Why this ride
A 108 km round trip from Swanage - roughly 2 h 01 in the saddle. The stops in between: Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point, Portland Harbour Shore and back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
New Swanage to Studland Bay and Portland Harbour Shore
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 108 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 01
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. New Swanage to Studland Bay
Between Swanage and Studland, the chalk of the Purbeck Hills meets the sea at the Foreland, and the white stacks of Old Harry Rocks stand off the headland like broken teeth. This is the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, the World Heritage stretch of Dorset and East Devon that runs back through two hundred million years of geological history, and here the rocks are the youngest of the sequence, Cretaceous chalk. From Ballard Down above New Swanage, the views take in Swanage Bay, the Isle of Wight and the long sandy curve of Studland Bay.
Read the complete New Swanage to Studland Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
New Swanage to Studland Bay is where the day begins. Next is Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point.
2. Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
This is where the geology lesson becomes a spectacle: Lulworth Cove, an almost perfect circle bitten out of soft clays behind a narrow gap in the harder limestone, and Durdle Door just to the west, an arch of Portland stone standing in clear green water. The Lulworth Crumple, where the rock layers have been bent nearly vertical by the same forces that raised the Alps, is visible at Stair Hole.
Read the complete Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Portland Harbour Shore.
3. Portland Harbour Shore
Portland Harbour is one of the largest man made harbours in the world, enclosed by breakwaters built in the nineteenth century, partly by convict labour, from Portland stone quarried on the island above. For over a century it was a major Royal Navy base, and today it is a centre for sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing; the sailing events of the 2012 London Olympics were held here. The shore between Weymouth and Portland, with Chesil Beach stretching away to the west, is a fascinating place to explore.
Read the complete Portland Harbour Shore write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Portland Harbour Shore. Next is back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point.
4. back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point, late in the day. Next is New Swanage to Studland Bay.
5. New Swanage to Studland Bay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete New Swanage to Studland Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at New Swanage to Studland Bay. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
New Swanage to Studland Bay to Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
New Swanage to Studland Bay → Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point to Portland Harbour Shore
Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point → Portland Harbour Shore is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Portland Harbour Shore to back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
Portland Harbour Shore → back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point to New Swanage to Studland Bay
back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point → New Swanage to Studland Bay is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.