SW Coast Footpath
Section 49: Isle of Portland Circuit, 13.0 miles (20.9 km)
» More info on SW Coast path website
This section of the SW Coast Footpath begins at Ferry Bridge, you can head to portland on the road/cycle path or across the shingle ridge of Chesil Beach. Chesil Beach is a shingle-barrier beach stretching from West Bay to Portland and is one of Dorset’s most iconic landmarks. The pebbles on Chesil Beach are graded in size from potato-sized near Portland to pea-sized at Bridport. It is believed that smugglers landing on the beach at night could judge their position along the coast simply by picking up a handful of shingle.
Behind Chesil Beach lies a large saline lake known as the Fleet Lagoon, one of the few remaining undisturbed brackish lagoons left in the world. As well as being a wildlife haven, the Fleet Lagoon is also famous for being one of the locations where the Bouncing Bomb was tested during World War II.
