast Path a few kilometres west of Swanage. Dancing Ledge is so called because at certain stages of the tide when the waves wash over the horizontal surface, the surface undulations cause the water to bob about making the ledge appear to dance.
The area was used for quarrying of Purbeck stone and the ledge is a straight drop off into the sea which is deep enough for small ships to come right up to the ledge. This depth was exploited by local quarrymen in transporting the stone away from the area. Some of the stone removed by the quarrying was transported by ship direct from Dancing Ledge, round the south coast to Kent in order to construct Ramsgate harbour in the 18th and 19th centuries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Ledge
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2.85 km
South West Coast Path
Highlight • Trail
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3.19 km
Seacombe Cliffs and Quarry
Highlight • Natural
The Dorset Quarry Company ran the quarry until the early 1930s
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3.45 km
Seacombe Cliff
Highlight • Viewpoint
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4.19 km
Winspit Quarry
Highlight • Historical Site
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5.06 km
Winspit Quarry Caves
Highlight • Cave
Winspit is a disused quarry on the cliffs near Worth Matravers in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England that is no longer in use. To the west and east are the hills of West Man and East Man.
Until around 1940 Winspit was used as a stone quarry, providing stone for buildings in London. During World War II it was used as a site for naval and air defences. After the war the caves were opened to the public. They were used as a location for the planet Mecron II in the Blake's 7 episode "Games", and in Doctor Who they were used in the story "The Underwater Menace", and then as the planet Skaro in the serial "Destiny of the Daleks", the quarry's stone cottage and two other larger buildings, (which were just empty derelict shells, with their roofs missing), were used in "Destiny", they were transformed into the external ruins of the long abandoned Dalek city and disused Kaled Bunkers. Later for the 2012 Disney film John Carter it was used as the scene location for the "Orkney Dig". The quarry is now a lesser-known tourist attraction. Recently many of Winspit's caves have been closed off for public safety and bat conservation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winspit
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6.48 km
Strip Lynchets in Dorset National Landscape
Highlight • Structure
Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems. Some people believe that they were passively formed under the long-term action of gravity and weathering (soil creep) on the loosened soil of a ploughed slope, while others believe they may have been intentionally formed, to prevent erosion and slippage of the ploughed slope. In Scotland they were used to grow potatoes and other subsistence crops.
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9.55 km
End point
Parking
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
3.68 km
3.08 km
2.30 km
368 m
111 m
Surfaces
4.60 km
3.12 km
742 m
506 m
356 m
214 m
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Elevation
Highest point (140 m)
Lowest point (0 m)
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Weather
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Wednesday 6 May
14°C
9°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 19.0 km/h
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