Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
A 6.6-mile linear traverse of the Purbeck chalk ridge, three and a half hours with 300 metres of climb, following the bronze age barrow cemetery from above Corfe over Godlingston Hill and dropping into Swanage at Ulwell. All ridge turf and chalk track, no shelter and no water, with the best long view in Dorset in both directions at once. Start at the National Trust car park in Corfe and finish at Swanage, using the number 40 bus back, which takes dogs free; check the timetable first, as evening services thin out. Sheep graze most of the ridge so leads through the fields, several stiles will need a big dog lifting, and the chalk turf gets slippery enough on the Ulwell descent to be worth care.
A thousand-year-old royal fortress blown apart by Parliament in 1646 and left as one of the great ruins of England, standing over the village and the Purbeck ridge. The National Trust allows dogs throughout, on short leads at all times. The climb through the outer bailey is steep and stony underfoot.
The longest walk in Purbeck worth doing: 8.6 miles and 380 metres of climb in five hours, over Corfe Common to Kingston, out to the cliff edge at Houns-tout for the view down into Encombe, and back along the ridge. Mixed grass paths, estate tracks and two miles of quiet lane, with a steep pull out of Encombe valley and gates rather than stiles almost throughout. Start from the National Trust West Street car park in Corfe; arrive early or use the Norden park and ride, because Corfe’s parking is finished by mid-morning. Cattle and sheep graze most of the route so leads for long stretches, the Houns-tout edge is a sheer 150-metre drop, and there is a water bowl at the Scott Arms in Kingston, which takes dogs in the bar and garden.
A three-mile hour-and-a-half loop over the unimproved common south of the village, up onto the ridge for the postcard view back to the castle, and home down the old drove lanes. Level to gently rolling, 100 metres of climb, on grass and stony lane, wet in the flushes on the common all winter. Start from the National Trust car park on West Street, free to members and pay and display otherwise, about eighty spaces, with the Norden park and ride and the steam railway as the better bet in high season. Ponies and cattle graze the common under commoners’ rights, so a lead across it, and there is no swimming water although the stream at Boar Mill will do for a drink.
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